Georgia company registration

DOING BUSINESS IN GEORGIA IN 2020

Since 2003, Healy Consultants Group PLC has assisted our Clients with business registration in Georgia. Our services include i) Georgia business registration ii) government license registration iii) business bank account opening iv) employee recruitment v) visa strategies and vi) office rental solutions.

Compare different Georgian entities	Tax resident LLC	International Trading LLC	Intl. Finance Company	Free zone LLC	Virtual IT Zone Company	Representative office
Also known as	LLC	Special trade company	Intl. finance company	Free industrial zone company	VZE	Representative office
Best use of company?	All products and services	Trading with global Clients	Financial services	Manufacturing & export trading	Intl. IT services	Marketing & research
How soon can you invoice Clients\sign sales contracts?	1 week	3 weeks	3 months	3 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks
How soon can you hire staff?	1 week	3 weeks	3 weeks	3 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks
How soon can you sign a lease agreement?	1 week	1 week	1 week	1 week	2 weeks	1 week
How long to supply corporate bank account numbers?	2 months	2 months	5 months	2 months	2 months	2 months
How long to supply company registration/tax numbers?	1 week	3 weeks	3 months	3 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks
Corporate tax rate on annual net profits?	15%	0%	0%	0%	0%	None
Limited liability entity?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Government grants and tax incentives available?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Government approval required for foreign owners?	No	No	No	No	No	No
Resident legal representative required?	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
minimum paid up share capital?	US$1	US$1	US$100,000	US$100,000	US$1	None
Can bid for Government contracts?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Corporate bank account location?	Bank of Georgia	VTB	Liberty Bank	Peoples Bank	VTB	TBC Bank
Can secure trade finance?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Legally tax exempt if properly structured?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
VAT payable on sales to local customers?	18%	18%	18%	0%	0%	Cannot trade
Average total business set up engagement costs?	US$11,650	US$18,150	US$32,550	US$17,030	US$12,150	US$11,200
Average total engagement period?	2 months	2 months	5 months	2 months	3 months	3 months

Expand table

Accounting and tax considerations	Tax resident LLC	International Trading LLC	Intl. Finance Company	Free zone LLC	Virtual IT Zone Company	Representative office
Statutory corporate tax payable?	15%	0%	0%	0%	0%	None
VAT payable on sales to local customers	18%	0%	18%	0%	0%	Cannot trade
Withholding tax on payments to overseas shareholders?	5%	5%	5%	5%	5%	5%
Must file annual financial statements?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Monthly VAT reporting to the Government?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Social contribution tax?	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%
Access to double taxation treaties?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
This entity enjoys Government incentives?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Legally tax-exempt entity?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Company Registration	Tax resident LLC	International Trading LLC	Intl. Finance Company	Free zone LLC	Virtual IT Zone Company	Representative office
Minimum number of shareholders/partners?	1	1	1	Parent company	1	1
Minimum number of directors/managers?	1	1	1	1	1	1
Minimum paid up share capital?	US$1	US$1	US$100,000	US$1	US$1	N/A
Shareholder and Director documents must be translated?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shareholder and Director documents must be apostilled?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Foreign director must obtain work permit?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shelf companies available?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time to incorporate a new entity?	2 weeks	3 weeks	2 months	3 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks
Can easily convert to a local PLC company?	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
This entity will likely be regulated by?	Ministry of Finance	Ministry of Finance	Ministry of Finance	Ministry of Finance	Ministry of Finance	Ministry of Finance
Business Considerations	Tax resident LLC	International Trading LLC	Intl. Finance Company	Free zone LLC	Virtual IT Zone Company	Representative office
Can invoice local customers?	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Can hire local staff?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can rent local office space?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can secure resident visa for business owner?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Monthly VAT reporting to the Government?	Yes
Maximum number of staff allowed?	No maximum limit
Our Client must travel to Georgia?	No
Can be wholly foreign owned?	Yes
Maximum shareholding for foreigners?	100%
Govt. approval required for foreign owners?	No
Temp. physical office solutions available?	Yes
You need local resident as bank signatory?	No
Withholding tax on payments to shareholders?	5%
Must appoint an auditor?	Yes
Dividends received are legally tax exempt?	No
Security deposit to be kept with Government?	No
Must sign an office lease agreement?	No
S.holder/director docs attested?	Yes
Foreign non-resident director needs a work permit?	No
S.holder/director docs translated?	No
Expatriate to local staff ratio?	Depends on business activity
Other useful information
Georgia has signed free trade agreements?	Yes
Georgia is a member of WIPO/TRIPS?	Yes
Georgia is a member of the ICSID?	Yes
Average customs duties suffered?	0-12%
Average monthly office rent? (US$/sq m)	35
Minimum statutory annual salary?	US$7,1 for private and US$125 for government sectors
Average US$ salary for local skilled staff?	US$425
Overseas remittance currency controls?	None
Banking considerations
Multi-currency bank accounts available?	Yes
Corporate visa debit cards available?	Yes
Quality of e-banking platform?	Moderate

Georgia business setup summary

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Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of Georgia company registration
- Georgia is ranked the world’s 7^th easiest place to do business by the World Bank. A simple Georgia LLC:
  - Only needs to appoint 1 shareholder and 1 director, who can be any nationality;
  - Does not need any paid-up share capital;
  - Registration can be completed in 2 weeks, without travel;
  - Has a low annual maintenance fee.
- Georgia is ranked 14^th in the World Bank’s Paying Taxes 2020 index. In practice, that means international Clients benefit from an attractive tax system, from the advantages of the tax-free zones and various government incentives.
- Georgia’s geographical location benefits from:
  - China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ project. The planned railway will link China to Europe, passing through Georgia. This will open up fast routes for Georgian export businesses to faster reach Asia to Europe;
  - The country’s position on the Black Sea, with several seaports (Batumi, Poti and Anaklia), which makes it a regional logistics hub;
  - Georgia is culturally similar, and geographically close to, Russia, making it ideal for Clients wanting to expand activities into Russia.
- International clients can take advantage of reduced tariffs due to the number of existing free trade agreements Georgia has signed with:
  - The European Union, CIS countries, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, China and Hong Kong;
  - There General Schemes of Preference allow Georgian manufacturers to enjoy a lower tariff when exporting products to the United States, Canada, the EU and Japan;
  - Georgia plans to sign an FTA for goods, trade of services and investments with India and Israel.
- Georgia has signed 56 double taxation avoidance treaties with countries including India, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Ireland;
- Georgia was positively ranked the world’s 12^th freest economy in the Heritage Foundation’s 2020 Index of Economic Freedom. Georgian overall ranking has increased due to improvements on all indicators related to the rule of law;
- Clients involved in energy-intensive business can take advantage of low electricity costs of just 4 cents per kWh;
- Georgia has a talented workforce with an average monthly wage of just US$425, much lower than other European countries;
- Georgia does not automatically exchange financial data with other countries. It is not a member of the CRS and does not plan to sign an information exchange agreement in the near future;
- Georgia offers investment residence visas for international businesspeople, making it easy for entrepreneurs to relocate to the country.
Disadvantages of Georgia company registration
- Clients wishing to produce or supply goods for the domestic market face several challenges, including:
  - A population of just 3.7 million;
  - Low purchasing power. The standard of living in Georgia is also low. The National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reports that 20% of the population lives below the poverty line. Some multinational investors may find it a difficult country to adapt to;
- Georgia has a strained relationship with Russia, which can impact sentiment and investor confidence. For example:
  - Since the 2008 war, Russia’s military continues to occupy and control the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in northern Georgia. This may negatively impact Georgia economy, especially hospitality and real estate;
  - Although Azerbaijan supplies the vast majority of gas to Georgia, Georgia also depends partly on Russian gas imports. During periods of political tension with Russia, Georgia’s energy security is put at risk.
Best uses of a Georgian company
- Georgian international trading companies and international financial companies are tax efficient solutions for Clients with international operations. Such companies can benefit from complete corporate tax exemption on their worldwide income;
- Clients that wish to explore the Russian market, can consider setting up their operations in Georgia as the country allows easy access to Russia and offers several tax advantages for local companies.

Company registration

Time to incorporate: Four weeks
Cost to set up: US$11,650
Minimum capital: US$1
Physical office required: Yes

Required appointments

Shareholders: 1
Directors: 1
Company secretary: No
Resident director: No

Key facts

Corporate tax rate: 15%
Corporate tax base: Worldwide
Shelf companies: No
Main company type: LLC

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Company purpose?
Will the LLC be a trading company or a holding company?
Will the entity be a subsidiary of a foreign company?
The LLC will be tax resident? Having local customers and local staff and local suppliers?
The entity will receive investment income or professional services fees or sales from trading with multi-national customers?
Is double taxation treaty access important?
Do you need our help to legally minimize your international tax obligations?
Do you need our help to increase e-commerce sales (click link)?
Company structure?
Will the shareholders be individuals or corporate?

In what country do you require a corporate bank account? Refer to this web page (click link) for ideas

Do you need multi-currency corporate visa debit cards?

Do you need a resident director?

Nationality of shareholders and directors?
Expected annual sales and net profits?
Does the entity need a special regulatory license or import or export license?
Additional comments?
Tell us about your existing business?
Name of your existing company?
Your business web site address?
What products and services does your company supply?
How many years are you operating this business?
Is your Firm regulated by a Government agency?
In what country are the majority of your customers?

In what country are the majority of your suppliers?
Tell us about you?
Your name?
Your email address?
What country are you based in?

Specifically, what deliverables (click link) do you need?
What is your US$ budget for the services you need?
What does quality customer service mean to you?
How do we contact you?
For now, do you prefer Healy Consultants PLC staff to phone you, or just email reply you with some corporate solutions?
If a phone call, on what number can our senior Consultant call you?
If an email, what email address can our Consultant email you at?
What is your preferred date and time for a phone call?
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DOING BUSINESS IN GEORGIA IN 2020

Georgia business setup summary

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of Georgia company registration

Disadvantages of Georgia company registration

Best uses of a Georgian company

Company registration

Required appointments

Key facts

Tell us what you need - we’ll send you a customised proposal in 5 hours!

Company purpose?

Company structure?

Tell us about your existing business?

Tell us about you?

How do we contact you?

Useful links for Georgia

Contact us