STARTING A BUSINESS IN ETHIOPIA

The government of Ethiopia has taken the necessary trade liberalization and registration steps and thus the procedures to obtain business licenses and trade registration procedures, be it at the federal or regional level, has become faster and easier. Accordingly, the government has issued a new commercial registration on business licensing known as proclamation number 376/2003.

The Council of Ministers' regulation number 13/1997 has listed commercial registration and licensing at the Federal Government level. Principal business registrations for licenses to be given by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry include:

• Sole business persons
• Commercial partnership and a cooperative society
• Share company
• Private limited company
• Foreign business organization
• Public enterprises
• Commercial representative

Application forms to get the above types of business licenses and their registrations including the renewal procedures are mentioned in this proclamation. (Please see the list of commercial activities for which business licenses are issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry)

Most of the regional Trade, Industry and Tourism Bureaus, in some regions including the Transport Bureau, are the highest organs on policy matters of licenses and business registrations. Almost all regions under them have zonal offices in which the zonal Trade, Industry and Tourism Bureaus in each region accept applications for trade licenses in their respective zones, register businesses and give licenses for any commercial activity in the Zones. These zonal trade offices additionally register investors in their respective zones and give investment certificates for the investors who do not want to go to the regional investment offices seeking investment incentives and tax free treatments. Those investors who would like to get incentives and tax free treatments (both from income tax and import duty tax of machinery), according to the nature of their investments, are better advised to start the process of the investment licensing from regional investment offices.

In Ethiopia, all goods imported and exported are classified on the basis of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS-1996 version).

The Council of Ministers Regulation No.14/1997 has issued a regulation on licensing and commercial registration of businesses in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. According to this regulation, these 2 regions give licenses and register businesses other than those to be licensed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. In addition to this, Dire Dawa region has a branch office of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry with the authority to give, among others, import and export licenses for the business persons living in the region. The Dire Dawa investment office handles investment issues in the region and the region's Trade, Industry and Tourism Bureau, unlike other regions directly handles trade licensing and registration processes in the region.