The Middle East offers a wide range of business, trade, and investment opportunities and Saudi Arabia is one of the largest economies, where sectors such as technology, education, healthcare, tourism, financial services, etc are booming. Planning to a company formation in Saudi Arabia, but don’t know how to start. In order to clarify all your doubts regarding company establishment, follow the below-mentioned steps. Also, to attract foreign investment, Saudi Arabia has implemented two types of free zones. 

Steps for Company Establishment in  Saudi Arabia

Despite the current policy reforms in Saudi Arabia, the country is relentlessly pursuing its privatization initiatives and improving the ease and convenience of setting up a company. You can easily complete your company registration and carry out the formation within 6-8 months.

• Pre-incorporation Process

In this process, the planning and strategy must be done in order to proceed with the further formalities. During this phase, these are some of the items to be considered.

1. Name of the company or business
2. Business Entity types such as LLC, JSC, or other types
3. Arrange Documents such as license, board resolution, powder of attorneys, etc.

• Incorporation Process

Once you have planned everything, then company registration can begin by working continuously on different steps in order to complete the task in a short duration.

1. Investment License Application

Need to apply to the Saudi Arabian General Investment if you are a non-GCC foreign investor. The nature and size of the company operating with financial data must be stated and fill-in carefully in the SAGIA application form. After that, a pre-approved certificate confirming registration with 100% foreign ownership will be issued.

2. Articles of Association

This must be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, and once approved, the document must be notarized in order to register for Commercial Registration certification and a Tax Number, and then the Articles of Association with a company name must be published in the newspaper.

3. Registration of Company Name

Before submitting the incorporation forms, articles of association, and deed of establishment, the company name must be reserved with the Unified Centre.

4. Foreign Business Investment License Issued by SAGIA

After submitting all required documents, such as the CR, tax registration, municipality license, and bank’s share capital deposit letter and approval, SAGIA issues a foreign business investment license and allows the company to conduct business.

5. MERAS Registration

Developed by the Saudi Business Centre for the purpose of facilitating procedures for foreign companies registering in Saudi Arabia. Companies can register with a municipality and for registration physical office is required. To the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the entire complete registration has to be submitted.

The  Registration Certificate is allocated within 6 weeks and the company does tax registration. Through MERAS, companies are able to notarize their articles of association online and register with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the General Organization for Social Insurance, and the General Authority of Zakat & Tax, including Wasel registration.

6. Company Seal

CR number and company name must appear on all contracts, shareholder and management resolutions, government documents, official letters, and notices.

7. Registration at CCI

All business entities seeking company registration in Saudi Arabia must submit their certificates of membership within 30 days of CR registration to the Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI).

8. Bank Account Opening

Within 90 days of receiving the Commercial Certificate, a local bank account must be opened.

•  Post-incorporation Process

For the entire process of company formation in Saudi Arabia to be completed once the company has been incorporated, the following activities must be initiated.

• Employment Visas of Saudi Arabia
• Transformation Bank Account to a corporate bank account

 The procedure remains the same for every company set up such as the Oman company setup, the Qatar company formation, and so on.

Conclusion

Nothing can harm you and your business setup if all the legal formalities are done rightfully. Make sure to follow all three major steps sequentially and completely after these, you can go for company formation in Saudi Arabia.