About the Country. Doing Business Introduction

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2 About the Country The Republic of ( ) is a country in Africa and a founding member of the East African Community (EAC) and shares border with Tanzania to the south and southwest, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, and Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. The below content will explain you in detail about the requirements for company formation in, know more about the process of trademark registration in and understand the Legal Compliance requirements. Doing Business Introduction Economy is the largest by GDP in East and Central Africa. The country traditionally exports tea and coffee and flowers. While investing in factors like industry and type of business, nationality and trade agreements need to be taken into consideration by the foreign Investor. As per Doing business report of The World Bank ranks 92 for 2017 survey. IMC professionals are able to assist client with any type of company formation, trademark registration and other recurring services for your business in. Incorporation Types of Business Entities There are different types of entities that can be incorporated in are as mentioned below: Corporation Public companies Private companies Branch office Representative Office Time Frame for Incorporation of Company in varies from depending on the type of entity selected. Each business type has its own advantages and disadvantages. IMC estimates the time required for Company formation process to be completed is working days. Benefits of Registration of a Company s capital, Nairobi, is the largest city in East Africa is home to the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), one of Africa s biggest and most lively stock exchanges. There are number of opportunities for doing business in below are some of the advantages of company formation in : Considered the economic, commercial, and logistics hub of East Africa Strength of s human resources young country with almost 70 percent of the population under the age of 35 Their large number of well-educated English-speaking, and multi-lingual professionals Information communications technology (ICT) is one of the fastest growing business sectors Financial and manufacturing industries, while relatively modest, are the most sophisticated in East Africa Page 2 of 7

3 Country Overview Capital Nairobi Largest city Nairobi Total Area 581,309. Sq. Km. Population 46,661,552 Density 78 / Sq. Km. Currency n Shilling (KES) Government Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic Official Language English, Kiswahili Religion Christian: 83% Muslim: 11.2% Indigenous beliefs: 1.7% Non-religious: 2.4% Government Offices Hours Monday to Friday ( and ) Business Offices Hours Monday to Friday ( and ) Banks and Exchange Houses Hours Monday to Friday - 8:30 am 4:00 pm Saturday am to Noon Sunday - Weekly Holiday Page 3 of 7

4 Tax Registration and Filing The following tax structure gives an overview of Corporate Taxes in. Tax Structure Corporate Income Tax Rate 30% Turnover Tax Rate 3% Capital Gains Tax Rate 5% Branch Tax Rate 37.5% Value-Added Tax On Imported Goods and Services - 16% Dividends 10% Interest 15% Royalties 20% Commissions 20% Management, Professional and Training Fees 20% Double-Tax Treaty Double Tax Agreements regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in situations where the same taxpayer is taxed twice in two countries for the same subject. has double taxation treaties with Canada, India, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, France, South Africa, Zambia and Germany. Page 4 of 7

5 Legal and Compliance Requirements In, the responsibility of legal compliance is not a one-time affair, but a continuous process. Below is the various legal and compliance requirement to be followed by incorporated entities: All private limited Companies and partnership must prepare annual financial statements and file these at the Company Registrar within 9 months of the accounting reference date, while public limited companies must file their financial statements at the Company Registry within 6 months of the accounting reference date. Also, the public listed companies must file their financial statements at the Capital Markets Authority within 4 months of the accounting reference date IMC professionals can assist you in Legal and compliance requirements Banking The Bank of controls inbound and outbound investments and transfers of money in. The documentation requirement differs from Bank to Bank and need to be complied for the Bank account opening. The Central Bank of located in Nairobi is the s central bank. The major banks in are ABC Bank (), Bank of Africa, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Barclays Bank of, Chase Bank (In Receivership), Citibank, Commercial Bank of Africa, Consolidated Bank of, Cooperative Bank of, Credit Bank, Development Bank of, Diamond Trust Ban. All banks are stable, reliable and offer the same level of services. IMC professionals can facilitate all the paper work in relation to banking need and can assist you in opening bank account for your business plan in. Page 5 of 7

6 Company Secretarial Compliance Below are some of the important points in relation to Company Secretarial Compliance in : For Public Company requires at least two directors whereas Private Company requires One Director Minimum one members with no maximum membership for a Public Companies, whereas Minimum two members and a maximum of fifty (50) excluding employees are required for Private Companies. Public companies are strictly regulated hence the financial accounts are published and filed with the Registrar while the same is not required for a Private Limited Company authorized capital/ nominal capital prescribed for the public Companies is Kshs. 6, 750,000 whereas for Private Companies no such requirement The Public or Private Limited Company Must have a Company Secretary duly appointed and practicing in accordance with the law Accounting Services The Companies Act requires the Director to lay before the members once a year, Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet. Further insists that proper books of account must be prepared to cover the period, in case of first accounts, the period starting from the incorporation, and subsequent/preceding accounts made up to a date not earlier than nine months before the date of the meeting. IMC professionals can assist you with the entire bookkeeping and accounting services for your Business Set up as per your business needs including implementation of financial accounting software, accounting records preparation and time to time preparation of budgets, forecasts. Auditing Services In, the listed companies are required to prepare their financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) while all other companies or partnerships in are subject to any other requirements have the option to prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS for SMEs or full IFRS. Based on the size of the business the companies are required to prepare and file financial statements with the Authority. IMC professionals provide you auditing services for your business as required by your business. Page 6 of 7

7 HR and Employment Law and Immigration / Visa Below are some of the important points in relation to HR & employment law in : Normal working hours usually consist of 45 hours of work per week -generally eight hours from Monday to Friday, and five hours on Saturday. Overtime if any paid at the rates of one and one-half time hourly rate on weekdays, and at the rate of twice the basic hourly rate on Sundays and public holidays. Employee is entitled to rest from work after working for six consecutive days. does not clearly provide for rest intervals/breaks during working hours Employee required to work on a holiday will be paid overtime for the hours worked at twice the ordinary basic hourly rate. The visitors from British Commonwealth countries, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, San Marino, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Uruguay do not require visa and are issued visitors passes at the point of entry. Special pass, which is issued to foreign nationals wishing to work in on a short-term assignment Students pass, which is issued to foreign students who wish to study in The Employer need to obtain entry permit that allows a foreign national to work in. Foreign nationals who are over 18 years of age and stay in the country for more than 90 days must register as aliens. The work permits are issued only to persons whose employment, business or presence will benefit the country. Trademark Registration For trademark registration in, application needs to be made to Industrial Property Institute. It takes approximately months timeframe to complete the trademark registration process. A Trademark Registration in is valid for 10 years from the application date and can be renewed indefinitely for period of renewal fees for 10 years by making request before the expiry date. IMC professionals are fully equipped to assist you with the process of trademark registration in for your business in. For assistance or advice in the matter of the trademark registration in or intellectual property please feel free to write or contact us. Get a FREE Quote for Company formation in For more details, please contact bc@intuitconsultancy.com.you can also visit Information collated from published sources. Readers are advised to verify for correctness and latest information. Page 7 of 7