Once understood the entrepreneurial environment in Germany as well as the process of opening an company in this country, entrepreneurs can choose the legal form that they consider to be most suitable for the Type of company. There are several types of company in Germany, and the establishment procedures are straightforward and simple, with well-defined steps.
Empresa individual
It is the simplest form of commercial or business activity in Germany where no minimum capital is required. With this type of business, the owner has full responsibility for the business. That is, your personal assets are not separated from those of company, which are at risk in the event of any financial difficulties that the company can find. Freelancers find themselves in this type of business.
Private company with limited liability (GmbH)
It is the most widely used form of business formation in Germany, combining high flexibility with relatively few obligations. The process of creating a company GmbH type is quite simple, requiring only a single founding shareholder. The minimum capital required is € 25,000 and cash or other contributions are acceptable. Half of this amount, that is, € 12,500, must be present in the bank account when registering the company.
The name of company must derive from the purpose of company or the name of the shareholder / shareholders, followed by “GmbH” or its abbreviation “mbH”. Or, be related to the nature of this or the name of the shareholder, followed by the GmbH.
At least one executive director must be appointed, not necessarily a shareholder of company or German resident. This will represent this, and the remaining shareholders may influence management.
The actions in this Type of company they are not publicly transferable and cannot be registered on the stock exchange. However, they can be transferred through their own notary documents.
To be valid, to company It shall be recorded in Business Register. All of its managing directors must personally sign the constitution's deeds and bylaws in the presence of a notary.
Entrepreneurial company with limited liability (Mini GmbH)
This is not a legal form, but a subtype of the private company with limited liability. Therefore, it is referred to be treated by Mini GmbH. The characteristic of a GU is to have a minimum capital of 1 € making this Type of company more flexible. In order to compensate for this initial lack of capital, the company you need to retain a quarter of your annual profit until you have accumulated the minimum capital of a GmbH, ie € 25,000, which can then be converted into share capital and become a GmbH.
Mini GmbH, under the law, is generally subject to the same rights and duties as a standard GmbH.
Joint stock company / Anonymous (AG)
It is Type of company can be established by any individual and a minimum capital of € 50,000 is required (which must be fully subscribed by the founding shareholders). In addition, the constitution statutes company must be certified by a notary.
The name of company it is usually associated with the type of enterprise and must contain the expression “Aktiengesellschaft” or its abbreviation, AG.
These founding shareholders appoint the first auditor and the fiscal council and these are recognized at the registry, which in turn names the first board of directors. The AG is managed by the board of directors. This is responsible for making decisions about the operational aspects of the company as well as its management.
The AG comes into existence after the commercial registration. The application must be signed by the founding shareholders, members of the fiscal and administrative council in the presence of a notary. Then the company It shall be recorded in Office of Trade local.
The actions of this Type of company can be presented on the stock exchange.
Limited Partnership for Shares (KGaA)
Estes types of company in Germany it is not very common and combines the structures of a limited company (AG) and a limited partnership company (KG). For this reason, it is described as a stock corporation with individually responsible shareholders instead of a board of directors.
KGaA can have an unlimited number of shareholders whose liability is limited to their capital contribution, the minimum total capital being 50 000 € and a minimum of two partners, the general partner and limited shareholders are required. The latter have the same legal rights as the shareholders of an AG and, at least the general partner must be the unlimited responsible of the company.
A company It shall be recorded in the Trade Register and also in Commercial office local.
Civil Law Partnership (GbR)
Estes types of company in Germany They are defined as an association of individuals or Business united in achieving a joint contractual purpose. So it is suitable for startups launch their business ideas in cooperation with others.
The formation of a GbR is simple. It is only necessary that at least two partners agree to the establishment of the company and are jointly and severally liable for their actions and debts that may be incurred by it.
If it takes the business as a small business, only registration with the Office of Trade place. However, if you start to exceed certain levels of annual turnover, capital resources, total number of employees or use of commercial accounting, the company already needs to be registered in the Commercial Register and automatically becomes an oHG.
General Commercial Partnership (oHG)
This type of partnership is the most common for small and medium-sized companies and its structure is similar to GbR. In order to establish an oHG company, at least two partners are required and a partnership agreement is drawn up, which is done in writing. These partners are responsible for the future debts that the company cause.
It is Type of company It must be entered in the Commercial Register and Office of Trade site being carried out by all partners, certified and filed by a notary. It must then contain the abbreviation “oHG” at the end of its name.
Limited Partnership (KG)
Estes types of company in Germany are related to oHG, but with the option to limit the liability of some of the partners. It is also suitable for small and medium-sized companies looking for initial capital, but who want to limit individual liability. At least two partners are required in the same, these being designated as general partner (individual without limitation of liability) and limited partner (individuals with limited liability to the respective participation in the capital of the company).
A KG offers more flexibility compared to other partnership alternatives as capital can be increased by including more limited partners. This type is established after the partnership agreement has been signed and it has been entered either in the Commercial Register or in the Office of Trade Local.
Limited partnership with a limited liability company as a general partner (GmbH & Co.KG)
It is Type of company is a limited partnership (KG) where the general partner is a limited liability company (GmbH) being responsible for the debts that may arise in the company and the responsibility of the limited partners corresponds to their participation in its capital.
GmbH & Co.KG is suitable for entrepreneurs who want to limit their responsibilities while enjoying the flexibility of an unincorporated business and is recommended to Business midsize or Business relatives.
This company It is established through a partnership agreement between the general partner and the limited partners and this should go along with the registration in the Commercial Register and Commercial office local.
autonomous subsidiary
It is Type of company It depends on the internal level company at headquarters, but its business activities are carried out independently. However, headquarters is responsible for business transactions completed by company.
At the organizational level, these subsidiaries are independent from the head office, possessing certain attributes such as free management according to their judgment, own funds, capital and bank account, separate accounting, among others.
As Business foreign companies can create this type of business in Germany as long as they are duly registered in a foreign Commercial Register or in another similar establishment. The decision to create this Type of company is made by the directors of the headquarters and this autonomous branch shall be recorded in the Trade Register and also in Commercial office local.
The application for registration in the commercial register must include detailed information about the company foreign company and, in general, be accompanied by a certified copy of an extract from the commercial register that proves the existence of company foreign and the power of representation of the director and the board of directors, as well as memos and articles of association. All documents must be in certified German translation and the notary's certificate must be authenticated.
Due to harmonized Community law, the documentation effort for European companies is quite simple. For non-European companies, the exact details can be extensive, depending on the residence of the foreign company. The application must be certified and submitted by a notary.
Finally, it must be registered with the commercial office before commercial operations are started. Generally, a commercial license or permission is not required to register the business. Only for some business sectors, permission or authorization may be required. The trade office registration must be submitted at the beginning of business, at the latest.
branch dependent
It is a subordinate department of company central and has no autonomy, focusing only on maintaining contacts and starting business in Germany. It performs tasks related to support and implementation without any individual business criteria and depends entirely on the headquarters of the company in question.
A name company individual can not be used and is not registered in Business Registration in register with the Commercial office The only requirement of this site Type of company, and documentation on the company foreign.
known the types of company in Germany, the entrepreneur should look for domestic support can tell your startup in order to boost the success of your business.
