Companies, as well as their owners and staff, benefit immediately from formal company registration. Legal entities can outlive their creators. As numerous shareholders join together to form a firm, resources are pooled. Formally registered businesses have access to various services and organizations, including courts, banks, and new markets. Additionally, the law provides protections for their employees. Limited liability firms have an extra advantage. These confine the financial obligation of firm owners to their investments, ensuring that the owner’s assets are not jeopardized.
To register a company in Gabon, you must first pick up an application form from the Investment Promotion Agency, which has a list of documents that must be provided. The documents include a certified copy of the statutes, a copy of the minutes of the founding General Meeting and the nominative list of shareholders, a copy of the identity document for statutory directors or managers, two recent passport photos for senior executives, the location of the establishment, the status of the company, the social reason, and director or manager details.
Registration procedure
Procedures of Company Registration in Gabon
Depositing the appropriate capital for your business
The first step in forming a corporation is to create a bank account in Gabon. Following that, the legally required capital should be deposited in the bank account. The bank should be contacted for proof of deposit. The first capital is deposited in a bank and the deposit documentation is obtained by the founder of the notary public.
Confirming and reserving the business name
Every company name must be unique, thus the applicant should check with the Industrial Property Centre of Gabon (CEPIG) in Libreville to see if the proposed company name is already in use. The CEPIG should then reserve the proposed name. To avoid future litigation, the founders must use a unique name. XAF 35,000
The articles of incorporation with a public notary
The Articles of Association of the firm should be registered with the notary. The public notary issues a certificate of payment of the original capital. The size of the capital will determine the notary fees. They can be anywhere between FCFA 300,000 and FCFA 1,000,000. The entire procedure takes 14 days.
Filling documents with the Center for Enterprise Development (CDE)
The CDE files company statutes with the Ministry of Finance (Administration de Domaines), completes company registration with the Ministry of Justice’s (greffier du tribunal) court clerk and obtains a tax identification number from the tax authorities. The CDE must send the necessary paperwork for company registration to the appropriate agencies to complete these registrations. On behalf of the applicant, the CDE representatives request the appropriate documentation of authorization to form a company from the competent authorities. A notary/lawyer can also handle the necessary authorizations. It takes roughly 30 days to complete the process. The registration charge is XAF 60,000, and stamps are XAF 80,000.
Paying the fees and receiving a receipt
The applicant pays the fees at the cashier and receives a receipt after depositing the needed documents. This procedure runs concurrently with the previous one.
Publishing the notification of company establishment in a legal journal
The corporation then publishes its formation notice in a legal magazine, as is required in Gabon for new businesses. This technique can take anything from 2 to 30 days to complete. It costs XAF 60,000.
Notifying the Ministry of Labor of the start of the operation
All startups must notify the Ministry of Labor of commencing business.
Filling employees with the Social Security Administration
Employees must be registered with the Social Security Administration (CNSS and CNAMGS).
