HOW TO INCORPORATE A COMPANY IN COLOMBIA

As it is a frequent reason for our clients to consult, we want to share the steps for the creation of a company in Colombia:

1. Choose the name of the company  verifying that the name is not already taken by another company in the country (homonymy analysis)

2. Choose the type of company to create depending on (i) the number of partners, (ii). majority for decision-making, (iii) and who should choose or change the manager (as a recommendation by the S.A.S, since its procedure is very simple and allows creating the company in Colombia being abroad in a short time) 

3. Incorporation and tax registration: submit all documents to the chamber of commerce and wait for the entity to approve the creation of the company and also register in the DIAN for the payment of national taxes (after formally registering the company in the commercial registry, it must be registered in the DIAN (for this, the NIT must be requested in the institution) 

4. Legalize foreign investment (this is done through the Banco de la República, it must be carried out around the first 3 months after the capital enters Colombia) otherwise the fine will be double the value of the investment

5. Open a business bank account.

6. Provision of information in the RUB (Single Registry of Final Beneficiaries) this must be done by all national companies and also foreign legal entities in accordance with the provisions of article 12.1 of the Tax Statute. 

7. Please don't forget (i) carry out a tax analysis to know what the company's obligations will be in (vary depending of the city of settling or selling products) (iii) also prior to hiring workers, register the company in social security (iii) if you sell products to clients in Colombia you will also need a  personal data protection policy registered in the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce.

If you need help establishing a company in Colombia, you can request a videoconference at CASTRO NIETO ABOGADOS, or contact us by phone or through WhatsApp at (+57) 300 5512091 Author  Juan Forero Rico  Paralegal