A foreign legal entity may be represented and carry out its operations in the Russian Federation via a Branch or a Representative Office.

A Branch is a detached division of a foreign legal entity exercising the functions of representing and acting on behalf of the said entity.

A Representative Office is a detached division of a foreign legal entity established to represent and act on behalf of the said entity.

Branches and Representative Offices are not independent legal entities.

The presence of a Branch or a Representative Office in Russia is an important step for a foreign company to make it closer to its partners and customers and enabling it to do marketing research at minimal cost.

Opening a Branch / Representative Office in Russia is complicated for foreign companies by the significant number of accreditation agencies and the requirement to prepare, translate, and notarize the entire package of documents. Currently, depending on the core operations of the foreign entity, five different agencies may be responsible for accreditation.

Foreign companies Accreditation authority body
Lending institutions The Bank of Russia
Mass media The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (unless otherwise provided by an international treaty to which the Russian Federation is a party (article 55 of Law No. 2124-1 “On Mass Media”, dated December 27, 1991)
Airlines and other civil aviation businesses in the Russian Federation Federal Air Transport Agency and Federal Tax Service of Russia
Other foreign entities Federal Tax Service of Russia (Moscow Inter-district Inspection No. 47 of the Federal Tax Service)

Federal Law No. 106-FZ, dated May 05, 2014, grants the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation the powers to authorize establishment in the Russian Federation of branches and representative offices of foreign chambers of commerce, federations, associations, and unions of entrepreneurs.

The service of Accreditation of Branches / Representative Offices of Foreign Entities includes:

  • consultations on the matters of opening a Branch/Representative Office of a foreign entity;
  • expert examination and analysis of documents and their translations and approval thereof with the accreditation agency;
  • preparing the necessary set of documents, to include development of the Branch / Representative Office Regulations, pursuant to the Federal Law “On Foreign Investment in the Russian Federation” (as amended);
  • approval of the number of foreign personnel with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation; NB: The approval procedure is mandatory for all Branches / Representative Offices, whether or not intending to have foreign employees.
  • support during the accreditation procedure with the accreditation agency and tax registration of the Branch / Representative Office;
  • approval of the design and making of the common seal of the Branch / Representative Office of the foreign legal entity;
  • obtaining an official letter assigning business activity codes;
  • registering the Branch / Representative Office of the foreign legal entity with the Pension Fund and the Social Security Fund.

The accreditation period (duration of the document review by the registration authority, net of the time necessary for the document preparation and issuing procedures) is 25 business days from the submission of the full set of documents, plus up to 5 days for issuing the documents.

For extrabudgetary funds: 7 to 10 business days.

Mandatory costs:

  1. State duty: RUR 120,000;
  2. Fees of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry: RUR 5,000 to 15,000 (depending on the number of foreign employees);
  3. Translation and notary costs.

Additionally you may order:

  • preparing documents to open a settlement account with a bank;
  • obtaining work permits for foreign nationals;
  • legal and accounting services;
  • translation and notarization of documents;
  • registration of a foreign-invested limited liability company;
  • development and expert examination of contracts;
  • IFRS services;
  • other services required for successful business.

Our knowledge and expertise enable us to arrange accreditation of a Branch / Representative Office of a foreign legal entity within minimal delays, saving both your time and money.

Our company employs lawyers, accountants, and auditors boasting of fluent English, which will, certainly, facilitate our support of the Branch / Representative Office accreditation procedures, document drafting, and any working matters around the procedures and documents.

Our lawyers will support you in opening a Branch / Representative Office in any Russian region. We provided assistance in establishing Branches / Representative Offices for companies from both exotic jurisdictions (Lebanon, China, North and South Korea, Singapore, Japan, etc.) and traditional countries (Germany, Switzerland, UK, Italy, Latvia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, British Virgin Islands, Ukraine, Czech Republic, etc.).

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В том числе благотворительных, учредителями которых выступили крупнейшие представитель бизнеса, политические и общественные деятели;
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Учредителями которой выступили ведущие ВУЗЫ РФ;

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