Registration Of A Joint Stock Company (sociedade Anónima) In Portugal
Portugal is a country with a loyal tax system, a low level of business burden, a high level of property insurance, the possibility of obtaining a permanent residence permit and citizenship based on investment, a warm climate all year round. Therefore, registering a company in Portugal, both for its citizens and citizens of foreign countries, is one of the important and balanced decisions. One of the most common organizational and legal forms in Portugal is a public limited liability company (PLC) or an open joint stock company (Sociedade Anónima, S.A./SA).
A joint stock company (Sociedade Anónima, S.A./SA) have the following features:
- the size of the authorized capital is not less than 50,000 euros and represented by shares with a minimum issue price of 0.01 € each. By the time of the company registration, the authorized capital must be paid at least 30%. The rest must be paid within 5 years from the date of S.A. registration in Portugal;
- the minimum number of founders is 5 people (the founders are liable proportionally to their contributions to the company);
- the shares are nominal and must be in paper form (accounting records or certificates) or may be registered with a central registry office (the Lisbon Stock Exchange (“Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa”) or a banking institution;
- There are 2 types of shares: ordinary shares ("ações ordinárias") or preferred shares ("ações preferenciais"). Preferred shares (“ações preferenciais”) are in turn divided into: preferred shares without voting rights (“ações preferenciais sem voto”) and preferred shares subject to redemption (“ações preferenciais remíveis”);
- 3 company management structures are available:
- general meeting and director;
- general meeting, director, supervisory board;
- general meeting, board of directors, supervisory board (auditor), company secretary;
- the company should obligatory have an office in Portugal.
First Legal Portugal provides a service for registering a joint stock company (Sociedade Anónima, SA/SA) throughout Portugal, including Madeira.
The main stages of registration of a joint stock company (Sociedade Anónima, S.A./SA):
- Decide on a business idea and write a business plan - our company provides services for the preparation of individual business plans;
- Search for an office premise for a future company;
- Open a bank account and deposit the minimum authorized capital - before starting the company registration, 30% of the authorized capital should be deposited;
- Come up with a unique name for the future company and get pedidos de certificado de Firma - registration (booking) of the future company name;
- Register the company in the commercial register (egisto comercial da sociedade);
- Register the company with the tax office by filing a declaration (declaração de início de atividade);
- Register with the Social Security Service;
- Register a deed of incorporation with a notary.
There are 3 options for registering a joint stock company (Sociedade Anónima, S.A./SA):
- Special mode of company registration "empresa na hora";
- Online registration via the portal - https://eportugal.gov.pt/espaco-empresa/empresa-online
- Usual (traditional) registration method.
Registering and doing business in Portugal is considered one of the most promising areas for foreign investors. This is primarily due to the fact that this is the fastest way to obtain a permanent residence permit in one of the countries of the European Union.
The main reasons why the Portuguese Republic is attractive for business:
- Low tax burden on businesses, including large businesses;
- Free economic zone Madeira;
- Free access to the market of any country of the European Union;
- Affordable conditions for obtaining a residence permit on the basis of business immigration;
- Loyal attitude towards foreign investors investing their own funds in the economy of Portugal;
- Quick registration of the company (up to 10 working days);
- Affordable prices for renting office and warehouse space for business in Portugal;
- Convenient conditions for doing business in general.
First Legal Portugal also provides a range of services for businesses in Portugal, namely:
