Germany offers corporations and investors a high level of legal security. The composition of contracts and the protection of products and business ideas meet international standards. The local chambers of industry and commerce are empowered by competition law to intervene in the event of unfair competition.

Formatlities

Business registration
All commercial operations of any subsidiary, branch office, or business unit must be registered with the responsible public affairs office or business registration office. The commercial registration office will request the following documents:

• the applicant’s identification documents,
• proof of power of attorney to act on behalf of third parties, who can be natural persons or legal entities,
• and commercial registration of the parent corporation, including a German translation.

Entry in the commercial register
Independent subsidiaries and branch offices must be registered by a notary in the commercial register at the local district court (Amtsgericht). Required information for an entry in the commercial register includes: the legal form of the company; the law of the country to which the company is subject; company name and registered office; purpose of the company; date of conclusion of articles of incorporation; names of directors and managing board and their authorities; value of share capital or original capital.

Licenses
In principle, freedom of trade prevails in North Rhine-Westphalia. However, certain businesses are required to obtain a license from the responsible agency prior to their commercial launch. Information on the requirement to obtain a license and what authorities are in charge of issuing them, is available from the local economic development office, or the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). In particular, licenses are required for craft trades, large-scale retail businesses and the production of environmentally hazardous materials.

Foreign nationals running subsidiaries,branch offices, or business units are requiredto have a residence permit and a visa in their passports stating authorization to carry out an independent occupation. Unlike company owners, company directors, members of the managing board, company officers and chief executives, foreign employees must have a work permit. They should obtain the permit from the employment office prior to their arrival in Germany.Exempt from this requirement are citizensof the European Union (EU) and EuropeanEconomic Area (EEA) and those from statesthat have special agreements, such asSwitzerland, Japan, the U.S. and Canada.

Equal status
Foreign companies are subject to the same tax liability as German companies. Employees must be paid in accordance with German law. This means that collective labor contracts, applicable to German companies, also apply to foreign companies. The same applies to liability.