Setting up a company in Latvia

In order to be a legal entity and to undertake business activities all companies must be registered with the Latvian Registry of Companies and also as taxpayers with the State Revenue.

Preliminary activities before registering a Latvian Limited liability (LLC) and Latvian joint stock companies (JSC)
Companies in Latvia function based on a document of association, providing the rules applied to all members, their functions, names and addresses the articles of association must also mention the purpose of the activities of the company, the structure of the managing board (board of directors and council of the company). According to the Commercial Code the application at the Commercial Register has to be notarized, unlike the company charter. The LLC and JSC members have to sign the company charter and provide their data, including capital, shares, or contributions made. The company must reserve a unique name that differentiates it from other companies. Before a Latvian company can function, it has to have a bank account and a receipt of reference.

Registration in the Latvian Commercial Register
Both types of Latvian companies must register at the Commercial Register of Latvia, submitting an application and attached documents. This can be done by founders, or any other person authorized to do so. The registration application, which is a special form provided by the Registry, completed with the companies data and signed in front of a public notary, must be filed to the Commercial Registry. Also the application has to contain the company charter, for JSC, or the foundation act for LLC, the receipt, or deed that certifies the bank deposit, in the case of LLC, or the contributions, shares added by the shareholders, in the case of JSC. The last documents needed are the receipt confirming the state fee payment, the receipt confirming the payment for publication in the Official Gazette, Latvijas V?stnesis and notarized sample signatures of the members of the board of directors.

Register with Latvian State Revenue Service (tax authority) for VAT
Every company developing commercial activity on the territory of Latvia must submit to tax authority, for VAT. In order to do that, entrepreneurs must fill a VAT form and submit it to the State Revenue Service. The certificate is issued within 15 days of submission and the taxpayer may issue tax invoices, and deduct input tax.

Register employees for mandatory state social insurance contribution with the State
A company with employees must submit information about each employee on the basis of the Registration Card of Mandatory State Social Insurance Contributions to the territorial agency of the State Revenue Service.

Founding a Latvian company from abroad
Foreign entrepreneurs have to follow the same rules Latvian entrepreneurs, but the company's legal address has to be located in the Republic of Latvia. Still the business may be established and run from abroad, providing that an authorized assignee deals with all the necessary paperwork.

How long does it take to found a Latvian company?
Most of the procedures take 1 to 3 days to complete, while registering for VAT tax, at the State Revenue Service is finished within 10 days. In Latvia a company is ready to function in two weeks, more or less.