How to Invest and Establish a Branch in Iran? 25 August 2016

Following the Islamic Revolution, the banks and the firms in the country were nationalized and foreign capital was prohibited in Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, foreign investment was blocked in Iran. However, with Third and Forth Five Years Development Plans, Iran paved the way for the entry of the foreign capital to Iran and intended to make investment by foreign companies. In line with this purpose, multiple regulations were made in legal system.

The guarantees such as covering the some losses, government guarantee for transferring the capital and profit to foreign countries, insurance the investment etc. were provided with Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA)[1] which was entered into force on June 2002 with the intent of promoting the investors.

Besides the guarantees, with tax immunity and tax reduction, some conveniences were provided to the foreign investors. In addition, the case of having restricted percentage of the partnership with Iranian company under Attraction and Protection of Foreign Affair dated 1995, was eliminated with FIPPA which was entered into force in 2002.

To open a branch of the foreign company in Iran was regulated with the Code dated 12.11.1997. The only condition is “reciprocity principle” under this code which has sole article. In accordance with that principle, the companies in the countries where an Iranian company can open a branch are able to open a branch in Iran. The regulations about establishing a branch of the foreign company in Iran was regulated with Cabinet Decree dated 03.05.1999.

The foreign companies which want to open a branch in Iran should apply to The Office of Company Registration under The Ministry of Finance of Islamic Republic of Iran. In respect to regulations of Islamic Republic of Iran, some documents should be prepared by the foreign companies which want to open a branch in Iran and representative of the branch and these documents should submit with application form.

The procedure of approval of the foreign documents will be applied to the documents which are required for the application instead of apostil, since Iran is not a party to Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (La Haye Convention dated 5^th October 1961).

Following the preparation of the required documents and finalizing the approval process, the documents will be sent to Islamic Republic of Iran and be translated to Persian which is the official language of the country. The documents which are not translated in Persian do not have any validity before Islamic Republic of Iran.

[1] http://ipo.ir/index.aspx?siteid=83&pageid=338

Türkçe Versiyonu İçin

http://www.kasaroglu.av.tr/tr/28524/Iranda-Nasil-Yatirim-Yapilir-Sube-Acilir

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