Company registration is a very critical part of starting any business as that is what gives you the legitimacy to operate. However, there are certain things you have to know while you are preparing to register your company.
The Registrar General’s Department is the agency mandated by the Republic of Ghana to register business in Ghana.
To register a company limited by shares, the basic requirements are as follows;
Registering an external company is quite different from registering any other company.
For external companies’ registration, the requirements are;
Registering a company limited by guarantee requires the follow documents;
Forms for registration of business in Ghana is purchased at the in-house bank at Registrar General’s Department. It is also downloadable from Here
Registration of business in Ghana is quite easy, however, registration can be delayed if the documents for registration are not valid or not accurate. Registration of business takes a period of 20-30days.
Absolutely No! The law states that, the directors of every company registered under the laws of Ghana must be at least TWO. Therefore, one person cannot be the sole director of a company.
With a director doubling as a Company Secretary, the Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) permitted it. However, under the new Companies Act 2019 (Act 922) a director can only act in the capacity of a Company Secretary if he meets the qualifies so specified, if not the service of a qualified person or company would be required by the company.
Either all directors or at least one should be resident in Ghana.
To register an external company, the law demands that the local manager of the company be resident in Ghana. Therefore, the address of the local manager should be in Ghana.
The law does not permitforeigners to own sole proprietor businesses. It is solely for Ghanaians.
The full meaning of TIN is Taxpayer Identification Number. It is a requirement for registration of all businesses in Ghana. Ghana Revenue Authority is the agency mandated to issue TIN.
Registration can done online using the link below;
RGD Portal Web
After registration of business, the documents given by the Registrar is dependent on the type of company registered. For company limited by shares, the Registrar gives the following documents;
For company limited by guarantee, the following documents are given;
The ff are given for external companies
Sole proprietor registration, the following documents are given;
After registration with Registrar General’s Department, the other agency or agencies one would have to register with is dependent on the nature of activity of the company. Agencies such as Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standard Board, Environmental Protection Agency, Free Zones, Customs, etc. But registration with agencies such as Ghana Revenue Authority, Social Security and National Insurance Trust, and Municipal Assemblies are however, compulsory for all Companies.
A Sole Proprietor business, which is commonly referred as Enterprise, is the commonest type of business registration amongst Ghanaians. The main difference between Limited Liability Company is that for sole proprietor registration, it requires only one person to act as the proprietor, However, for limited liability company, at least two directors, secretary, an auditor and Shareholder(s)/Subscriber(s) are required for the registration. Moreover, for limited liability companies, there must be stated capital of which stamp duty will be paid on. It is not so in the case with Sole Proprietor registration. Therefore, to convert a Sole Proprietor, the above requirement should be met.
Every registered company is required to file for the first annual returns after 18 months of registration. However, is mandatory to file at end of every other year, and or Limited Liability Companies, not later than 30th April of the preceding year and should be filed together with the signed audited accounts approved at an Annual General Meeting.
