Set Up a General Partnership in Russia

Foreign citizens and companies are allowed to open various business forms in Russia. Foreign investors are allowed to establish sole proprietorships, partnerships or other types of companies, such as limited liability ones. The sole trader and the partnership are the simplest forms of doing business and have the advantages of low setup costs and minimal registration requirements.

Russian partnerships can be divided into general or full partnerships and limited partnerships. Our Russian law firm can assist foreign investors interested in setting up any type of partnership.

What is a general partnership in Russia?

The general partnership falls under the regulations of the Russian Commercial Law which requires at least two participants to undertake commercial activities under this business form. Both individuals and companies are allowed to act as participants in a general partnership in Russia.

The characteristics of a full partnership in Russia are:

• -          the partners have equal rights and obligations towards the business;
• -          the partners will be held jointly and separately liable for the business’ obligations;
• -          any partner who retires from the partnership will remain liable for the partnership’s debts for 2 years.

There are no share capital requirements when establishing a general partnership in Russia. With respect to the taxation of the business, the partnerships will be taxed as any other company, while the participants will also be imposed the income tax on their personal earnings resulted from the partnership’s economic activities.

How to register a general partnership in Russia

The full partnership will be created as the limited partnership through an agreement which must be drafted and notarized by a public notary in Russia. Then, the partnership will be register with the Trade Register in Russia. General partnerships must also register with the local tax authorities and for social insurance purposes.

The general partnership is suitable for creating joint ventures in Russia and if you are interested in setting up this type of business, do not hesitate to contact us. Our lawyers in Russia can also assist foreign investors who want to open other types of companies in this country.