Register a Company via LibanPost

This guide describes a simplified process for starting and registering a business in Lebanon. Any person or a group of persons wishing to start a business and register it in Lebanon can benefit significantly from the process described in this guide. This process has been approved by the concerned authorities in Lebanon and is the result of an agreement facilitated by IFC, supported by the Prime Minister and signed on September 29, 2007 by the Ministers of Justice, Finance, Economy and Trade, and the Chairman of LibanPost.

This simplified process allows for the use of standard forms which can be obtained on line from the Web sites of the Ministry of Economy and Trade and/or LibanPost. Alternatively, hard copies of the forms can also be obtained from any LibanPost office. If you follow the instructions described in this guide to prepare the required documents and submit them to LibanPost for processing, you will save about three million Lebanese pounds (/2000/USD) in professional fees that you would otherwise pay a professional to prepare such documents and carry on the registration. Furthermore, all interactions and trips to Government offices are no longer needed as they are replaced by one or two trips to any LibanPost office of your choice. Once you submit the documents along with the required fees to LibanPost, you can expect to receive by mail at your legal address the Certificate of Incorporation (Registration), the Tax ID and any other required documents within 5 to 7 business days.   

This guide briefly describes in Part I the various legal types of business entities available in Lebanon. In Part II the guide provides a “step-by-step roadmap” guiding the reader through the process leading to a successful business registration. Appendix I contains all the standard forms (in English and Arabic) needed to complete the registration process. Appendix II contains a list of all the official fees valid as of December 2007. Appendix III contains useful legal information of general nature (In English and Arabic).

Contents

1. Introduction 

a.      Business Concern (Etablissement Commercial or Fonds de Commerce)

b.    General Partnership  (Société en Nom Collectif)

c.      Simple Limited Partnership (Société en Commandite Simple)

d.      Limited Partnership by Shares (Société en Commandite par Actions)

e.      Limited Liability Company (Société à Responsabilité Limitée « sarl »)

f.       Joint Stock Company ( Société Anonyme Libanaise « sal »)

g.      Holding Company (Société Holding)

h.      Offshore Company (Société Off Shore)

i.        Lebanese Branch of a Foreign Company

j.        Lebanese Representative Office of a Foreign Company

2. Standardized Forms ) Appendix I) 

    3.  List of official Fees as of December 2007 (Appendix II)

4. Useful General Information ( Appendix III)

This Guide is an internal document developed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC)/World Bank Group for the Government of Lebanon represented by the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The information, while based on sources that IFC considers being reliable is not guaranteed as to accuracy and does not purport to be complete. For any questions about this Guide you can contact: Georges Nicolas, IFC Projects Officer at GNicolas@Ifc.Org