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Understand the Jurisdictions Setup Requirement Before Proceed Your Register Company in Uruguay
Located in South America on the Atlantic coast between Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay is rising to be one of the ideal investment destinations in South America. Spanning over approximately 176,000 square kilometres (not including the territorial waters), Uruguay is home to a population of around 3.5 million. Despite being one of the young nations with less than 200 years since its formation, Uruguay has seen a growth over the years.
Why Setup Business in Uruguay
The location of Uruguay has its geostrategic significance – It is the springboard for investors to access to larger economies in the region. It is strategically located within MERCOSUR, an economic and political bloc comprising Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, and Venezuela. Uruguay is a permanent link for land and maritime communications between the MERCOSUR, especially Argentina and Brazil.
From 2013-2017, Uruguay’s average economic growth rate was 4.3%, underpinned by strong performance of raw material production (i.e. meat, grains, wool, wood cellulose pulp and so on). In addition, other sectors like tourism, information technology, finance, logistics as well as shared service centres are growing fast to be the important pillars that support the Uruguayan’s economy. As part of the MERCOSUR member, imports of goods from any MERCOSUR countries are exempted from custom tariffs (with an exception to goods under exemption regimes or those goods from sugar industry and automotive industry).
Company Registration in Uruguay
Limited Liability Partnership (Sociedad de Responsibilidad Limitada – S.R.L.) is the most common and one of the widely used business type in Uruguay. The company registration process of an S.A. or an S.R.L. is quick and straightforward with no minimum amount of capital is needed (except for financial and insurance companies).
Basic requirements at one glance:
a) Company Name
- Uruguay companies must pick a unique name (that is not the same to any existing company names).
b) Office Address and Local Agent
- Uruguay companies are required to have a local registered agent and a local office address.
c) Shareholders
- It is a requirement that all companies must have at least two shareholders.
- No maximum number of shareholders.
- Shareholders do not need to be Uruguay’s residents.
d) Directors and Officers
- Uruguay companies must have a minimum of one director
- No maximum number of directors.
- Directors do not need to be Uruguay’s residents.
e) Authorized Capital
- No minimum authorized capital requirements.
In addition to that, there are a few steps for the company registration need to be taken:
- The National Audit Office (AIN) has to approve the company bylaws.
- The National Trade Register (RNC) has to register the bylaws.
- The Official Gazette and another newspaper have to publish them in the form of an excerpt.
After the above process, the company must be registered in the following entities:
- The National Tax Administration Office (DGI) – to be granted a unique taxpayer number (RUT).
- The Ministry of Work and Social Security (MTSS) – if the company is hiring staff
- The Social Security Administration (BPS) – if the company is hiring staff
- The State Insurance Bank (BSE) – if the company is hiring staff
If you are looking forward to expanding your business in Latin America, Uruguay is one of the ideal investment destinations that you can consider.