Amending the documents of a foreign representation

A Representative Office of a foreign company in Ukraine is not a legal entity, which means that it does not have its own name, property or, for example, trademark.

There is a certain procedure for registering a foreign Representative Office in Ukraine, see here. Thus, during registration, a Representative Office gets an official address (place of registration) in Ukraine, management bodies (a foreigner can also become a director) and establishes relations with tax and other state authorities of Ukraine.

Please note! If the economic activity which the company is going to carry out in Ukraine through a Representative Office is subject to licensing, it will be necessary to apply for an appropriate license. Before starting a Representative Office, it’s worth consulting with lawyers as to whether it is possible to obtain a certain type of license for a Representative Office, or whether it might be more appropriate to start a subsidiary company. 

The entire registration procedure is somewhat complicated by the direct dependence on the parent company and the fact that the relationship between the parent company and the Representative Office must be properly formalized.

But the paperwork does not end with the registration of the Representative Office. During its business activity, a Representative Office may encounter circumstances that will force you to go through an almost identical procedure - making changes to the information about the Representative Office in Ukraine.

Today we will talk about the cases which require you to submit information on amending the documents of the Representative Office, and elaborate on the aspects of this procedure.

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How to make changes to the information about a Representative Office in Ukraine?

When registering a Representative Office in Ukraine, it is a non-resident company that must be registered with the controlling authority at the location of its permanent Representative Office prior to the start of its business activity through such a Representative Office. 

The procedure and documents for submitting information and making changes to the Representative Office of a foreign company will depend on the type of changes.

For example, if you intend to change the director of a Representative Office in Ukraine, you would need to submit a power of attorney for the new director and an accompanying letter, drawn up in a certain way to the Ministry of Economy.

If you change the address of your Representative Office in Ukraine, you need to notify the Ministry of Economy, a non-resident company must register with a new tax authority at the place of registration and notify the statistical office.

The period for entering information is on average 1-1.5 months. The Ministry of Economy takes up to 1 month to process the documents, the period will depend on the organization of the process and the efficiency of the employees of the state authorities.

Our lawyers will consider the types of changes you want to make in the Representative Office, and will develop the best scheme for making them.

Please note! It’s worth noting the situation when a company wants to “convert” a “non-permanent” Representative Office to a “permanent” RO.

We have already mentioned before that a Representative Office in Ukraine can be registered in two business structures. In simple words – with the possibility of conducting business activity and without such an opportunity.

In the process of doing business in Ukraine, you may want to change the type of your Representative Office to a “permanent” one to allow it to conduct profitable activities. 

It is necessary to record the decision made by your company to start operating a Representative Office registered by the Ministry of Economy for the purpose of making a profit. This step is necessary in order to mark the date of changing business activities of the Representative Office, and hence your relations with the tax authorities.

For this purpose you will need:

• To make appropriate changes to the power of attorney for the director of the Representative Office;

• To submit an application to the Ministry of Economy.

Please contact our lawyers to learn more about this procedure.

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Legal services for making changes to the documents of a Representative Office in Ukraine

Our company has been providing a full range of legal services related to registration of Representative Offices of foreign companies, branches, as well as business legal support services in Ukraine for over 14 years. We offer the following services:

• Complete registration of a foreign Representative Office in Ukraine;

• Tax consulting services related to the activities of the Representative Office in Ukraine in Ukraine, e.g. how to avoid double taxation, accounting for Representative Offices, etc;

• Tax audit assistance in Ukraine;

• Assistance with employment of staff at the Representative Office, obtaining of service cards for foreign employees;

• Obtaining necessary permits and licenses in Ukraine;

• Assistance with registering information and changes in the Representative Office.

The cost of legal support services for a foreign Representative Office in Kyiv, Ukraine, as well as the registration of information about the Representative Office can be found here or from our specialists.

Do you need help with making changes to the documents of the Representative Office in Ukraine? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We will organize the whole procedure and will help to avoid unnecessary problems with state authorities.

Didn’t find an answer to your question?

Everything about the functioning of Foreign Representative Offices in Ukraine here.

Rules of registration of Foreign Representative Offices in Ukraine here.