IMPORT-EXPORT: AMERICAN BUSINESS RESOURCES
Your complete guide on how to start and do business with the USA, Central and South America. Information such as import/export regulations, customs information, tax , currency, copyrights, etc.

BUSINESS IN VENEZUELA
V. ESTABLISHING A BRANCH OFFICE IN VENEZUELA

Branches are treated by the Venezuelan law as any local corporation and they are, therefore, authorized to carry out business without limitations other than the legal dispositions of general or particular applicability to
companies organized in Venezuela. Consequently, branch offices must comply with all the corresponding rules and laws applicable to any corporation, but as they are not regarded as a different or autonomous entity or corporation; that is the parent company retains full liability. This aspect must be carefully taken into consideration because although an amount of capital must be allocated to the branch by the parent company at the moment of establishing same, liability will not be limited to the branch's capital.

The documents required for the establishment of a branch are as follows:
a. The Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the foreign parent company;
b. A power of attorney in favor of the local legal representative of the branch;
c. Extract of the applicable law in the country of origin governing stock corporations; and
d. The resolution of the corresponding corporate body which approved the establishment of the branch, expressing the amount of capital allocated to the branch and the person designated to act as legal representative. These documents must be legalized before a Venezuelan Consulate and translated into Spanish by a Venezuelan official translator, if drafted in a language other than Spanish.
The above documents must be registered at the Commercial Registry and then published in a local newspaper. In addition, branches are subject to the payment of all taxes and contributions as any other stock corporation.