Applies to women only: Obtain husband’s permission to leave the home
Agency: Home
Per Jordanian Personal Status Law of 2010, art. 62 states that the wife is considered disobedient if she leaves the marital home without a legitimate reason or prevent her spouse from entering her house. Additionally, Egyptian Personal Status Law as Amended by Law No. 100 of 1985, Art. 1 Maintenance is not due to the wife who leaves the marital home without her husband’s permission.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Reserve a unique company name and obtain approval
Agency: Companies Controller (Ministry of National Economy)
The proposed company name can be checked and reserved at the Companies Controller. If the name is available for registration, payment of the name reservation fees should be paid to the account of the Ministry of National Economy or the Ministry of Finance at the Bank of Palestine.
Time and cost: 1 day, fees included in procedure 4
Hired lawyer signs company documents
Agency: Lawyer
Hiring a lawyer to draft the articles of association and the company by laws is recommended. These documents must then be stamped by the Lawyers Bar Association before being filled at the Companies’ Controller. The associated fees (at least 1000 USD) should be deposited with the Bar which will retain 10% of the fee and transfer the remaining 90% to the lawyer. This decision came into force in January 2010.
Time and cost: 2 days, USD 1,000
Register at the Companies Comptroller
Agency: Companies Controller
The following documents are required for submission in order to register at the Companies Controller:
- Articles of association (3 copies);
- Company by laws (3 copies);
- Shareholders identification card (copies);
- Verified company name;
- Registration application (3 copies);
- Powers of attorney.
Fee schedule for company registration:
- Company name verification: ILS 87 (included in Procedure 1);
- Application: ILS 285;
- Signature verification: ILS 84 per signature (minimum number of required signatures is two to form a private limited company or seven to form a public limited company). Note that signing must occur before the Company Registrar;
- -1/1,000 of the stated capital.
There are two separate types of fees, one that varies with the number of shareholders and another that is a percentage of the stated capital.
Time and cost: 2 days, see comments
Pay the registration fees and open bank account
Agency: Bank of Palestine
Registration fees must be paid to the account of the Ministry of National Economy/Companies Controller at the Bank of Palestine upon submission of the registration documents. The Ministry will not review the application until the fee is paid.
The company also needs to open a corporate bank account in order to register at the tax authority and VAT.
Time and cost: 1 day, fees included in procedure 4
Register for income and VAT tax
Agency: Tax office
The tax offices are located at the Ministry of Finance; the company receives the same unique registration number for both VAT and income tax. In most cases, accountants register the company for these taxes.
Time and cost: 2 days, no charge
Obtain the business license from the Municipality
Agency: Municipality
The time and cost for obtaining a business license varies from sector to sector. However, for general trading the time is about 3 weeks and the fees are about ILS 20 for application and ILS 100 for the license. The municipality previously sent notices to the health and the relevant security authorities, such as the civil defense, to proceed with their inspections of the company premises. Since January 2014, a civil defense employee from the Fire Department and a doctor from the Ministry of Health were appointed at the municipality in order to carry out the necessary inspections and grant approvals for the business license as soon as the entrepreneur applies. Nevertheless, the business premises must still undergo inspection by these officials.
Time and cost: 36 days (simultaneous with previous procedure), ILS 120
Inspection by doctor from the Ministry of Health
Agency: Ministry of Health
A doctor from the Ministry of Health which sits at the Municipality of Ramallah is required to perform an onsite inspection at the business premises.
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous only), no charge
Inspection by the Fire Department
Agency: Fire Department
The fire department approval granted by the civil defense employee located at the municipality is necessary to obtain the business license. The approval is given after an on site inspection by the civil defense employee.
In order to obtain the fire department’s approval, a small office is obliged to obtain a fire extinguisher and other safety supplies. In addition, a larger office (a whole floor for example) needs to setup a fire alarm system.
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), 65 ILS per 100 square meter
Obtain clearance of the Internal Policy Manual (HR Issues)
Agency: Ministry of Labor
Entrepreneurs obtain the approval of the Internal Policy Manual due to article 84 (1) of the Labor Law which states that an employer cannot take any disciplinary actions against workers unless it is stipulated in the penalties list (which is included in the Internal Policy Manual).
Furthermore, per article 40 (3), states that an employer can make a worker redundant if they violate the bylaws which were approved by the Ministry of Labor. These bylaws are subsequently explained in the Internal Policy Manual.
Time and cost: 1 to 3 weeks (simultaneous with previous procedure), no charge
Register with the Chamber of Commerce
Agency: Chamber of Commerce
Registration with the Chamber is required under Article 9 of the Chamber of Commerce Law of 2011. The following documents must be submitted:
- Articles of association;
- Company bylaws;
- Company registration certificate.
The fee to register with the Chamber of Commerce depends on the company’s capital and on the nature of business. For a Grade B with registered capital between USD 20,000 and USD 50,000, the membership fee is JD 100 (about USD 143), the initial administrative fee of ILS 50 (about USD 15), and the annual fee of USD 80.
Time and cost: 1 day, ILS 80
