On August 1, 2022, the Act Implementing the Digitization Directive and the Act Supplementing the Regulations Implementing the Digitization Directive became effective in Germany, which allow the establishment of a limited liability company to be carried out completely online. Although it is not a fully known fact, from 2021 the establishment of a limited liability company online (i.e., without visiting a notary) is also possible in the Czech Republic. What exactly does such incorporation entail?
The first step in the establishment of a limited liability company is to draw up a notarial deed – Articles of Incorporation. One of its prerequisites is, among other things, proof of the identity of the future shareholder(s) (or their legal representative). This notarial deed may also be drawn up remotely by means of video conferencing and electronic identification. For practical purposes, such means are most commonly understood as bank identity and electronic signature. The notarial deed itself can therefore already be drawn up without the physical presence of the founder, and the notary will draw it up electronically and send it to the participant.
The standard requirements for the establishment of the simplest limited liability companies for business purposes are:
- consent to the location of the company's registered office;
- an extract from the Land Registry relating to the registered office of the company;
- affidavit and consent of the managing director to registration in the Commercial Register, and
- an extract from the criminal record of the managing director.
As of January 15, 2023 it is no longer necessary to have a trade license to register a legal entity in the Commercial Register.
Obtaining the consent to the placement of the company's registered office, the extract from the Land Registry relating to the company's registered office, the affidavit and consent of the managing director to the entry in the Commercial Register and the extract from the criminal record of the managing director are then a matter for the founder, some of the documents having to be authenticated by a certified signature.
For example, the extract from the criminal record can then be obtained in electronic form via the executive's data mailbox, or with the help of the citizen's portal, to which the executive logs in, for example, via his or her bank identity.
To save you the administrative work, you can issue a Power of Attorney, e.g. to a law firm (with a verified signature), which will do the rest for you. If you are interested in setting up a company, please feel free to contact us.
