Requirements to Start a Small Business in Sri Lanka

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After the civil war came to an end, Sri Lanka is showing promising economic development for foreign emerging businesses. Especially small businesses are erecting every now and then. Keeping the annual GDP growth rate at an impressive state for the past several years. Such improvement is a result of dynamic governmental business initiatives and wise commercial strategies undertook by Sri Lankan commerce and economy body.

Requirements to Start a Small Business in Sri Lanka

Although the governmental procedures are favoring all types of business investors, the profit largely impacts on small business startups. At present, Sri Lankan authorities are providing many flexibilities on sustainable business plans that are in minimal range but have future prospective of expansions. 

So, what are the requirements to start a small business in Sri Lanka? Let’s give a brief overview of what a new entrepreneur must do to legally introduce a small business in the Sri Lankan trade market. Keeping in mind that a new investor must follow some governmental procedures to validate his/her company. This article will give a clear concept of requirements to start a small business in Sri Lanka

Propose a unique name for your business
The very first thing a small business or any type of business in Sri Lanka need is a unique name. Keep in mind that the name shouldn’t match with any other existing company’s name here in Sri Lanka. Once chosen, register the selected identity from the department of the company registrar in Sri Lanka. 

It is advised to propose more than one name so that in case anyone's name gets rejected, other chosen names remain as backup. Once registered and approved, the following name can be kept as a reserve for the next three months after application approval. Meanwhile, the applicant has to pay a charge of 1000 Sri Lankan rupees for this whole registration procedures.

Prepare legal documents and paperwork
Be ready with all the legal forms relevant to the company registration in Sri Lanka, including Company name approval papers. Collect MOA forms. Once the registration procedure is complete, the designated authority will publish full company details on the schedule. The published information typically includes company name, address, contact number, business registration number, company type, etc. 

Appoint a company secretary
At this point, a business seeks a company secretary. In case the owner of the small business is native, he/she can play the role of a company secretary. However, in the case of a foreign investor, a professional secretary from Sri Lanka is compulsory. This secretarial designation is compulsory as soon as the business turnover is more than three million. 

SEC approval is necessary
Additional SEC approval under Section 29(A) is necessary if the company has public shares in national stock exchange. 

It takes approximately a month to fulfill the requirements of business formation. All these requirements demand expertise assistance to carry out legal and governmental processes systematically. S&F consulting firm is a well-reputed business consulting company that deals with business formations on behalf of the company’s valuable clients. Here business experts are standby to identify client’s business needs and assist in company formation in Sri Lanka.

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