How to register your business in Uganda.

Registering a business is an important step to take to establish your company and be recognized as legitimate. Registering your business with the government will provide you with many benefits, such as tax exemptions and more. Yes, it’s a little tricky to convince a small start-up to register as the locals especially in Uganda think about tax when you talk about registration, it’s not all about that.

We’ll walk you through the process to register your business in Uganda, what documents you will need, how to fill them out, who can help, and the benefits or reasons you need to register your business.

To start with, it’s appropriate we first discuss;

Why you should register your business.

• It Safeguards your business name through acquiring a trade name.

A trade name can’t be shared. You’ll realize how important this is when you grow your brand. New businesses will wish to have names similar to yours to confuse people into buying their products. Registering your business will get you a name to develop that will sell your products.

• Registration makes a business Obtain a legal Identity/status.

This makes the business’s existence identified and acknowledged by the law. This is important as most customers want to deal with legally known businesses

• It’s easier to market or advertise for a registered business.

Your brand name can be used for reference to your product. It further eases marketing as when you speak it, people know exactly what you are talking about.

• Registered businesses easily access opportunities such as financing, tenders and more.

Registering your business makes it eligible for tendering and looking for market legally and professionally. Heavy buyers like the government band NGOs often prefer to deal with registered businesses as they claim they are authentic.

• Business formalization creates more markets for the business products and services.
• Improved business presence in the market.

Registration gives a business a sound presence in the market and enables it to ably compete with others especially the established ones as all the businesses have the Same status.

In this article, I’ll limit the registration process to a local business for those who locally live in Uganda and a foreign one that is incorporated in Uganda Mainly for those abroad that wish to startup businesses in Uganda.

It’s important to note that;

A business name is a name under which any business is carried out. It’s different from a company as a company is a separate legal entity with its own identity in law. It mainly helps indemnify yourself or your service in trade hence distinguishing your business from others.

Registration of a business name is simple and it is discussed below.

Below are the steps to register your business in Uganda.

Registering a business name.

• Search for the availability of the business name.

This is discussed in detail below.

• Reserve the name.

This shall involve payment of reservation fees and is further discussed below.

• Pay registration fees.

In Return, you’ll receive a certificate of registration of a business name. All this shall be carried out by the responsible body that is URSB. (Uganda Registration Services Bureau)

Read also: How to write a business plan.

How to register your local business in Uganda.

To register a local business in uganda, we start with;

Search for the business name.

This is the first step in registering your business. It’s not tedious as it takes a short while and it’s free. It is to search and see whether your business name is still around. All you need to do is fill in the reCAPTCHA and the business name or identity and search. The responsible agency is the URSB. You can use this link for the business name search.

Reserve the Business Name.

Reserve your business name so that it’s not taken if your intentions are not to register right away. This is after the business name passes the similarity, defensive, offensive, and desirability tests. A reservation only lasts 30 days before registration. This takes a short time of fewer than 3 hours. Uganda Registration Services Bureau charges a fee of 20000 Ugx for this. You can reserve your business name Here

Business/ company registration.

 After name reservation, up next is registering your business. This process requires the following documents;

• Memorandum of understanding

A memorandum of understanding is an agreement between two or more parties written in a formal document. It is not legally binding but indicates the willingness of parties to enter into a contract.

•  Article of association.

Articles of association is a document that specifies the regulations for a company’s /business operation and defines its purpose. This document should be signed by the lawyer.

•  Company forms (these you can pick them from URSB or download them online here

The fees paid vary based on your business share capital.

Obtain Certificate of Incorporation.

This is a legal document relating to the formation of a business or company.

After reservation, you file the following forms

•  Form 20-Appointing Directors & Secretary
•  Form 18-Address of the company, draft Memorandum & Articles of Association.
•  File Form A1 and S-18

You can obtain these forms from URSB or download them online

After filling the forms, attach a copy of valid I.D and a passport photograph, and scan the documents and submit them to URSB. Here is a link for that.

Note: Attach proof of payment while submitting the the forms .

After submission, it may take up to a week then you can pick your certificate of incorporation.

Obtain an Investment License.

This is a license that allows you to sell and market investments. In Uganda, the Uganda Investment Authority is responsible. It can take up to 5 days and it’s Free of Charge.

Obtain a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

The Uganda Revenue Authority issues this out. It can take up to 10 Days at zero cost unless otherwise. You can visit the URA offices or their website for more information about this.

Trading License.

 A trading license is a certificate that permits the applicant to commence a particular business in an area. The local City Council issues this out. It can cost from Ugx 80000 to Ugx 500000 depending on your business. The process of obtaining a trading license can take up to 1 day and usually, the authority checks the business premises to see if they comply with the minimum requirements for that business.

Registration with National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

The National Social Security Fund organization is responsible for this registration. It applies to all employers with 5 or more employees. Usually, it is a cost-free service.

The forms required in the registration are

• Employer registration form
•  registration form.

You can get these forms from your nearest NSSF branch feel them and submit them. After submission, it can take up to a week to have the process completed.

You can also register online at their website.

Make a Company Seal.

A company seal marks documents as official and authentic. It can take up to one day to make a company seal.

Open a bank account in your new company’s name.

Finally, as you know, we are in business to make money, it’s to open up bank accounts for your business after registration in your business names. This is a requirement by most banks when getting a business loan and payment in the bank for the purchase of goods is a good option, especially for big transactions. Have this at the back of your mind.

How to register a foreign business in uganda

A foreign company is incorporated in another country (Uganda). If you have such a company and wish to do business locally, then you must register it locally. Below are the steps to register a foreign company.

Certified copies of Memorandum of Articles of Association or Charter or Constitution and Certificate from the country of origin duly witnessed.

You can pick these forms from URSB or download them online Here

Forms;

24 Particulars of Directors and Secretary

13 Statement of all subsisting charges

List of Names and Address of Persons Resident in Uganda authorized to accept service on behalf of the company

26 Address and Principal Office of Company.

Conclusion.

You now have a lot of information about how to register your new business in Uganda . It’s time for you to take the next step and make it happen! If this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry, we can help with all of these steps so that you stay on track. For more information, contact us today. We’re happy to provide any resources needed from our team of experts who will be available at every stage in the process so that everything goes smoothly without a hitch. Now is an exciting time as you start your business journey, let’s get going by taking care of those first few items listed here!

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