Steps to follow for registering a business in the Republic of Moldova

Quite often, we receive inquiries from clients who have decided to start a business in Moldova, and especially, how to register a new company. Therefore, we decided to write this article in which will be briefly described the procedure for registration of enterprises in the Republic of Moldova.

Of course, for business purposes does not need to be a professional lawyer, but a basic knowledge of the forms in which the law permits conduct of business in the Republic of Moldova, nevertheless are needed for foreign entrepreneurs.
Obviously, in order to register a company in Moldova, it is not necessary to be a licensed lawyer, however, the basic provisions of the legislation governing this field, as well as the forms in which the law allows to carry out entrepreneurial activity in the Republic of Moldova you must know.
Respectively, we will try to briefly describe the organizational-legal forms of entrepreneurship in the Republic of Moldova, the aspects that potential entrepreneurs should pay attention to in the process of choosing the optimal organizational-legal form of the enterprise, which documents must be submitted for registration and directly, the stages the registration procedure.

Choosing the organizational-legal form of the business

According to the law “About entrepreneurship and enterprises”, in the Republic of Moldova, entrepreneurial activity may have the following organizational-legal forms:
a) the Individual enterprise;
b) a General partnership;
c) Limited partnerships;
d) Joint stock companies;
e) Limited Liability Company;
f) Production cooperatives;
g) the Entrepreneurial cooperatives;
h) Rental company;
i) State and municipal enterprises.
More information about the organizational and legal forms of doing business in the Republic of Moldova can be found in this ARTICLE.

The question is, which form, from listed above is the best choice for business? Strictly speaking, to assert that some form of business has advantages over the other is not quite correct – each of them is optimal for his case, but from the standpoint of doing business, obtaining licenses and other similar factors, all forms of enterprises organizations are equal.
Therefore, to choose the most appropriate organizational – legal form of legal entity, its founders must first decide what tasks they have set for self, both in the process of the activity of company they plan to build relationships with each other (if the founders are the few ), how much they are willing to take responsibility prior to its creditors in case of lack of assets to pay off debts, how will be managed the current activity of the company, how will be elected or appointed its executive bodies, as well as identify a number of other important parameters.
However, I can say with complete certainty that one of the most popular organizational – legal form of enterprises in the Republic of Moldova it is a Limited Liability Company.

Choosing the company name

In essence, the founders of the company have the right to choose any desired name for their company, provided that it will include, in the Romanian language, the legal form of organization and will respect the following conditions:
• the chosen name will not coincide with the name of another already registered company.
• the name of the company will not contain phrases that contravene the legal provisions or moral norms, as well as proper names, if they do not coincide with the names of the participants in the establishment of the company and if there is no agreement of the respective person or his heirs regarding the use of the name .
• the name of the company will not contain words or abbreviations that would mislead regarding its form.

If the name of the legal entity will contain the official name of the state or of an administrative-territorial unit, it can be registered if its use was allowed in the manner and under the conditions established by law.
The legal entity that uses the name of another legal entity is obliged, at its request, to stop using the name and to repair the damage.

Selection of activity types according to CAEM

Before proceeding with the company registration, it is necessary to identify the types of activity that you intend to carry out and select them from the Classifier of Activities in the Economy of Moldova (CAEM).

Identification of the permissive documents for the intended activities

It is necessary for you to know that in the Republic of Moldova certain types of activity can be carried out only after the license for the respective type of activity has been obtained. The list of types of licensed activity and the manner of issuing licenses are established by the Law on the regulation of entrepreneurial activity by licensing.
At the same time, you must take into account the fact that some activities require permissive acts, such as authorizations, permits and certificates.
Accordingly, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the requirements of the normative acts aimed at the types of activity that you plan to carry out. Otherwise, operating without a license, or some permissive act, you risk being sanctioned.

Documents required for company registration

Depending on who the founders of the company are, individuals or legal entities, the documents required for registration are different. In essence, identity cards and proof of legal address are required for natural persons. For founders – legal entities, their constitutive documents, proof of the legal address, as well as the decision of incorporation approved by all founders (individuals) are required.

Business registration

The last step consists in signing the company incorporation documents and submitting the application to the Public Services Agency.

The above is intended to provide a brief guide only. If you need assistance in setting up a company in the Republic of Moldova, our office will be happy to help you in this regard. Please do not hesitate to contact us..