In terms of economy Germany is a good choice for foreign investors to establish a branch. Incorporation of the branch is similar to that of German resident companies, although the registration procedure is slightly longer. The branch must take the name of the parent company with its legal form attached to the end i.e. branch or German branch..
The branch company must register for VAT with the relevant Tax Office assigned to the parent company’s domicile country. VAT returns should be submitted monthly and tax accounts should be filed annually with the local Tax Office.
Accounting specifications and taxation vary according to German region.
Contact us to discuss you specific accounting requirements.
– A copy of the parent company’s Certificate of Incorporation
– A copy of the parent company’s Certificate of Good Standing – to be less than 4 weeks old
– A copy of Memorandum & Articles of Association of the parent company
– The board resolution of the parent company providing evidence of the decision to set up the branch
– A branch representative, to speak English or German
– Power of Attorney for the branch
– A small shared office with registered address
The documents shown above are required for the registration of the branch with the German Commercial Register.
All documentation is required to be officially notarised and apostilled, in addition to being translated into German by a certified translator.
The minimum office requirement in Germany is a small shared office arrangement in conjunction with a registered office – an address registered for branch correspondence.
The following are also available:
– Virtual offices, providing off-site communication with telephone, fax and mail forwarding facilities, maintaining the professionalism of a physical office
– Serviced offices, including all necessary business services ready for immediate occupation
Please contact us to discuss you office requirements.
We will handle every aspect of the branch formation for you. Using our expert knowledge we can offer a branch formation package in which we take care of branch registration, issue of the certificates of registration, local directors, local representative and place of business in Germany, tax registration, VAT registration, and translation of documents into German.
Our unique one stop solution for all European formation requirements also offers formation packages to set up multiple branches. The benefits for establishing multiple branches include further increased exposure and global presence, and we can organise everything for you.
A summary of Germany Corporate Taxes is available here.