Guatemala: simplifying start-ups

Taking advantage of digital procedures, entrepreneurs should be able before the end of 2013 to formally launch a new business in 13 days,

Currently, the process takes on average 17 days, itself a significant improvement over previous arrangements, which required the physical presentation of documents in various government institutions, with the result that Guatemala had been ranked by the World Bank as one of the countries with largest number of procedures and the longest time for the establishment of businesses.

To take advantage of the new procedures, launched at the end of last year, an entrepreneur can go to www.guatemala.eregulations.org, where he or she will find a summary of all the requirements for a start-up, including rules governing intellectual property, tax and labor.

By clicking on “Empresas y sociedades” (“Companies and other commercial organizations”), the site takes the investor to the section of “MiNegocio.gt” (“mybusiness.gt”), which includes the forms needed for registration with various public entities, including banks, the finance and labor ministries, and the national health system, along with instructions on how to complete and present them (e-regulations are not yet available in English).

Documents can be submitted electronically in close to 80% of the required areas. In other instances, physical delivery is still required. However, the plan is to reduce this requirement to a minimum.

Another important change involves the ability to send documents 24/7, as opposed to delivering them physically to government offices and banks, which are only open weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

For more information, please contact Rossana López at [email protected], or (502) 2324-3939 or 2279-3939