★★★★★(18 votes, average: 4.89 out of 5)

Our service area: Bangladesh branch office open of foreign company;

• Branch, representative, liaison office set up permission from BOI, BEPZA (free zone area)
• Work permit and directors visa (PI and E Visa)
• Income tax and audited Accounts service

The procedure of branch and liaison office opening in Bangladesh

• Forward an application to BOI (Board of Investment) after filling up
• Collect prescribe form from BIDA office or our office
• Company name shall remain same as parent company, no separate name is need.
• Let, the parent company name is XYZ LIMITED, here the same name will appear.
• Name reservation is not required in Bangladesh for the branch office.
• Be prepare following attested papers from the embassy of Bangladesh and notarized where the parent enterprise is located:
• Incorporation certificate of parent company
• MoA and AoA of the main corporation
• Board meeting resolution from the parent company to set up a liaison office
• Accounting and audit report of the year of parent company
• Provide business activities of the branch office on company letterhead
• Expected date of starting operation in Bangladesh to open a branch office
• Expected initial expenditure information fill up in the prescribed form of BIDA
• Mention in application form source of finance to invest in Bangladesh
• Power of Attorney to appoint the Branch representative in Bangladesh
• Local Representative or his/her representative shall forward all required papers to BIDA  to open a branch/liaison office.
• Ensure US Dollar 50 thousand (fifty thousand) to remit in company account in Bangladesh
• Provided that 5 percent additional charge shall be applicable if the said amount is not transferred by 2 (two) months from the date of permission
• Enclose office rent or lease documents
• Enclose  foreign manpower list on the letterhead of the company
• To remember, the foreign employment ratio is 1: 5, one foreign is equal to 5 local employees

Timeline of Branch Office Approval

• 30-45 days need from the application date
• As one meeting held once a month, sometimes 2 meeting holds when more applications are submitted
• Additional time or a second meeting might need if the application is rejected for lack of documents

Fees of opening branch and liaison office

• Taka 35000/- Chalan to government, Solani Bank
• Office expenses & disbursement
• Professional Fees might USD 2000 to 4000 depending on the firm you work with.

Post-registration compliance of branch office

• Permission is given for 2 years normally
• Open a bank account in any scheduled bank
• Remit USD 50000/- as a requirement within a maximum of 2 months.
• Do not forget to apply before three months of the period ending to renew the permission along with requiring papers

Apply for PI and E Visa

• Employees and investors both can apply for the visa
• Visa is approved for 1-5 years
• Supporting papers are:-
• Academic certificate and any experience papers
• Appointment letter from the branch office
• Passport and photograph
• New paper advertisement copy
• Branch office open permission copy
• Number of employees list
• Salary as a scheduled  appointment of foreign staffs
• Foreign employee is generally appointed as country manager
• Technical and engineer foreign staffs are tax-free for the first 3 years.

Advantages of representative and liaison office

• Tax-free if falls under tax-exempted industry
• Eligible to hire foreign staffs
• Foreign technical staffs are tax-free for the first 3 years depending on the business nature of the Branch

Disadvantages of branch and liaison office

• USD 50000 has to remit at the beginning and renewal
• Permission is approved for 2 years only
• Limited business activities
• Branch and representative office can not sell service and goods without additional approval

Other information of branch and representative office

• Collect Form 18B from the central bank (Bangladesh Bank) to withdraw the remitted amount.
• Remittance amount is allowed to use ONLY for carrying on operation purpose in Bangladesh
• Branch office, liaison, or representative all are the same rules.
• No money can be transferred from a branch office account to any country as a business expense
• Additional permission is needed from Home Ministry to Bangladesh to open a branch office, rep, and liaison office
• Income tax shall be applied to the project base office
• Provided that all 18 terms and condition have to follow by the branch office, representative, and liaison office