During my experience with start ups of foreign companies in Ukraine I almost always faced the fact that this process is expected to be as easy as in Western countries. I must disappoint you – this is not like that and will take much longer time and resources. Despite the fact that Ukrainian government had already made some changes in legislation and the situation is better than it was five years ago you still should be prepared to invest your forces in this procedure.
However, I must also admit that to open a company is nothing comparing to the closing it.
You might consider choosing a professional consultant for that or do it by your own forces, but in both variants it would be useful to know the main steps of company registration in Ukraine.
You may find them below. As the example Limited Liability Company (LLC) legal form is taken.
Step 1. Understand who will open your company. This may be a friend of yours, suggested partners, consultant or even a mother-in-law of your strategic director that is occasionally a resident of Ukraine. This person will represent your company in local authorities and banks.
Step 2. List the services that you will provide (e.g. wholesale, retail, laundry, chewing gun production, etc.). You need this to list it in your Ukrainian company’s statute.
Step 3. Come up with a name for your Ukrainian company. It may be something like ‘YOUR COMPANY UKRAINE LLC’. Keep in mind that if you plan to register this name as a Trade Mark in Ukraine it’s better not to use word Ukraine in it and national emblem in logo, as they are the property of the State.
Step 4. Understand where you will have a legal address of your company. You need it to write in all official registration documents. The legal address may be different from the address where you will actually reside. In usual practice you can make an agreement on nominal renting of some square meters by any legal company or again by your contact in Ukraine. By doing so keep in mind that this rented premises should have a statute of non-residential.
Step 5. Prepare money for the statutory fund. The minimal statutory fund for LLC is 100 official minimal salaries in Ukraine. For the beginning of 2009 it is 605 hryvnyas. Thus the minimal statutory fund will make 60500 hryvnyas.
Step 6. Prepare documents:
- Legalized (apostil) extract register of companies.
- Legalized (apostil) letter of attorney for authorized person (see above) with the signature right to form the Company and Statute and with the right to authorize third parties to make actions connected with governmental registration.
Step 7. Prepare founders’ documentation. These are bilingual statute and meeting minutes of founders.
Step 8. Notaries legalize your founders’ documents.
Step 9. Open a temporary account to form a statutory fund
Step 10. To transfer means of founders to statutory fund
Step 11. Get a notice from bank that your money for statutory fund arrived to your temporary account
Step 12. Apply to state registration authority.
Step 13. Register your company in Tax Administration and obligatory insurance funds.
Step 14. Register as VAT payer.
Step 15. Get permit on seal production and order the production of it.
Step 16. Open a permanent bank account.
Step 17. Register this account in Tax Administration.
