Since the beginning of the 21st century, investments in the economy of Colombia and its GDP have grown up almost six times, which indicates a serious increase in the economic attractiveness of the Latin American state. The country has ratified the Hague Convention, is meeting international double taxation rules, has risen in international Doing Business ratings by more than 40 points. At the same time, it retains its attractiveness as a convenient jurisdiction.

In favor of the view that Colombia is offshore in fact, though not in form, says that it has a lot of free zones and there is an opportunity to use zero tax rates. They are applied to the first two years of operation of small businesses with less than 50 employees and a turnover up to 1.3 million US dollars. For the most companies, tax rates are higher than -15% in the FEZ and 33% – in other areas. The VAT rate is zero.

Among the key advantages of Colombia as a place for profitable investment and business organization are:

• an absence of currency control, a tax on capital increment and stamp duties;
• the director can have any residency, it is allowed that it would be a legal entity;
• the rent for investors in priority industries (automotive, agricultural business, services, cosmetics production) is exempt from taxation;
• in the country there is a lot of skilled labor, the legislation is stable and guarantees the execution of contracts.

Organizational forms of business in the country

The registration of a company in Colombia does not take a lot of effort, and business is the most profitable in one of two forms – representation and SAS, an analog of the domestic LLC. Each of them has its advantages and features in the carrying out of activities, individual requirements to the founders, so it is better to choose the option together with an experienced consultant. Employees of “Prifinance” company are ready to provide all the necessary support in choosing the form of business, collecting and processing documents and help to open a business without bureaucratic delays and hassle.

In SAS, the minimum initial capital is 500 thousand pesos, but there are no requirements to residency and the number of shareholders or directorate. It can be citizens of any state, without work experience – the main point is that they should be without histories of financial fraud. If you chose the SAS form, the establishing of a company in Colombia will take up to three weeks, but in case of a representative office, the procedure can be delayed for more than a month. This form is convenient because it lacks requirements for the authorized capital, but for registration, it will be necessary to provide data on the “parent” business. The register in Colombia is open, information should be disclosed either to local agents.

Documents required for a company registration in Colombia

To start a business, you need a fairly large package of documentation.

• The founders-natural persons must provide their identification data, information on registration.
• The company provides the constituent documentation and, in the case of a representative office, a duly executed decision on its opening.

You will also need:

• to register the name of the company and receive a certificate about it;
• to provide information on the business field in which the company will operate;
• to translate the papers into Spanish officially and notarize them.

After the documents collecting, they are submitted to the regulatory authorities, where the package is checked and the duty is collected. The cost of registration of representative offices is higher than that of analogs of LLCs. After the commencement of operations, the company must regularly file reports, Annual Report and pass audits.