Information Guide

The process of registering a business begins with a verification of the uniqueness of the business name and then with the registration of the business in the Commercial Registry. These two administrative procedures are carried out by the ODPIC within the Single Window.


Estimated assembly time

3 working days (subject to a complete file)


CONTACT INFORMATION

Single Window
Bat. of the Post Office of Djibouti
Blvd. of the Republic – Djibouti
PO: 1884
Phone: (+253) 21 33 34 00
Website: www.guichet-unique.dj

Djiboutian Agency for the Promotion of Investment (ANPI)
Marseille-Djibouti street
Phone: +253 21 32 73 52
Email: contact@djiboutinvest.com
Website: www.djiboutinvest.com

COMPANY REGISTRATION

The registration of a business or a company with the competent authorities constitutes the gateway to the sphere of formal and structured commercial and industrial activities. This means that your investment obtains a legal status, which also facilitates access to banking services (bank loans, L / C, transfer & transfer etc.); as well as opportunities such as tenders in public and private markets .

The one-stop shop is the institution in charge of business registration in the Republic of Djibouti. It is an entity placed under the supervision of the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments which was created by Decree No 2013-114 / PR / MDCC on the attribution, operation and organization of the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments under the supervision of the Ministry in charge of Investment at the Presidency.

This window brings together several branches representing public and parapublic institutions involved in the registration and creation of businesses.

The aim of this counter is to facilitate administrative procedures for national and foreign promoters and to remove all obstacles likely to hinder the creation and launch of a business.

To materialize this objective, the 3 P rule prevails at the one-stop shop:

  • One payment for promoter invoices.
  • A single process for processing files.
  • A single front door for requests.

This counter has also set up an integral information system that manages and coordinates the entire process and the time required to create a business, estimated at 3 days, subject to completing all the necessary documents.

To date, the Single Window operates in Djibouti city, but in the context of decentralization, the will of the Government and the ANPI is to extend the services of the single window to the interior regions.

In the Republic of Djibouti, three partners are involved in the business creation process:

  • The ODPIC (Djibouti Office of Industrial and Commercial Property) for registration in the Trade Register ;
  • The Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) for tax registration ;
  • The CNSS (National Social Security Fund) for registration with Social Security .

In my information with these partner institutions for business creation, I found that women promoters have the same services during registration and support in the formalities of creation. Among the promoters questioned, the female promoters declared that they had not suffered any form of discrimination and specific procedures.

In this report, we will present to you the institutions involved in business creation, the roles and responsibilities of the partners, the business creation procedures in force, the main legal forms registered, the list of regulated professions as well as advantages granted by the State to promoters.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTNERS

  • The mission of the ODPIC is to:

1 . Issue negative certificates, a mechanism that allows trade names and brands to be protected, as well as the registration of trade names and brands;

2 . Proceed with the registration of natural and legal persons in the trade and companies register as well as the publication of legal announcements;

3 . Disseminate to the public all information necessary for the registration of traders in the commercial register as well as the commitment to any awareness-raising and training action in this area.

  • The DGI is responsible for:

1 . Register the articles of association of companies;

2 . Register commercial leases;

3 . Assign the Tax Identification Number to natural and legal persons with the exception of those established in the Free Zone;

4 . Issue the activity license for the start of the activity of the company and the natural person;

5 . Collection from the receiver of the Single Window revenue office, the costs of registration of the articles of association and stamp duties as well as all of the administrative costs for the other formalities;

  • The CNSS has the task of:

1 . Proceed with the affiliation of a professional employer and the registration of all its employees in accordance with the legislative provisions in force;

2 . Issue the registration notification.

THE MAIN LEGAL FORMS OF COMPANY CREATION

At the one-stop shop, the main types of company registered are:

  • Individual business
  • Sole Proprietorship with Limited Liability (EURL)
  • Limited liability company (SARL)
  • Public limited company (SA)
  • Simplified joint stock company (SAS)

The foreign investor does not need a Djiboutian partner to start a business in Djibouti except for certain regulated activities.

REGULATED PROFESSIONS

occupations

Applicable Laws and Regulations

Dated

Ministries / Institutions granting Approval

Lawyers

Law N°236/AN/87

25-Jan-87

Ministry of Justice, Penitentiary Affairs Responsible for Human Rights

Notary

Law N°170/AN/02/4th L

07-Jul-02

accountants

Law No. 63/AN/83/1st L

25-aug-83

Certified translators

Order No. 80-1184/PR

09-aug-80

Architects

Law N°53/AN/83

04-Jun-83

Ministry of Housing, Urbanism, Environment, and Tourism

Real estate agents

Law N°146/AN/80

16-sept-80

Ministry of Housing, Urbanism, Environment, and Tourism

Doctors

Law No. 56/AN/79

25-Jan-79

Ministry of Health

Pharmacy

Law N°45/AN/91/ 2nd L

Salt Mining

Mining Code

Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources

freight forwarders

Law N°83/AN/00/4th L

09-Jul-00

Ministry of Equipment and Transport

Peach

Law N°187/AN/02/4th L

02-Sep-02

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and the Sea, in charge of Hydraulic Resources

Hotel

Law n°37/AN/99/4th L

16-May-99

State Secretariat for Youth and Sports

Bailiff

Law n°36/AN/09/6th L

21-Feb-09

Ministry of Justice, Penitentiary Affairs, Responsible for Human Rights

Assurance

Law N°40/AN/99/4th L

08-Jun-09

Minister of Finance and National Economy

Bank

Law N°92/AN/05/5th L

16-Jan-02

Central Bank of Djibouti

Private security and guarding activity

Law n°202/AN/07/5th L

22-Dec-07

Ministry of Interior

Source: ANPI

BENEFITS GRANTED BY THE STATE TO PROMOTERS:

These advantages granted are:

  • Exemption from the business license ( from class 5 to class 8) for the first 3 years.
  • The reduction of capital registration fees to 10,000 FDJ ($57)
  • Affiliation to the CNSS : No staff list required at the beginning of the creation of the company.
  • The cost of setting up a business has fallen from DJF 173,500 ($978) to just DJF 23,000 ($130).

THE COMPANY CREATION PROCESS

As part of improving the business climate with the World Bank quotdoing businessquot, the Republic of Djibouti has undertaken reforms in business creation. In 2018, Djibouti recorded an increase of 55 ranks in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business global ranking. In 2019, Djibouti ranked among the top 100 economies, ranked 99th in the world. The country is one of the 10 economies that improved the most in three or more areas measured by Doing Business. Over the past year, Djibouti has seen 6 reforms in the areas measured by the report: starting a business, transferring property, protecting minority investors, obtaining loans, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

Business creation has been facilitated by the establishment of a one-stop shop for new businesses.

Procedure

Abstract

New company registration process

The process of registering a business begins with a verification of the uniqueness of the business name and then with the registration of the business in the Commercial Registry. These two administrative procedures are carried out by the ODPIC within the Single Window

For legal persons, promoters must first draft a statute for the company either under private seal or with the support of a lawyer or a legal professional (Notary)

Location
One-stop shop

Links to online information

One-stop shop

www.guichet-unique.dj

ANPI

http://www.djiboutinvest.com

http://www.theguides.org

Steps to follow

1. Reception : search for anteriority of the

commercial name at the reception by the officers of the ODPIC

2. The Reception Service :

(i) verifies the conformity of the form and the documents to be attached;

(ii) calculate all charges and establish the bill of charges;

3. The Receiver collects the costs, and establishes the receipt.

4. The Reception Service registers the application file in the Integrated Information System and gives the file number

5. The ODPIC Delegate :

(i) carries out the registration with the negative certificate and the RCS;

(ii) delivers the receipt to the Trade Register;

(iii) publishes the legal notice on the Guichet Unique and ODPIC websites.

6. The DGI Delegate registers the articles of association and the commercial lease, carries out the registration (NIF) and issues the business license.

7. The CNSS Delegate registers the Employer

8. The Reception Service provides the

Promoter/agent after 3 days of processing all official documents

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Physical person

1. A photocopy of the National Identity Card (CNI) and for foreigners, a photocopy of the valid passport or residence permit

2. An activity license for a regulated activity, if required;

3. A sworn statement (the form of which is available and delivered on site or available online), signed by the promoter (or his representative) and attesting that he is not subject to any of the prohibitions to practice trade. Said sworn statement is supplemented, within six months from the date of registration, by an extract from the criminal record;

4. Lease contract for recording, if necessary signature of a letter of commitment;

5 . Three (3) photos, black on white or color

Corporation

1. A photocopy of the National Identity Card (CNI) of the promoter or his agent and for foreigners, a photocopy of the passport or valid residence permit.

2. An activity license for a regulated activity, if required;

3. The power to bind the company or legal person for the agent;

4. Two copies of the statutes certified true;

5. A sworn statement (the form of which is given on site), signed by the promoter and attesting that he is not subject to any of the trade prohibitions. Said sworn statement is supplemented, within six months from the date of registration, by an extract from the criminal record;

6. Lease contract for recording, if necessary signature of a letter of commitment.

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

Physical person

ODPIC fees

Registration in the commercial register: 18,000 FDJ ($102)

Negative certificate= 5,000 FDJ ($28)

DGI fees*

- Commercial Lease Registration and Stamp Duty

- the activity license

CNSS fees (free)

Single Window Fees

File fees = 1000 FDJ ( 6 $)

*lease costs depend on the location of the head office;

*Patent fees depend on the type of activity.

Corporation

ODPIC fees

Registration in the commercial register: 18,000 FDJ ($102)

Negative certificate= 5,000 FDJ ($28)

DGI fees*

- Registration of the commercial lease

- Registration of statutes and Stamp duties

- Right of registration of share capital

- the activity license

CNSS fees (free)

Single Window Fees

- Application fees = 1,000 FDJ ( 6 $)

*Lease costs depend on the location of the head office;

*Patent fees depend on the type of activity.

Estimated assembly time


3 working days (subject to a complete file)

CONTACT


Single Window

Bat. of the Post Office of Djibouti

Blvd. of the Republic – Djibouti

BP: 1884

Phone: (+253) 21 33 34 00

Website: www.guichet-unique.dj

Djiboutian Agency for the Promotion of Investment (ANPI)

Marseille-Djibouti Street

Phone: (+253) 21 32 73 52

Email: contact@djiboutinvest.com

Website: www.djiboutinvest.com

We can conclude that business creation has improved a lot with the establishment of a one-stop shop. Any person, regardless of their nationality or place of residence, their sex has support services for business creation in the Republic of Djibouti. The registration of your company in Djibouti is done within a maximum period of 3 days.

angle-left Roles and responsibilities: ODPIC, DGI, CNSS

Roles and responsibilities: ODPIC, DGI, CNSS

The mission of the ODPIC is:

1 . Issue negative certificates, a mechanism that protects trade names and signs as well as proceeding with the registration of trade names and signs;

2 . Proceed with the registration of natural and legal persons in the trade and companies register as well as the publication of legal announcements;

3 . Disseminate to the public all information necessary for the registration of traders in the commercial register as well as the commitment to any awareness-raising and training action in this area.

The DGI is responsible for:

1 . Register the statutes of companies;

2 . Register commercial leases;

3 . Assign the Tax Identification Number to natural and legal persons with the exception of those established in the Free Zone;

4 . Issue the activity license for the start of the activity of the company and the natural person;

5 . Collection from the receiver of the Single Window revenue office, the costs of registration of the articles of association and stamp duties as well as all of the administrative costs for the other formalities;

The CNSS has the task of:

1 . Proceed with the affiliation of a professional employer and the registration of all its employees in accordance with the legislative provisions in force;

2 . Issue the registration notification.