The laws of the Russian Federation allow foreign firms to open representative offices and branches in the Russian Federation. A representative office, unlike a branch, is not a legal entity and does not have the right to conduct commercial activities. However, it is subject to tax registration. It is advisable to open a representative office if you need your own person in the country to interact with partners, market research or resolve controversial issues.
It is necessary
- - power of attorney addressed to the person who will directly carry out all formalities;
- - an application for opening a representative office with translation into Russian or in Russian, if you know it well enough;
- - the charter of your company or an equivalent document under the laws of your country, notarized into Russian;
- - a document on the state registration of your company with a notarized translation into Russian;
- - the decision of the company to open a representative office on the territory of the Russian Federation, certified by the signature of its first person and the seal and translated into Russian;
- - Regulations on the representation of the company with translation into Russian;
- - an extract from the bank on the solvency of the company with translation into Russian;
- - letters of recommendation from Russian business partners;
- - a document confirming the legal address of the representative office (letter of guarantee or lease agreement and a copy of the certificate of ownership of the premises or a copy of your certificate of ownership, if the office belongs to your company.
Instructions
Step 1
Start working on opening a representative office by looking for an office for him. The future legal address must be reflected in the decision to open a representative office. The easiest way is if you own commercial real estate in Russia. Otherwise, you will need a letter of guarantee from the owner or a lease agreement. Any of these documents must be accompanied by a copy of the title deed for the premises you are renting or intending to rent.
Step 2
Contact the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in any convenient way. In some cases, representative offices of foreign companies in Russia are registered by other organizations. The list of them is too extensive, so it would be better to contact the Ministry of Justice for advice on how to be exactly in your situation. In addition, even if you register a representative office through another organization, for example, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, after tax registration it is still advisable to obtain accreditation in this department, especially if you plan to send citizens of your country to Russia to work in the representative office. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for them to solve visa issues.
Step 3
Prepare a decision on opening a representative office in accordance with the legislation of your country, indicate in it for what purposes you are opening it, for how long (up to three years under Russian laws with the possibility of extension) and at what address.
Step 4
Write a statement addressed to the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice or another body, depending on your situation. Be sure to include in it the name of your company, the date of its foundation, address in the country of residence, types of activities, position and name of the first person or the name and composition of other management bodies in accordance with your Charter, the purpose of opening a representative office, information with whom and how already cooperating in Russia and what are your plans for the development of this cooperation. The more convincing the arguments in the statement, the more chances for a positive decision. If you are not fluent in Russian, prepare a document in your native language.
Step 5
Develop a Regulations on a Representative Office in the Russian Federation in accordance with the Charter of your company and the legislation of the country of its residence. Reflect in this document the goals of creating a representative office, its functions, powers, future address.
Step 6
Take from your bank documents confirming the solvency of the company: an account balance statement or the history of the movement of funds on the account for a period of six months or more.
Step 7
Prepare a power of attorney for the person who will handle all the formalities in Russia. In it, reflect his name and surname, position, if it is your employee, passport and Russian visa details, if relevant (for citizens of the Russian Federation - the data of the internal passport and registration address) and what exactly do you trust him: to represent the interests of your company when registering its representative office in the Russian Federation, interact with government and commercial organizations on this issue and sign the necessary documents.
Step 8
Translate all the necessary documents into Russian. Russian official organizations only accept notarized translations. You can get such a translation at the nearest Russian consulate or use the services of any Russian translation agency.
Step 9
Hand over the entire package of documents to your representative who will handle the formalities in Russia. In case of a positive decision, he will register the representative office. To do this, he needs to write a statement in the prescribed form and contact the tax office serving the legal address of the representative office with all the documents that he will receive at the registering authority. And then, if necessary, with the same sets of documents and all the papers that he will receive from the tax office - to the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for accreditation.
