Region
Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Income group
Upper middle income
Most populous city
Skopje

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Starting a Foreign Business Details
This index evaluates the regulatory regime for business start-up.
QuestionAnswer
* Are your country's laws and regulations regarding the establishment process available online through a website of a public institution (e.g. Parliament, official gazette, etc.)? Y
What is the precise name of limited liability company (LLC) in your country (for example, LLC, private limited company, private limited liability company)in English ? Limited liability company
What is the precise name of limited liability company (LLC) in your country (for example, LLC, private limited company, private limited liability company)in your principal official language (if different from English). Друштво со ограничена одговорност (ДОО)
Is Limited Liability Company (LLC) the most commonly used legal form for the establishment of foreign-owned companies? Yes
If no, what is the most common form of establishment of foreign companies in your country? N/A
* Does your country have any restrictions related to the composition of the board of directors of foreign owned but locally incorporated companies (nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, etc.)? No
If Yes, what is/are this/these restriction(s)? N/A
* Is a foreign-owned company required by law to establish its subsidiary through a local private sector third party (local counsel, notary etc.) or public entity (investment promotion agency)? Not required by law
Comment Though not required by law, almost in every case the establishment of a company is done by a locally contracted legal counsel, as local lawyers are very much familiar with the one stop shop system fo ...morer companies registration. ...less
** Can a foreign-owned company expedite any of the establishment procedures through an official channel (fast-track procedure)? No
Comment N/A
* Is the investment approval/authorization a mere formality, only requiring submitting a notification to an appropriate authority? Yes
* Does your country give the investor the right to appeal the decision on the approval/authorization? N/A
* Is a minimum of projected annual sales required for an approval/authorization? N/A
If Yes, what is this minimum (in local currency units, LCU)? N/A
* Is there a limit on the period of validity of a foreign investment approval (separate from any operational licenses/permits that need to be renewed)? N/A
If Yes, what is the approval’s validity period (in years)? N/A
Additional Comments
* Do laws and regulations specify a time limit within which authorities must notify the foreign company of the result of its registration? Yes
If Yes, what is this time limit? 1
* If Yes, is this limit usually respected? No
Do laws and regulations specify that no response from authorities within this time limit can be interpreted as consent and registration complete (that is, silent/deemed approval)? No
* Is the company registration documentation downloadable online? Yes
* If Yes, can the investment registration documentation be submitted online? No
* Can the registration process be monitored online? (e.g., check the status of registration, etc.) Yes
Comment It is expected that in the future application can be submitted online using the Web site of the Central Register of the Republic of Macedonia: http://www.crm.com.mk.
* Can a foreign-owned company hold a commercial bank account in a foreign currency in your country? Yes
* If Yes, does a foreign-owned company have to seek approval/authorization before opening such an account? No
If Yes, which authority issues such approval/authorization (e.g., Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, etc.)? N/A
* If Yes, how long does it take, on average, to receive such an approval/ authorization? N/A
Comment In order for companies to open a bank account in foreign currency, it has to fill the Bank Application Forms, and enclose documents such as the Authorized Signature Application Form or copy of the In ...morecorporation Decision. ...less
* Does your country have a paid-in capital requirement for foreign-owned limited liability companies? Yes
* If Yes, is this requirement a different amount than the one for domestic companies? No
Comment In accordance to the law changing and amending the Trade Company Law (Official gazette no.25/2007), a company can be registered without paying any part of the stated amount. The core capital however ...moreshall be paid in full within 1 year of the registration of the company. ...less
* Is your country party to the Hague Apostille Convention ? Yes
* Scored ** Bonus Question
Procedures (number): all procedural steps involved in establishing a wholly foreign-owned subsidiary. Both pre- and post-incorporation procedures that are officially required for a foreign investor to formally operate a business are recorded.

Time (days): the number of days needed to go through each of the procedural steps for establishing a subsidiary of a foreign company.

No.ProcedureTime to Complete (days)
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 4
5 1
6 1


Procedure 1 :
Authentication / Regularization of the parent company's documentation overseas
Time to Complete (days) 1
Comments: The documentation (founding agreement, register excerpt) should be issued by the authorized institutions and confirmed with an appropriate seal in order to be valid according to Macedonian regulations. An authorized translation into Macedonian language is required confirmed with a seal of an authorized translator. The documents subsequently need to be certified in front of the public notary together with the other founding documents.


Procedure 2 :
Notarize the company deeds and other documents
Time to Complete (days) 1
Comments: To register a limited liability company (LLC), a founder must notarize the following documents: - Signature specimen for the LLC manager. -The articles of association


Procedure 3 :
Registration with the Central Registry
Time to Complete (days) 1
Comments: Official Application Form provided by the Central Register must be fulfilled and submitted with the other documents. The company founders can prepare registration documents themselves. A one-stop-shop system was implemented on January 1, 2006. The Central Register of Republic of Macedonia is the single institution for registering LLCs and other forms of trade companies, foreign representative offices, and other entities. This registration process includes registering the company with the Trade Register, providing the LLC statistic number, opening the LLC bank account, registering the company in the Public Revenue €“Tax Office, and publishing the LLC formation notice on the Central Register's Web site (www.crm.com.mk). With the amendments on the Law on one-stop-shop (Official Gazette 150/2007 from 12.12.2007) connection is now established between the Central Registry and the Employment Agency, which allows registering of first employment of directors through CRM.


Procedure 4 :
Investment registration
Time to Complete (days) 4
Comments: After the establishment of the Company there is an obligation to register their investment before the Register of direct foreign investments in the Central Register of the Republic of Macedonia. This is just for information purposes though, and no approval is required.


Procedure 5 :
Make a company seal
Time to Complete (days) 1
Comments: The company certificate of registration is required to process a request.


Procedure 6 :
Register with the Social Security Office
Time to Complete (days) 1
Comments: After registering the employees before the Employment Agency, they must be registered for Social Insurance before the State Funds. To register LLC employees with the Social Security Office, management must complete and file the appropriate forms.