Business entities in Bolivia in 2024

Healy Consultants will assist our Clients to incorporate the optimal corporate structure in Bolivia. There are several legal entities in the country, the most common Bolivia business setup is the limited liability company. Foreign entrepreneurs may also opt to set up a corporation, limited liability partnership, a branch office or a representative office.

The Bolivia limited liability company (Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada)

The Bolivia LLC requires only 1 director who must be resident in Bolivia and 2 shareholders for incorporation process to be complete. The minimum paid-up capital required is US$1;
All LLCs with annual sales over US$170,000 must submit annual audited financial statements to the commercial registry.

The Bolivia public corporation (Sociedad Anonima)

The Bolivia corporation is commonly used by entrepreneurs to setup an SME as a minimum paid-up share capital of US$100 is required to complete the incorporation process. A corporation must appoint at least 3 directors who must be natural persons and one of the directors must be resident in Bolivia. This entity must also appoint i) 3 shareholders who can be of any nationality ii) a resident company secretary and iii) a Bolivia resident agent. Healy Consultants will provide for our Client these services if required;
All incorporation documents must be translated by a court appointed translator in Bolivia submitted in Spanish. Furthermore, these documents must be legalized by the nearest Bolivian Consulate;
After the Bolivian corporation is setup, the entity must appoint a controller/auditor and those corporations with sales over US$160,000 must submit annual audited financial statements to the Tax Bureau and Fundempresa.

The Bolivia limited liability partnership (Sociedad en comandita simple)

An LLP must appoint at least 2 shareholders and 2 directors whom can be of any nationality, and the minimum paid-up capital required for incorporation process to be complete is US$1;
For this Bolivia business setup, liability of the shareholders is limited to the amount of their capital contributions. Transfer of quotas (shares) must be approved by all shareholders and is tax exempt;
The Bolivia LLP does not require annual audit of financial statements and neither does it require company secretary. Limited partners are liable up to the amount of their capital contributions.

The Bolivia branch (Sucursal)

A Bolivia branch office can be 100% foreign owned. The scope of operations for this entity will be defined by the parent company. Also, the branch must have a registered office in Bolivia and the appointed manager must have power of attorney of the branch on behalf of the company.

The Bolivia representative office (Oficina de representacion)

While the Bolivia representative office can be 100% foreign owned, it is not allowed to carry out any income generating activities in Bolivia. All expenses of the representative office are required to be met through inward foreign currency remittances. Consequently, this entity can only engage in i) market research and ii) promoting the business of the parent company.

Table of comparison between Bolivia entities

	LLC	Public Corporation	Limited liability partnership	Branch	Rep Office
Also known as	SRL	SA	SCS	Sucursal	Oficina de representacion
How long to set the company up?	10 weeks	10 weeks	3 weeks	2 weeks	2 weeks
How long to open company bank account?	4 weeks	6 weeks	5 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks
Legal liability?	Limited	Limited	Limited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Wholly foreign owned?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Minimum paid - up share capital?	US$1	US$100	US$1	US$1	US$1
File annual tax return?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Tax registration certificate required?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Recommended corporate bank account?	Banco Bisa	Banco Union S.A.	Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz S.A.	Banco de Credito de Bolivia	Banco Ganadero S.A.
Does our Client need to travel?	No	No	No	No	No
Resident director required?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Resident shareholder required?	No	No	No	No	No
Minimum directors allowed?	1	3	2	1	1
Minimum shareholders?	2	3	2	1	1
Tax identification code needed?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bolivia resident company secretary required?	No	Yes	No	No	No
Corporate shareholders allowed?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Corporate director(s) allowed?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Statutory audit required?	No	Yes	No	No	No
Bolivia corporate tax rate?	25%	25%	25%	25%	0%
Annual financial statements required?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Regulated by?	Commerce Registry of Bolivia	Commerce Registry of Bolivia	Commerce Registry of Bolivia	Commerce Registry of Bolivia	Commerce Registry of Bolivia
Allowed to issue sales invoices?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Allowed to sign contracts?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Allowed to import and export goods?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Can rent an office space in Bolivia?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can buy Bolivia property?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Total Bolivia business setup costs in yr. 1?	US$19,900	US$22,200	US$19,900	US$24,650	US$22,650
Subsequent annual costs (incl. accounting and tax fee)?	US$6,100	US$7,200	US$6,100	US$6,100	US$3,800
Sample engagement invoice?	View invoice PDF	View invoice PDF	View invoice PDF	View invoice PDF	View invoice PDF