Opening Companies in Italy – in Italy, one of the most used methods from the classification of companies is linked to the role of shareholders within their management. Let’s see what the types of companies present in Italy are.
Partnerships
These companies provide that the shareholders respond in an unlimited manner – or even with equity if necessary – for social obligations and are set up before a notary who will file the deed to allow registration in the business register.
Among partnerships we find:
- Simple company: it cannot be used to open a business, while it is used in the agriculture and real estate sector. The shareholders undertake the obligation to confer capital, assets but also their work to the company with unlimited liability regarding the debts.
- Collective company: This type of company can carry out any type of commercial activity. The liability of the members is unlimited, but any creditor will refer to the personal assets of the debtors only if the corporate assets are not sufficient.
- Limited partnership: it can also carry out commercial activities and its composition includes two types of shareholders who respond differently to the company’s obligations. Indeed, limited partners are only liable for their quota, while limited partners answer in an unlimited manner and take care of the management.
How to open a business in Italy
Starting a business in Italy, both as a sole proprietorship and as a company, implies a series of administrative obligations that must be followed, to avoid incurring any penalties.
So what are the steps to be followed in a sane way before they can be truly operational? The first step is, of course, to open a VAT number, or to request an 11-digit numeric code from the Revenue Agency, which identifies the company.
Here, it will also be necessary to indicate the ATECO code, that is, the one relating to the activity to be started, as well as the accounting regime to be adopted. Subsequently, it will be necessary to proceed with the registration of the company at the competent Chamber of Commerce, as well as the registration of the same company at the local headquarters of INPS and INAIL. For particular activities, it will also be necessary to request the necessary licenses and authorizations to be able to operate from the relevant Bodies (Municipality, Health Authority, etc.).
Thanks to some simplifications provided by Law firm Italy, it is now possible to fulfill such obligations through a single communication to the Company Register. This communication is made exclusively electronically and contains, in practice, all tax, social security and insurance information, which must be sent to the various Bodies.
The “Single Communication” (this is its name) proposes, in essence, a single administrative process, to be submitted electronically to the “Business Register” only, at the reference Chamber of Commerce. A further mandatory step (and preliminary to the others) is necessary in case of activity carried out by a company, or the constitution of the same before a notary, who will take care of the drafting of the articles of association and the statute (not foreseen in the case of Srl simplified).
These, in short, are the main indications for starting a business in Italy, a country where too much (and often slow) bureaucracy unfortunately constitutes a big limit to development.
