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Partnerships
In
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip these are divided into two
categories: General and Limited Partnerships.
General
Partnership: the liability of each
partner in a general partnership is unlimited. All partners
are personally responsible for the liabilities of the
partnership. The name of at least one of the partners must be
indicated in the title of the General Partnership.
Limited
Partnership: the distinctive feature
of a limited partnership is that it includes two different
types of partners: general and limited. A limited partnership
must have at least one general partner who is personally
responsible for the liabilities of the company. There must
also be at least one limited partner whose liability is
limited to the amount of capital invested. The limited partner
may not participate in the management of the company.
Partnership
Registration and Fees
The
procedures for partnership registration are generally the same
as those for companies. Details are below:
Registration of Local Companies
*
Companies in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (public/ joint
stock and private companies) must register with the Companies
Registrar and accordingly be issued with a Certificate of
Incorporation.
* Issue a
minimum number of shares based on the type of company in
accordance with the law. The most common type of share is the
"ordinary share."
*
Have a minimum prescribed amount of capital that is based, by
law, on the type of company.
* Have
audited financial reports and statements prepared in
accordance with internationally recognized accounting
procedures.
* Obtain
tax/VAT numbers upon registration of the company.
Registration Procedures
To
register a company, an application form that includes
information on the name of the company, the type of company,
the purpose of the company, and the name of the authorized
agent of the company, must be submitted to the Companies
Registrar along with the following documentation:
Memorandum
of Association: This document
establishes the identity of the company, and states the
following information:
The
name of the company: which must be cleared with the Companies
Registrar, to ensure that the name is unique and is not
similar to any other duly registered company in the
jurisdiction applied for.
The
purpose of the company.
The
name, age, nationality, identification information, and the
number of shares of each partner
The
length of time the company has been in business.
The
authorized signatory/agent who will manage the daily affairs
of the company.
The
authorized agent of the company or partnership must sign the
Memorandum of Association.
Articles
of Association: This document
establishes the internal by-laws of the company and must be
filed with the Companies Registrar. Private companies must
include the following provisions in their Articles of
Association:
A
restriction on the transferability of shares.
A
limitation of the number of shareholders to 50.
A
stipulation that the shares and/or debentures of the company
will not be offered to the public.
Investor
Support and Promotional Organizations
PIEFZA
is now one of the most prominent investment promotion
organizations in Palestine. PIEFZA's
investment promotion resources for the industrial sector to
attract investment in the Gaza Industrial Estate and other
planned IE/FZ in the West Bank & Gaza, result from
the implementation of a methodology based on the empirical
analysis of successful investment promotion efforts in other
leading developing countries that are destinations for much
foreign direct investment (e.g. Singapore, Thailand, Jamaica,
Costa Rica).
So
PIEFZA is considered the leading organization in looking after
the interests of their investors and seeking to promote
business growth world-wide.
Import/Export
Licensing
Imports
Import
Licenses: licensing is required for
specified imports into West Bank and Gaza. These import items
include health products, food, transportation, and fuel. The
PNA standards and requirements as well as environmental
standards must be complied with. To facilitate the importing
process, the required documentation must be presented to the
Customs Department. Obtaining an import license takes
approximately ten to fifteen days after the submission of the
completed application to the Customs Department. Licenses are
valid for a period of six months to a year depending on the
product.
Documentation
required for imports: the documents
required for businesses importing goods include: Certificate
of Incorporation if the importer is a duly registered company;
a certificate of Foreign Trade Dealings obtained from Ministry
of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIT); a pro-forma invoice
with the estimated value of goods to be imported; and an
import license for items that are on the specified list.
Information on which goods require an import license may be
obtained from the MEIT.
Import
Tariffs and VAT
Imports
into West Bank and Gaza are taxed at different rates depending
on the imported item. These rates may be obtained from either
the Ministry of Finance or the MEIT. The VAT rate for imports
is 17%.
Exports
The MEIT
regulated export procedures have been simplified to encourage
and promote exports. There are no applications or licenses
required for companies exporting from the West Bank and Gaza.
Exporters must submit MEIT for final approval a certificate of
origin where applicable that can be obtained from a local
Chamber of Commerce. MEIT will pre-approve and issue multiple
certificates of origins to businesses that export the same
product on a regular basis.
Intellectual
Property Rights
The Civil
Claim Law of 1933 in Gaza, the Commercial Law No. 19 0f 1953
and the Patent Law No. 22 of 1953 in the West Bank currently
governs intellectual property.
A new law is currently being debated in the Palestinian
Legislative Council PLC.
Trade
Names
Trade
names should be registered in accordance with Law No. 30 of
1953 in the West Bank and Law No 1 of 1929 in Gaza. The
procedure to register a trade name is set out in Appendix C.
A new law is currently being debated in the Palestinian
Legislative Council PLC
Trademarks
Trademarks
should be registered in accordance with Law No. 33 of 1952 in
the West Bank and Trademark Law No. 35 of 1938 in Gaza. The
procedure to register a trademark is as follows:
Procedure
for Registering Intellectual Property
Registering Trade Names
The
procedure to register a trade name requires the following
steps:
Submit
an application form.
Submit
a copy of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation.
Submit
proof of registration with the appropriate Chamber of
Commerce.
Submit
power of attorney for local resident, if registrant is a
foreign company.
Registering Trademarks
The
procedure to register a trademark requires the following
steps:
Submit an application for registration of trademarks.
The
proposed trademark in color must be attached to the
application.
Four copies
of the Trademark must also be attached.
A copy of
the company’s Certificate of Registration must also be
attached. |
