Set Up a Sole Proprietorship in Moldova

Natural persons can set up a sole proprietorship in Moldova if they want to carry out a business activity in their own name. The sole proprietorship (or sole trader), known in Moldova as Intreprinzator Individual, is the simplest business entity that can be registered in this country, and which does not have separate legal personality from its founder.

In other words, the business and the owner are considered to be same entity and this is why the founder is fully responsible for the debts of the company.Our consultants in company formation in Moldova can provide in-depth information on the characteristics of the sole trader and can also offer full legal representation in the registration formalities.

Legislation

The sole trader is a type of entity that is recognized under the local commercial law. The legislation defines the characteristics of the local entities, the process for company incorporation in Moldova that must be followed for each company type (including the sole proprietorship) and other rules and regulations concerning the activity, inactivity and dissolution of each Moldavian business form.

Concerning the sole trader, the following apply:

1. the legislation on local business types, including the sole trader, is the Law no. 220 of 19 October 2007 On the State Registration of Legal Entities and Sole Traders;
2. according to Article 2 of the law, a sole trader is defined as natural person with full legal capacity who wants to start an economic activity in his/her own name without having a business with separate legal personality, while bearing full personal risks associated with the said business;
3. Article 2 also stipulates that an inactive sole trader is any individual who, in the last 12 months since completing the process of company formation in Moldova or in the last 3 financial years hasn’t submitted any financial reports and/or hasn’t completed any transactions;
4. Article 4 Paragraph (6) stipulates that one can set up a sole proprietorship in Moldova by requesting expedited services, which can be completed in 4 hours, but for which local authorities can multiply by 4 the value of the standard registration fees;
5. Article 5 stipulates that the standard registration procedure for a sole trader takes 24 hours.

According to the Public Services Agency, the current fee for standard registration is MDL 364 or, for those who opt for expedite registration procedure, MDL 1456. For certain applicants, there is an exemption on the payment of the registration fee, provided that they meet specific legal conditions. Our consultants in company formation in Moldova can present if these conditions apply to your registration.

Who should set up a sole proprietorship in Moldova?

The sole trader is a very simple business structure, which is ideally suited for businessmen who do not estimate a large number of transactions during a financial year. Thus, it is recommended for small scale businesses, or for individuals who enter for the first time on the business market. It is also recommended to set up a sole proprietorship in Moldova by those who work as freelancers.

Eligibility criteria

The first requirement for setting up a company in Moldova as a sole trader is to be a natural person (other legal entities can’t set up this structure). The individual must be at least 18 years old at the moment when the application is initiated. The good news is that theMoldavian law allows both Moldavian nationals and foreigners to open this business type (other countries can have limitations in this sense).

Therefore, foreign individuals can open a company in Moldova as a sole trader, provided that they present the required paperwork, secure a unique trade name and select NACE codes suitable for the activity that they are qualified for/are interested in developing here. We invite you to contact our specialists in company registration in Moldova for further details onhow to open a sole trader.