Directions for registration of a Representative office

A Representative office is a duly authorized institution or person which represents the interests of a foreign economic entity in Ukraine.

The  legislation of Ukraine provides mainly  two  types of Representative offices of foreign companies:

• Permanent Representation  (a Representative office  through which all or part of the economic activity is carried out by non-residents in Ukraine);
• Noncommercial Representation (a Representative office whose activities are only preparatory or auxiliary in character relative to the main activity of a parent company).

Registration of a Representative office  is carried out by  the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, in particular by the Department for Trade and Economic Missions and Foreign Representative Offices.

Unless  otherwise  stipulated  by  international  treaties  of  Ukraine, documents  submitted  for  registration  of  a  Representative  office  must  be notarized at  the place of  their  issuance, duly  legalized at  the consular office representing  interests of Ukraine. These documents must be  translated  into Ukrainian and certified by a translator.

The relevant documents shall be submitted to the Ministry of Economic Development  and Trade  of Ukraine within  6 month  from  the  date  of  their issuance in the country where a registered office of an economic entity is located.

Subject to the acceptance of the documents for registration, an applicant is given a bank account’s details for payment of state dues in amount of USD 2 500.00.

Provided  that  the  submitted  documents  meet  all  the  requirements, the Ministry  of Economic Development  and Trade  of Ukraine  shall  pass  a decision on registration of a Representative office and consequently issue the Representative office  a  registration  certificate with  a  corresponding number (not later than after 60 working days after the state due is paid). Registration records  shall  be  included  into  the Register  on Representative  offices,  being kept by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.

A  Representative  office  of  a  foreign  economic  entity  is  considered  to be  established  from  the  date  of  registration  by  the Ministry  of  Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.

Foreign staff of a Representative office shall be issued special service cards, valid on  the  territory of Ukraine. Service cards’  issuance  formalities  shall be conducted within 15 working days from the moment when all the necessary documents  are  submitted.  Should  the  powers  of  a  service  card  owner  be terminated, the card shall be returned to the place of  issuance. Each foreign officer of a Representative office shall be issued a separate service card with a validity term for not longer than 3 years.

In order for a seal to be manufactured, it is necessary to address a   company which specializes in manufacturing seals and stamps. The procedure to obtain a  seal, as a  rule,  takes one-day and  requires  submission of documents, which include a Representative office registration certificate, a copy of a certificate from the Unified State Register of Legal Persons and Natural Persons – Entrepreneurs, a power of attorney in the name of Representative office manager etc.

Provided that a Representative office conducts economic activity on the territory of Ukraine, such a Representative office must be registered with the tax authority serving this location. Permanent Representation must be registered with the Tax Inspection Authorities within 10 days from the day of registration and obtain a certificate of registration therefrom. The legislation of Ukraine does not require obligatory registration of Noncommercial Representation with the Tax Inspection authorities. Nevertheless, if a Noncommercial Representation intends to establish an account with the banking institutions of Ukraine, the registration with the Tax Inspection Authorities shall be obligatory.

Moreover,  it  is necessary  to obtain  a  registration  certificate  in  the Pension Fund, which  constitutes  an obligatory document  for  establishing bank accounts on the territory of Ukraine. This certificate is also required in the case of employment of Ukrainian employees by a Representative office.