A2T

How To Start A Business in Congo Republic

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Congo, Rep.. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with between 10 and 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 189 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2015.

 

No.

Procedure

Time to Complete

Associated Costs

 

1

Deposit the legally required capital in a bank and obtain the deposit evidence.
Agency: Notary

The bank account deposit is only formalized after presentation of the RCCM and the NIU (Numéro d'Identification Unique). So in practice the minimum capital requirement is deposited with the notary.

1 day

no charge

 

2

Draft and notarize the articles of association with the public notary
Agency: Notary

The notary prepares and legalizes the articles of association. The notary also issues the authenticated declaration of subscription and payment, which confirms that the entire initial capital has been deposited at the bank. Companies may choose to have the notary draft the articles of association. In this case, the articles would be drafted before the initial capital is deposited. The entrepreneur would then return to the notary to obtain the declaration of subscription (Déclaration notariée de souscription et de versement).

3 days

XAF 300,000 notary fees + XAF 12,000 for stamps

 

3

Register articles of association with tax authorities
Agency: Fiscal authorities

The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Congo, through the adoption and implementation of the Fiscal Law 2012, abolished the cost for registering the articles of associations of a new enterprise with the tax authorities.

2 days

no charge

 

4

Obtain extracts of criminal record of the company manager
Agency: Tribunal de première instance

This formality is done with the Court of First Instance.

1 day

XAF 2,000

 

5

Register articles of association with the commercial registrar at the Clerk’s Office of the Court
Agency: Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce

To register the articles of association with the Commercial Registrar, the following documents are required:
• Identification of managers.
• Criminal record of the managers.
• Lease (copy).
• Notarized articles of association.

1 day

included in procedure 6

 

6

Register with the Centre des Formalités des Entreprises
Agency: Centre des Formalités des Entreprises (CFE)

The Centre des Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) is a one-stop shop that centralizes several registration procedures. By registering with the CFE, the firm is also registered with the Chamber of Commerce and the Centre National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (CNSEE). Although the CFE also organizes commercial registration at the court, in practice, it is faster for companies to register directly with the court.
The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Congo, through the adoption and implementation of the Fiscal Law 2013, eliminated the requirement to obtain a merchant card to start operations.

14 days

XAF 300,000

 

7

Register with the tax authorities
Agency: Centre d'Identification Unique

The LLC is registered with the CIU to obtain the NIU. Once this number is obtained, then the payment of the patente can be done. Time to obtain this NIU is very long and can take up to a month.

14 days

included in procedure 6

 

8

Publish the notice of company formation in a legal journal
Agency: La Semaine Africaine

Notice of company formation can be published, either in (a) the Official Gazette, with a 1-month turnaround; or (b) any legal journal, with a 1-week turnaround. The notice includes the company name, capital, and taxpayer identification number (TIN).

4 days

XAF 50,000

*

9

Notify the Ministry of Labor (ONEMO) of the start of operations
Agency: ONEMO

Employee contracts must be certified by the labor authorities.

2 days (simultaneous with procedure 8)

no charge

*

10

Register with the Regional Direction of Labor
Agency: Regional Direction of Labor

All new businesses must register with the Regional Direction of Labor.

1 day (simultaneous with procedure 9)

no charge

*

11

Register with the Social Security Authorities
Agency: CNSS

To register with the Social Security Authorities, the following documents are required:
• Manager’s identification
• Employees' contracts, certified by the Ministry of Labor.
• Manager's commerce card.
• Copy of the lease.
• Notarized articles of association.

Social security contributions are paid one trimester in advance at the rate of 2.8% of the employee's salary and 3.2% of the employer's earnings.

14 days (simultaneous with procedure 10)

no charge