Non-resident enterprises cannot just come to a new country and start their own business in it. They will have to go through a considerable number of bureaucratic procedures that will allow them to legalize their activities in the selected state. One of them, if the company does not fully enter the new market, but opens branches, is the accreditation of representative offices. What is necessary for a foreign company to obtain the right to conduct business on the territory of the Russian Federation and how to apply for a permit?
The difference between a branch and a representative office
First, you should highlight the forms of units that can create foreign companies in the territory of another state.
A branch is, roughly speaking, a smaller version of the parent company. He has the same powers and functions as she, and can carry out all types of activities available to the main enterprise.
The representative office is authorized only to protect the interests of its founder, to engage in economic activity in the territory of a foreign state, even if it is entered in the state register, it will not be able to.
Of course, there are other forms of interaction between foreign enterprises and residents of the country. No one has canceled the creation of associations (that is, the conclusion of economic agreements) or joint ventures (where the capital of both parties flows). But still, branches and representative offices allow a foreign company to maintain independence in the territory of the donor state, although their establishment is associated with certain legal operations and financial costs.
Beginning of the accreditation procedure
Registration of a branch begins with the fact that within a year from the adoption of a decision on its establishment, the company must submit a corresponding application to the federal executive body. The application for accreditation must be accompanied by information on the number of foreign employees who will be employed in the new branch (they are certified by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and documents submitted by the parent company confirming the right to open a branch.
The accreditation process itself takes from 18 to 25 days from the date of application, however, the procedure for an additional fee can be accelerated.
Required documents
What information does a foreign enterprise require accreditation of representative offices and branches? The list of required documents is quite large, in addition, you will also have to spend money on presenting them in the form required by law:
- The charter of the parent company (moreover, it must be translated into Russian and certified by the consul of the Russian Federation in the state where the main company is located and by a notary public in Russia).
- Order of the parent company to establish a branch or representative office (also translated and certified abroad and in Russia).
- An extract from the trade register containing information about a foreign company as a taxpayer of the state where its main unit is located (in the same form as the above documents).
- Recommendations of the bank servicing the parent company (translated and certified by the consul, notarization is not necessary).
- Powers of attorney (translated and certified by the consul):
- to the head of the new unit, confirming his authority to establish a branch or representative office;
- to a representative of a law firm to which the head of the main unit confirms the legitimacy of his participation in the procedure for opening a branch or representative office.
Accreditation renewal
Due to changes in the current legislation, the extension of the accreditation of a representative office of a foreign company is no longer necessary: a permit for economic activity in the territory of the Russian Federation is now issued without indicating the validity period. At the same time, before the representative office could work for three years from the date of issue of the permit, and the branch - for five.
Refusal to permit activities
Accreditation of foreign missions is not possible if the activities of the company in the country pose a threat to national security, independence or the inviolability of the territories of the donor country.
In addition, if representatives of a foreign company did not submit the necessary documents on time or did not submit them in full, permission to conduct business will also not be issued. Accreditation may not be extended to enterprises that for some reason have delayed the date of its confirmation (for companies that started working before the introduction of untimely accreditation).
Registration of foreign employees
For the legal start of business activities of a foreign enterprise in a new country, accreditation of branches, representative offices, foreign legal entities, that is, business founders, as well as personal accreditation of foreign employees who will work in this branch are required. The Chamber of Commerce also deals with this. It helps to get work visas (if necessary) not only to employees of the branch, but also to members of their families.
Citizens of those states with which the Russian Federation has concluded agreements within the framework of which a free exchange of labor is possible (for example, with countries participating in the Eurasian Union) are not subject to registration. In this case, you only need to apply for a patent for labor activities - this procedure is much simpler than visa registration. The number of invited employees and the number of employees hired in the donor country should not exceed the total staff, the data of which are reported to the Chamber of Commerce when processing the documents necessary for accreditation.
Tax registration
The Law on Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation obliges a foreign company opening a branch to register the establishment of a new unit with the tax authorities. For this, after receiving documents on the accreditation of a representative office from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it is necessary to submit an application to the Federal Tax Service within three days. If the company already has any branches in the country, therefore it is already on the list of taxpayers, then you do not need to apply for additional registration: data from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be reported to the local tax authorities.
If a foreign company only comes to the market, it is necessary to enter it in the state register and enter it in the list of business entities that pay taxes. After some time, representatives of a new foreign enterprise should contact the tax authorities to obtain documents confirming their registration as taxpayers.
Payment to the state and representatives
Of course, the accreditation of representative offices and branches will require certain funds. In order to register a new unit, you will have to pay a state fee of 120 thousand rubles, and for each new unit, the fee is paid again.If the company wants to receive any information from the state register, it undertakes to pay 200 rubles. At the same time, adding new information to the register is completely free.
In addition, foreign companies, as was already clear from the above list of documents, are forced to resort to the help of legal representatives. Naturally, the price of their services depends on the particular agency. For example, for the accreditation process itself, lawyers ask from 64 to 85 thousand rubles, that is, an amount in excess of half the state duty. Registration of foreign employees at the Chamber of Commerce will cost much less - 5 thousand rubles.
Results of changes to accreditation laws
Changes in the Law on Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation, on the one hand, have greatly simplified the registration of new foreign divisions of companies, but on the other hand have created a number of difficulties for existing firms. So, they were forced to undergo re-accreditation at strictly allotted dates, different from those that were originally indicated when executing documents permitting their activities.
Moreover, if a foreign company did not manage to do this within the agreed time (even if it was not notified of the need for such actions), the right to operate it in the Russian Federation was withdrawn without the possibility of re-accreditation.
Conclusion
Accreditation of representative offices and branches of foreign companies is subject to a certain list of conditions. A foreign company needs to collect a package of documents, find a legal representative in the donor country, register not only its own activities, but also employees who come from abroad to work in a new branch. The advantage is that due to changes in the legislation, accreditation does not have a validity period, so after going through this procedure once, you will not have to repeat it in the future.