RS From problem to solution Accreditation Services for Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities

Accreditation Services for Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities

June 2013

Those who decide to do business and open representative offices in Russia soon face the question: whether to assign the registration matters to a third-party organization or handle them on their own. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. Practical advice for those intending to register business in the Russian Federation unassisted will be published in the next issue of Russian Survey, and now we are going to tell you аbout the services provided by International Consulting and Legal Center (ICLC) auditing company specifically to foreign companies intending to open their representative offices in Russia.

In accordance with the Russian laws, a permit (accreditation) for establishing a representative office is issued by one of the accreditation authorities, depending on the nature of business to be registered. The accreditation authority may be any of the Ministries, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the State Registration Chamber under the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, etc. A set of documents must be prepared to receive the accreditation. It should be noted as well that once a representative office is accredited, it must be registered with the tax authorities, Pension Fund, Social Insurance Fund, and included in the Consolidated State Register of Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities Accredited in the Russian Federation.

ICLC offers the following services:

  • advice on the accreditation of a foreign representative office in the Russian Federation,
  • preparation of a set of documents (including application blank forms) required to accredit a foreign representative office in the Russian Federation,
  • drafting the by-laws of a foreign legal entity’s representative office,
  • assistance in submitting the documents to a registration authority,
  • obtaining the registered documents,
  • registration with the tax authorities, Pension Fund, and Social Insurance Fund,
  • registration of a representative office with the Consolidated State Register of Representative Offices of Foreign Legal Entities Accredited in the Russian Federation.

Of course, if you contract a third-party company to provide representative office accreditation services, you want to be sure that everything will be done in a legally correct manner and with no adverse consequences. So how can you choose a company that will accredit your representative office? Here is some advice from Tatyana Vinokurova, Head of Tax and Legal Consulting Department, ICLC.

First of all, you have to consider how long the company has been working in the market, and whether it can provide you with references from its customers who have used such services.

Furthermore, when choosing a partner you should take note of other services provided by the company to the foreign representative offices. Then you can finally choose a company that will be able to support the business of your representative office in the Russian Federation, e.g. provide legal and HR services, prepare accounting statements to be submitted to the tax authorities, Pension Fund, Social Insurance Fund etc. RS