Starting a business in Ghana – For Ghanaian nationals and expats or foreigners.

To register a business in Ghana, you must first register with the Registrar of Companies (ORC): 

Visit https://orc.gov.gh/services/registrations

A search for the availability of the name must be conducted.

The applicant may pick up a prescribed Form A from the in-house bank or Download it.

According to ORC, you can submit completed and signed Form A at the Business Names Registration Counter for Verification and Capturing or submit Online. Yet there is nowhere on the ORC website to submit the completed form.

There should not be an option for downloadable forms, because those downloaded forms will have to be re-entered into a database, which is inefficient and leaves room for human error and corruption.

Once you have registered your company, you can pay the processing fee of GHS 100 at the in-house bank or online on the ghana.gov.gh platform.

This should not be the case, there should be a form to fill out online, submit online and pay for the registration of the company online, payment in branch creates an opening for corruption and theft. The system should be designed as such that no person is able to physically collect payment. Payment should be processed automatically via the online portal or via SMS.

There is a VIP service which costs GHs 400 in addition to the processing fees (optional)

Once the fees are paid, the Registrar examines, approves and Issues:

-Certificate of Registration 

-Certified True Copy(CTC) of Form A

Mandatory renewal of registered name each year at a fee of GHS 60 ( or pay by using  USSD *222#)

Tax Identification

For a business venture to be carried out in Ghana, the business must be registered with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for tax purposes.

The person registering the company must first obtain a Ghana card from the National Identification Authority (NIA) or Tax Identification number from the GRA.

Note: Its not very clear based on the information available if an expat needs a TIN or Ghana card to register a business with the GRA. If you are an expat looking to register a business, please check with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

Once a Ghana card has been obtained, the person can use the Identification number to register the business on the GRA website.

People with old tax Identification numbers (TIN) can also proceed and register with the GRA.

Procedure for TIN Registration 

1. Download a copy of the Individuals/Sole Proprietors Registration Form from the GRA website: http://www.gra.gov.gh/docs/forms/taxpayer_registration_form_individual.pdf.

2. Complete the form and submit it to any of the following agencies 

o Registrar General’s Department 

o Domestic Tax Revenue (Income Tax & VAT) Office 

o Custom Division Office 

3. Collect your Taxpayer Registration Certificate upon completion of the registration formalities.

Registration with Ghana Revenue Authority: GRA

1. Online Registration: Visit the GRA portal taxpayersportal.com and register using your Ghana Card PIN. You will be able to apply for a tax type registration through the portal. This method is best for individuals who must file returns and pay taxes. 
2. Offline Registration: Visit your nearest Taxpayer Service Centre (TSC) and request assistance for manual tax registration. GRA staff will guide you through the process and provide the required forms.

Requirements 

Individuals:

For Individuals, your Ghana Card/ECOWAS Card Personal Identification Number is your Taxpayer Identification Number. You may use that number to register online at taxpayersportal.com to file returns and pay your taxes.

2. Businesses:

   – Certificate of incorporation or business registration

   – Ghana Card of the business owner(s)/director(s)

   – Business location details

   – Financial statements

Note: The specific documents required may vary depending on the type of registration and the taxpayer’s circumstances.

This process may take 2-4 weeks.

You may also register for Social Security if you are planning on hiring local employees with the Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

Additional steps for expats or foreigners

As a foreigner, you must register your company with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) for an investment certificate and other permits, even if your company is partly Ghanaian-owned. 

A minimum equity value of $200,000–$1 million is required for foreign-owned companies, either in cash, machinery or equipment. The equity value will depend on your company ownership structure and on the industry. 

For companies partly owned by Ghanaians, the Ghanaian applicant is expected to have 10 percent equity participation.  See the GIPC website (gipcghana.com) for details on capital requirements and incentives like tax holidays. Schedule an appointment with GIPC or a professional business consultant for further guidance.

Registration with Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC)

After incorporation/registration of your business, you will be required to register with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) if you are a foreign investor.

Foreign investors are, by Ghanaian law, mandated to register with the GIPC, the Ghanaian government agency responsible for investment. Specific requirements have to be met before a foreign investor can commence 

If you are a foreign investor and intend to operate a 100% owned business in Ghana, the law requires that you bring an amount of US$500,000.00 into the country. This amount can be brought into the country in cash or goods or a combination of cash and goods. This amount is the minimum foreign equity capital requirement required for businesses that are 100% foreign-owned.

If you are a foreign investor and you want to set up a business in Ghana jointly with a Ghanaian national, the law requires that you have to bring into the country an amount of US$200,000.00. This amount can be brought into the country in cash, goods, or a combination of cash and goods. The law further requires that for joint ventures, the Ghanaian partner should have at least 10 per cent equity participation in the joint enterprise.

If you are a foreigner and you want to engage in trading in Ghana, the law requires that you bring into the country an amount of US$1 million. The law defines trading to include the purchasing and selling of imported goods and services. This amount can be brought into the country in cash or goods or a combination of cash and goods. The law further requires a foreign trading enterprise to employ at least 20 skilled Ghanaians.

To meet the minimum capital requirements to invest in Ghana by bringing money into the country, you would first have to open two bank accounts in Ghana (a foreign account and a local account) with any bank in Ghana. The money would have to be transferred into Ghana into a foreign account and converted into Ghana Cedis. Your local bank will then be required to notify the Bank of Ghana that you have brought in money to meet the minimum capital requirements. The Bank of Ghana will then notify the GIPC that you have brought in the required amount to meet the minimum capital requirements.

If you intend to use capital goods to meet the minimum capital requirements needed to do business in Ghana as a foreigner, such goods, imported machinery, and equipment must be in the name of your business, and all documents covering the importation of such capital goods should be in the name of your business. The following are some of the documents you can use to prove to the GIPC that you have brought in capital goods to meet the minimum equity capital requirements:

• Certified/Final Invoices of the capital goods
• Destination Inspection Certificate
• Import Declaration Form (IDF)
• Original Custom Bill of Entry
• Bill of lading/Airway Bill

You will, however, be exempt from meeting these minimum capital requirements if your business will be engaged in manufacturing or export trading. Export trading has been defined as the export of goods or products that originate from Ghana. If you are a portfolio investor, you are also exempt from meeting the minimum foreign equity capital requirements.

If you are a foreign investor and have been married to a Ghanaian citizen for a continuous minimum period of five (5) years, you may be exempt from meeting the minimum foreign equity capital requirements if you meet certain requirements. If you are a foreign investor who has lost his or her Ghanaian citizenship, you will also be exempt from meeting the minimum foreign equity capital requirements.

If all your documents are in order and the minimum capital requirements have been met, the GIPC has five (5) statutory working days to register your business.

Whilst the government should put restrictions on certain industries, registering with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) seems like an unnecessary step.

It also introduces room for corruption at GIPC, to reduce corruption, systems must not involve physical human involvement to remove the possibility of corruption.

The process with the GIPC take 5 working days.

Ghana Immigration permit.

Where the GIS is satisfied with the application, the GIS will grant a work permit to the applicant. It takes up to 30 days to obtain a work permit. The current fee payable to the GIS for the application for work permit is US$500 per applicant. 

YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO APPLY TO THE IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES FOR WORK PERMITS

One of the incentives that foreign investors may be entitled to upon registration at the GIPC is the granting of automatic expatriate quotas. This automatic expatriate quota is an indefinite work permit slot given as an investment incentive. The maximum number of slots that any business may be entitled to is four (4) quotas. The number of automatic expatriate quotas that your business may be entitled to depend on your business’ paid-up capital.

If your business does not qualify for these expatriate quotas, you can still apply for regular work permits at Ghana’s Immigration authorities.

YOU MAY ALSO HAVE TO REGISTER WITH THE APPROPRIATE REGULATOR DEPENDING ON THE BUSINESS YOU INTEND TO ENGAGE IN

After registering with the GIPC, you are free to conduct business in the country. However, if you want to engage in business in some particular sectors, you will be subject to further registration by the regulators of that sector. Some of the sectors and their regulators are described below:

NO.	SECTOR	REGULATOR(S)
1.	Banking and Financial Services(Banks, Savings and Loans, Finance Houses, Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and other Financial Institutions)	Bank of Ghana
2.	Insurance(Life Insurance, General Insurance, Reinsurance, Insurance Brokerage)	National Insurance Commission
3.	Telecommunications	National Communications Authority
4.	Securities(including Securities Exchanges, Fund Managers, Investment Advisory Services, Mutual Funds, Primary Dealers and Private Equity)	Securities and Exchange Commission
5.	Petroleum	Petroleum Commission (for upstream services) and the National Petroleum Authority (for downstream services)
6.	Hospitality(including Hotels,  Resorts etc.)	Ghana Tourism Authority
7.	Mining	Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Forestry Commission, Lands Commission
8.	Education	Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, National Schools Inspectorate Authority
9.	Power Generation	Energy Commission, Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission
10.	Healthcare(including running hospitals etc.)	Ministry of Health, Healthcare Regulatory Agency
11.	Pharmaceuticals	Pharmacy Council, Food and Drugs Authority
12.	Gaming(including Betting, Casinos, and Gaming Houses)	Gaming Commission of Ghana
13.	LotteriesFisheries and Aquaculture	National Lotteries AuthorityFisheries Commission

YOU MAY HOWEVER NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN BUSINESS ACTIVITIES IF YOU ARE A FOREIGNER

According to Ghanaian law, certain business activities are exclusively reserved for Ghanaian nationals. Foreign investors cannot participate in such businesses. Examples of such reserved business activities are as follows:

• Small-scale mining
• Trading (except where the foreign investment meets the minimum capital requirements for trading in Ghana)
• Operation of beauty salons and barbering shops
• Retail of finished pharmaceutical products
• Selling goods in a market
• Production, retail and supply of sachet water (sanitized water in plastic heat-sealed bags).
• The operation of taxi services or car hire services of fleets with less than twenty-five (25) vehicles

Problems with the current Ghana system of company registration.

As indicated in the diagram above, the red points indicate areas of potential problems such as bribery and corruption.

1. Bribery: Because physical forms have to be filled in and returned, it provides an avenue for bribery.
2. Corruption: Because physical payments have to be made in bank accounts when registering a business, it provides room for embezzlement of funds,

How Ghana can lead on the doing business scale globally – Starting a business

The government portal: ghana.gov.gh, should be used for registering companies.

Company registration should be done online, where you fill out the form online, submit the form online and make payment online.

Speed of doing business:

By simplifying the process as suggested in this post, the government will speed up the business registration process.

The registration process should not take more than 10 minutes.

For example, in the UK anyone can set up a company within 10-20 minutes from this government website.

https://www.gov.uk/set-up-limited-company

Ghana should copy from the UK example, there is no point doing things in an archaic and inefficient way.

Less bribery and corruption:

By simplifying the process, the government will remove the avenues for bribery and corruption. 

Increased investment 

By simplifying the process Ghana will find it easy to attract foreign investors into the country.

Ghana has come a long way in its digitisation efforts, by incorporating some of the measures outlined in this post, Ghana will be ranked at the top of for business globally – Starting a business. Ghana should aim high and should be first.