Once your business is registered it is almost fully operational, but there are still a few things that need to be done before you can run your business. While you can start inquiries earlier, these steps can only be completed after the company has been successfully registered and a certificate of registration has been issued.

Depending on the type of business you wish to operate and various other factors, you may need to register with the local tax office for a VAT number (read more about VAT here), open a permanent corporate bank account, or apply for certain licenses/permits, if applicable. At this stage, all documents must be signed by a director representing the company, but shareholders are usually not involved in corporate governance. When you appoint a nominee director, you are authorized by power of attorney to conduct your business on behalf of the nominated director. In this scenario, you can sign all documents as an authorized third party.

Opening a bank account
One of the most important steps is opening a permanent corporate bank account – an essential part of any business and essential to conducting business in general. This task is reserved exclusively for the managing director and in most cases cannot be performed by an authorized third party. After the company is officially registered, you need to choose the most suitable bank and open an account. Please note that your company's bank account may be opened with a foreign bank in another state or jurisdiction.

Choosing the right bank is crucial, especially if one of your top priorities is to protect your privacy and the confidentiality of your identity, as different banks have different requirements for the information and documents to be provided, as well as different due diligence procedures. However, nowadays most banks want to know who the beneficiary of the company is regardless of the circumstances, even if you use nominee services.

We would normally advise our clients to open a bank account in one of the tax haven zones.

Registration for a sales tax identification number (VAT).
In some countries, Value Added Tax (also known as Value Added Tax) is levied on the sale/purchase of certain goods and services. In general, VAT can be defined as a consumption tax that is estimated and levied on the basis of added value. In most countries, your company can voluntarily apply for VAT status; However, there can be a number of conditions that affect when a business is required to register for VAT and file VAT reports.

Once the company is registered for a VAT number, it must file periodic VAT reports with information on incoming and outgoing invoices, even if issued/received from other counterparties and partners. Most importantly, all transactions must be declared in the VAT report, including invoices that have 0% VAT applied. If you plan to start a trading company, sooner or later you will probably have to deal with VAT issues.