Registering a company in Basra: which department is approached, and what differs from Baghdad?
If the place of performance, one of the founders, or the principal office to be stated in the contract is in Basra, the rules on forming an Iraqi company in the Companies Law of 1997, as later amended, apply as they apply in other governorates not organised in a region, unless a special text takes their place. The framework is on registering a company. The Law Office of Ali Barakat follows the question from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk.
The federal law is the same
The application for incorporation is submitted to the Registrar under article 17. The Registrar approves or refuses it within ten days under article 19. The company's legal personality begins on the day the certificate of incorporation is issued, under article 22. The company contract states the principal office, which must be in Iraq, under article 13, whether that office is stated as being in Basra, in Baghdad or in another governorate. The types of company, foreign membership in joint-stock and limited companies, and the Iraqi share of the capital, are read from articles 6 and 12 as they stand. No reliance is placed on a local custom without a basis in the text relied on in the file, and a court in Basra is not named unless the text relied on in the file names it.
After the certificate is issued, the time limit for the founders' meeting in article 87 remains, as does the time limit for recording the company in the commercial register in article 34 of Commercial Law No. 30 of 1984. The commercial register is a task of the chambers of commerce and industry, under article 26 of the Commercial Law. If the premises are in Basra, the entry is in the register kept by the chamber at the place of the activity. That entry does not stand in for registering the company with the Registrar.
Which formation is approached in Basra
The Companies Registration Department and the Registrar of Companies at the Ministry of Trade are the bodies the Companies Law names for this path. The Companies Law does not, in its articles, create a local formation under a name of its own for Basra. Which formation is approached in the governorate is read from the papers of the file and from the administrative organisation in force for the Companies Registration Department. The difference between this path and opening a branch of a foreign company remains, and is set out on the branches page.
The address of the office, if it is stated as being in Basra, is reviewed on the address page. What follows the certificate, including files with the General Commission for Taxes or with a chamber of commerce, is read on post-incorporation duties.
Coverage from Baghdad, with no branch
The office follows a reading from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk, with no branch in Basra and with no city page. The documents required are read from articles 13 and 17 and from the official publications of the competent body in the file. If the dealing requires a licence or an entry other than recording the company — a commercial agency, a trademark or a contractor classification — each path remains before the body its own text names.
The company contract filed with the Registrar of Companies must state, under article 13, the founders' names and nationalities, the capital, the purpose and a principal office in Iraq, so these particulars are settled before the filing is made.
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
Is there a special companies law for registration in Basra?
No. Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 is a federal statute. It applies to the formation of companies in the governorates not organised in a region, unless a special text takes its place.
Does an entry at the chamber of commerce in Basra stand in for registration with the Registrar?
No. Entry in the commercial register is a path before the chamber of commerce and industry. Company registration is a path before the Registrar of Companies. Each has its own text.
Does the office have a branch in Basra?
No. The office follows the file from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk.
Does entry in the Basra chamber of commerce stand in for registration with the Registrar?
No. Entry in the commercial register is a path before the chamber of commerce and industry, and registration of the company is a path before the Registrar of Companies, each under its own text. Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 is a federal statute and applies to the formation of companies in the governorates not organised in a Region, unless a special text takes its place.
Related topics and articles
- 01The address of a company or branch, a lease and a title deedThe company's address in its contract, before the Registrar and in the commercial register; a lease or deed may evidence it. Not a real-estate page.
- 02What is required of the company after the certificate of incorporation is issued?What follows the certificate of incorporation: the founders meeting, the commercial register and a tax file, distinct from recurring yearly filings.
- 03Obligations that recur after a company is recordedFinal accounts, the audit, the general-assembly meeting and copies sent to the Registrar, distinct from post-incorporation steps and from branch duties.
- 04Company forms under the Iraqi Companies LawCompany types under Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 as amended: joint-stock, limited, partnership, simple, sole proprietorship and holding.
- 05Amending the company contract, changing the managing director and transferring sharesAmending the company contract, changing the managing director and transferring shares under Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 as amended.