Opening of a branch or representative office

A branch and representative office of a foreign company are separate divisions acting on the instructions of the parent company and performing all or part of its functions. The divisions are fully subordinate to the company that founded them, the parent company is responsible for the obligations.

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What is the difference between a branch and a representative office?

Tatiana Protsenko
Managing partner,
Attorney
A representative office

A representative office is endowed with a minimum amount of authority and is not entitled to conduct business (Part 1, 3 of Article 55 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). It can only engage in marketing and advertising activities, search for potential partners, conclude contracts, resolve conflict situations, etc.

A branch

A branch can fully carry out the same economic activity as the parent foreign company (Part 2 of Article 55 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), i.e. the functionality of branches is basically the same as that of Russian companies.

Advantages of working through a branch and representative office in Russia:

1. Branches and representative offices may open and close accounts in Russian and foreign banks, conclude transactions, sign contracts.
2. Branches and representative offices are managed by the appointed heads/directors of these separate divisions.
3. When opening a branch or representative office, a foreign company will be considered a non-resident, and its taxation will be regulated by a bilateral agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, if such is concluded between the countries.
4. When renting an office by a branch/representative office in Russia, VAT is not included in the rent.
5. Material support of branches and representative offices is carried out at the expense of the property and assets of the parent company.

Conditions

To start working in Russia, branches and representative offices undergo an accreditation procedure that lasts 25-30 working days and will require payment of a state duty of 120 thousand rubles.
Branches and representative offices are essentially a form of presence on the Russian market, popular with medium and large foreign businesses. By contacting these branches and representative offices, Russian customers understand that they are turning to representatives of a well-known brand whose reputation and reliability are well-known. For a foreign company, the presence of a branch/representative office in Russia definitely increases efficiency when interacting with Russian and foreign clients working in the Russian Federation.

Example

The British company Forward 3D Limited works in the field of advertising and marketing. The company decided to cooperate with Google and Yandex in Russia. For these purposes, a branch was opened in Moscow, and employees who previously worked in the Russian direction at the head office in London began to work in Russia on a permanent basis. The presence of a branch of Forward 3D Limited in Russia allows you to carry out all these processes and interact with counterparties in our country more quickly. In addition, payments from the current account of a branch in a Russian bank are much faster than payments from the account of the parent company.

About company

We have been practicing law for over 20 years. Our team includes specialists, lawyers and attorneys of various specializations, who have a higher legal and economic education, academic and master degrees from Russian and foreign universities. Having accumulated invaluable experience in government bodies, law enforcement agencies, the banking system and consulting, we have created a company that can protect your business in all life situations of life. The company specialises in the resolution of commercial disputes and criminal law protection of business. Our mission is to enable business people to do what they like most, without being distracted by problems, and give them confidence in the correctness of their decisions. We provide high quality legal services and a professional approach to all issues we work with.

Specialization
Our specialists have extensive experience in opening of a branch or representative office.
Economic Education
The company's specialists have an economic education and understand the peculiarities of financial and economic activities.
Confidential
Our lawyers will keep information about your assets secret.

Clients´ reviews

Anton Redko
Entrepreneur, Moscow

Nadezhda Artman
Company "Il De Bote"

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