How much does the commercial registry cost in Colombia?

Incorporating a company in our country is no longer a cumbersome and costly task, but do you really know how much it costs to register a company in Colombia?

Although there are some fixed costs within the procedure to obtain the commercial registration, others may vary according to the initial investment capital you have available.

For this reason, we want to tell you in this article how much the commercial registration in Colombia costs, and some benefits that are granted by the government to encourage Colombians to start or renew their commercial registration.

Aspects to take into account

There are many types of companies that a person can form in Colombia.

This can be categorized according to the legal form, size, the activity to be developed or the origin of the capital.

The following is a description of each of the types of companies that exist in Colombia:

According to its legal form

1. Sole proprietorships: These are companies owned by a single person. In this type of company, the rights, duties and responsibilities fall on a single person, and it is this person who will have to answer for the company’s actions.
2. General partnership: Unlike the previous one, this company belongs to a group of persons, on whom the rights, duties and responsibilities of the company fall.
3. Cooperatives: These are companies in which a group of people _ join together with a common purpose: to contribute their efforts to achieve a main objective and thus improve the conditions of all those involved.
4. Limited Partnerships: This is a type of partnership that consists of two types of partners, in the first instance the general partners, who have unlimited liabilities; and the limited partners who only have limited liabilities based on the capital they contributed.
5. Limited Liability Company: Referred to in the Colombian Commercial Code as S.R.L., it is a company where the partners are only liable for the amount of capital invested for its creation.
6. Sociedad Anónima: Referred to in the Colombian commercial code as S.A., it is an open corporation, where the capital is represented by shares, which can be traded in the market.
7. Simplified joint stock company: It is a capital company that can be formed by one or several persons, which will always have a commercial nature, regardless of the activities that will be performed as corporate purpose.

According to shape size

1. Microenterprises: These are companies with no more than 10 employees and assets of less than 500 SMMLV.
2. Small companies: These are companies with between 11 and 50 employees and assets between 501 and 5000 SMMLV.
3. Medium-sized companies: These are companies with between 51 and 200 employees and assets between 5001 and 30000 SMMLV, and they must already have a union.
4. Large companies: These are companies that have more than 200 employees, assets of more than 30001 SMMLV, must have a union and offer the possibility of loans and bonuses to their employees.

According to your activity

1. Primary or agricultural sector: Corresponds to companies that use raw materials from nature to carry out their activities.
2. Secondary or industrial sector: These are companies engaged in the transformation of raw materials by means of processes.
3. Tertiary sector or provision of services: These are companies that offer physical and intellectual activities for the development of a job or requirement.

According to its capital

1. Public: these are companies whose capital comes from the state in order to carry out their work.
2. Private: These are companies whose capital comes from private individuals.
3. Mixed: As its name indicates, it is a type of company that receives money from both the state and private individuals.

You must keep in mind what type of company you want to form, as additional documents may be required during the registration process in order to complete it satisfactorily.

Keep in mind that the commercial registration can be requested in person, but if you wish to receive the help of a lawyer expert in commercial law, you must grant him/her a power of attorney so that he/she can carry out the procedure.

How much does the commercial registry cost in Colombia?

In our blog, we previously talked about the process of registration process under Sociedad Por Acciones Simplificadas (Simplified Joint Stock Company).

With this a little clearer, we will describe the costs according to each step of the process to register your company under the S.A.S. modality.

• The consultation and availability of the name you have in mind can be done free of charge on the website of the Registro Único Empresarial Social (RUES).
• The preparation of documents, such as the private incorporation document and the legal representative’s document, has no extra cost, except for printing costs.
• The commercial registration form costs $6,200 and can be obtained from the Chamber of Commerce.
• The pre-RUT registration is done on the DIAN website at no cost.
• The registration of the company at the Chamber of Commerce has a cost that depends on the initial capital with which the company will be constituted: if the capital in pesos is between 0 and 228,741,400 the registration costs $36,000; from 228,740,401 onwards, the registration costs $106,000. These values are those offered by the Medellín Chamber of Commerce.
• Obtaining a savings account is free of charge, remember to bring your RUT with you in order to apply for this procedure. Keep in mind the policies of each bank and choose the one that best suits your company.

Special discounts

As a result of the coronavirus situation, the national government issued the Regulatory Decree of Article 129 of Law 2063 of 2020, which offers a series of special rates for the commercial registration process.

This series of benefits was designed to encourage the development of the country’s productive sector, which is made up mostly of micro, small and medium-sized companies.

Discounts include the following:

• A 5% discount of the total value of the renewal of the commercial registry of MSMEs.
• A 7% discount of the total value of the cancellation of the commercial registry.
• 7% of the total value of registration of documents with the Chamber of Commerce.
• 5% of the total value of issuance of official documents of the Chamber of Commerce.

Please note that in order for these discounts to be effective, these procedures must be completed during the first quarter of 2021.

Therefore, if you wish to incorporate a company in Colombia, this is the best time to do it, due to the special discounts that the government is offering during the first three months of this year.

At Servicio Legal, we have commercial lawyers, specialists in the registration and incorporation of companies, who offer you the legal advice you need for the creation of companies. Contact us, our lawyers are ready to help you in your case.