Algeria is officially known as the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. It is located in North Africa and on the Mediterranean coast. It’s the 10th largest country in the world and the largest in Africa. The population in the country stands at 40.4 million people which is a 2016 estimate.
The Ease of Doing Business report by the World Bank ranks Algeria 156 out of 190 countries in 2017.
below we discussed about how to register a limited liability company in Algeria as a foreigner (private limited company, LLC or branch office permission).
If you wish to register a company in Algeria, you may start reading from here.
Types of companies in Algeria:
These types of companies are available for a startup:
Branch office: For a foreign company, only a representative office or liaison office is allowed to be opened. A Branch Office is prohibited by the Algerian government. As for the representative office, it is not allowed to conduct any business in Algeria except for the management of the interests of the company and its subsidiaries.
As a local company in Algeria, the following are some of the alternatives –
Company in Collective Name (Societe en Nom Collectif) – This is also known as a partnership entity. It must have a minimum of 2 partners. There is no minimum capital requirement.
Simple Limited Partnership ( Societe en Commandite Simple) – This is also a partnership company with 2 types of partners. One is known as an Active partner who is responsible for the running of the company. This partner is also jointly and severally responsible for all the company’s debts. The other partner is a limited partner. As its name implies, this partner’s debt liability is only up to his/her shareholding in the company. This person doesn’t run the business and is sometime known as a ‘sleeping partner’.
Limited liability company (Societe a Responsibilite Limitee) – This is the most common form of business registered. The requirements for this company are that it must have a minimum paid up capital of 100,000 Algerian Dinars which is divided into 1,000 Dinars per share.
It must also have at least 1 shareholder and 1 director. If a foreign company is one of its shareholders, it can only hold a maximum of 49% shares. The balance 51% must be held by an Algerian. If the share capital is more than USD 120,000, there is no need to have audited statements of the accounts.
Limited liability Uni-personal Company (Entreprise Uni-personelle a Responsibilite Limitee) – This is also known as a sole proprietor company.
Joint stock company – For this type of company, there must be at least 7 shareholders and they are limited to capital contribution only. There must be a minimum of 5 million Dinars as share capital if it solicits deposits from the public. Otherwise the share capital is a minimum of 1 million Dinars. The company will be managed by a Board of Directors.
Below is the procedure of registering a company in Algeria:
Check the availability and uniqueness of the company name from the Centre National du Commerce (CNRC) or The Commercial Registry. The company is also required to pick up the necessary registration forms. The applicant company must then fill out the form, list 4 proposed company names and pay the fees for the search. The Commercial Registry will then check the name and issues the certificate on the same day. The cost for this process is 576 Dinars. In actual fact, the uniqueness of the company name can be checked and registered online. However, most applicants will still do it in person at the CNRC.
The start-up capital must be deposited with a bank. The applicant company will get a deposit certificate after doing so. This is expected to take about 1 day and there are no charges involved.
The birth certificate of the manager must be obtained and notarized. This will take 1 day.
The company’s constitution documents must be set-up and notarized. These documents must then be submitted together with a specimen of the manager’s signature. A copy of the lease for the registered office must also be submitted. All of this is done at a notary’s office and there are some fees to be charged. The fee depends on the company’s capital and is calculated as below –
The applicant company will then need to publish the company’s constitution in a legal journal i.e. the Bulletin of Legal Announcements It charges 48 Dinar per line and normally takes 1 day.
The applicant company will file the company registration with the CNRC within 2 months of company formation. The registration fees are –
The company must then pay the stamp duty and obtain a receipt. This must be paid to the Tax Authority and CNRC. This takes 1 day and cost 4,000 Dinar.
Register for Income Tax and Value Added Tax (VAT). This must be done with the Tax Authority. After registration, the Tax Authority will issue a certificate of existence and a tax card within 2 to 5 days.
The company must register for Caisse Nationale des Assurances Sociales des Travailleurs Salaries (CNAS). This is the National Social Security and it’s mainly for the company’s employees.
Make a company seal – The cost of the seal will depend on the quality required.
Accounting books to be stamped in court – The accounting and inventory books must be stamped in court. The cost is 2,000 Dinars per book of which there must be 4 in total.
Our information will help to know how to register a limited liability company in Algeria as a foreigner (LLC registration or joint stock). Do not hesitate to contact us for any assistance in registering a new business in Algeria under the guide of foreign direct investment (FDI) policy.
