subject: Starting a Business in Brazil - Seven Steps to Set up Your Local Operating Company [print this page] After receiving the documents provided above, all of the documents will need to be legally translated into Portuguese by a Sworn/Public Brazilian translator; 4) CNPJ for Foreign Company that will be Holding Company: Having these documents translated into Portuguese, a CNPJ will then be procured for the foreign company; 5) Incorporation of the Ltda: After getting the CNPJ for the foreign company, the incorporation of the foreign company's Brazilian Ltda. can be initiated. The foreign company will need to make several decisions including: * Name suggestions for the Ltda; * Amount of the Paid Up Capital; * Purpose of the company (activities); * if the foreign company will provide the address for the company or if they will a "virtual address" to be arranged; * if the foreign company will need a "nominee partner" to hold the 0,1% participation or if he will indicate one; * also inform if the foreign company will provide a manager for the Ltda. The manager could be a foreign or Brazilian person but he must have a CPF (the Brazilian tax identification for individuals). Again someone can be arranged to be the local "manager" -- this person that could be the same "nominee partner". The foreign company would run the business through your own manager or through a POA giving an individual authority to act on behalf of the Ltda. The POA will limit what a non-employee manager can do. 6) CNPJ for Ltda: After the incorporation of the Ltda., a CNPJ can be procured for the new Ltda. 7) Ready to Conduct Business: Once the Ltda has been established and then CNPJ has been procured, the company is ready to conduct business. Then the foreign company will need to select an accountant to keep the monthly tax, accounting, and financial maintenance for the Ltda. Taxes and fees will be assessed and need to be addressed. Timeframe: As you can see, the process is quite taxing and can be time-consuming. There is a fair amount of work to be done even before filing to create the Ltda. Getting the documents, having POA's signed and having documents translated can take 1-3 weeks. Setting up the Ltda. can take about 4-5 weeks, and then obtaining the CNPJ can take another 2-4 weeks. The process will involve an attorney, an accountant, a translator and other service providers (e.g., couriers), involving fees and expenses. How to Get Started: In order to set up your company, you will need to retain an attorney, accountant and translator, or if you hire an attorney or accountant they may be able to retain the other providers. A great source for identifying attorneys, accountants and translators is B2Brazil. B2Brazil is an online directory of Brazilian service providers and exporters. B2Brazil also directly provides company start up services for foreign companies that want to conduct business in Brazil. B2Brazil would be the single-point-of-contact that the foreign company will interface with and will take care of all of the legal, accounting and other aspects relating to setting up your company. How Much Will it Cost?: Fees can vary depending on the providers you select. Online, you can see fees from US$1,000 to $50,000. If you work through several providers it may or may not cost more than a single-point-of-contact, but it will be uncoordinated and frustrating. A one-stop service is preferable and fees will depend on where the foreign company is registered, how much translation is needed, responsiveness to information requests, and so forth. B2Brazil has its own network of service providers and can provide the entire service for a flat fee. The fee is payable in US Dollars (US$) or Brazilian Reais (R$). For more information, go to B2Brazil's website.
Starting a Business in Brazil - Seven Steps to Set up Your Local Operating Company
