The trade permit
The regulation of the activities
All commercial, craft and industrial activities have been subject to the condition of obtaining a trade permit issued by the Ministry of Middle Classes (for general inquiries). The delivery may need the approval of other ministries such as Economy and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Justice or the one of Transport.
Delivrance conditions
The pre-requisites for obtaining the trade permit are:
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Legal conditions of qualification and respectability.
Presence of a real permanent establishment for the society (Not a mailbox).
It should be noted that the trade permit is issued to a natural person, not a legal one. Therefore, it is valid as the manager or the CEO in the daily management in the company remains unchanged. In case of holder's departure of the trade permit, it is imperative to make a new request and within a maximum period of 6 months.
A person may hold several trade permit to herself alone. Conversely, it is also possible to have multiple people within the same company bearers of a trade permit for different business sectors.
Modalities
Respectability
The future holder of a trade permit must demonstrate his respectability. To do this, he must firstly provide a criminal record. This record does not highlight convictions to question his integrity or any deprivation of his civil rights and that regardless of the country of origin. If such a statement appeared and that the sentence has been served, this should not be an obstacle to the deliverance.
He must also provide a notarial certificate of non-bankruptcy personal not limited in time or space. This certificate takes the form of a statement made under oath before a notary that the person is not personally bankrupt.
Qualifications
Depending on the activity you wish to exercise, it will be asked a qualifying justification in the said field. One of the simplest ways is to produce a diploma of higher education in relation to the activity pursued. If you wish to legal advice, you will be asked a Master in Law for example.
However, it is also possible to obtain a trade permit by providing an official certificate of professional experience of more than 5 years in the same activity. This is usually an "EC certificate".
For artisan activities and tradespeople, this is typically the certificate as to the activities in the country of origin in accordance with Directive No 99/42 / EEC of 7 June 1999.
The national competent authorities for issuing the certificate are:
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Germany : Handwerkskammern oder Industrie- und Handelskammern
Belgium : Service Public Fédéral, Economie, P.M.E., Classes Moyennes & Energie
Denmark : Industriradet
Estonia : Estonian Ministery of Education and Research
France : Chambre des Métiers ou Chambre de Commerce et de l’Industrie (pour les indépendants) et la Direction Départementale du travail et de l’emploi (pour les salariés)
Great Britain : Department for education and skills
Greece : Chambre des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises
Italy : Camera di commercio,industria, artigianato e agricoltura (pour les indépendants) et Ispettorati provinciali del lavoro (pour les salariés)
Ireland : FAS, Training and Employment Authority (certificate of experience Unit)
Netherlands : Hoofbedrijfschap ambachten
Portugal : Confederaçâo da Indûstria Portuguesa (pour les independents) et la Inspecçâo do trabalho ou Conferaçao do Comercio portugues (pour les salariés)
Poland : Ministertwo Gospodarki i Pracy
For the transport activities, this is the certificate about the activities in the country of origin in accordance with Directive NO96 / 26 / EEC of 29 April 1996.
The national competent authorities for issuing the certificate are:
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Belgium : le Ministère des Transports à Bruxelles
Germany : Industrie- und Handelskammer
France : le Ministère des Transports
[Source : Ministry of Middle Classes]
Stable establishment
The trade permit is issued for society in the name of a natural person. Consequently, the company must have a permanent establishment in Luxembourg responding to the requirements of the law on the establishment of 2 September 2011. So today, it is impossible to consider the establishment of a company in Luxembourg aspiring to do business (i.e. to issue invoices between the company and customers) without a real physical and private office.
We invite you to visit our "Offices rental" page for further information about setting up your office.
Our assistance
The activity of a company can not start until the latter has not obtained his trade permit. That is why it is essential to attach great importance to the Constitution of this folder to put all assets on your side. Our company, with its experience, will be able to assist you in this process resulting from a case by case study to determine the overall conditions of your business operation. Indeed, according to your expectations, it will be established several solutions to obtain this authorization.
This file is different if your company is a LLC or Ltd, if the Manager is associated or not, if the employee status of the manager or administrator is required etc...
We build for you a complete file to your request: Proof of identity, Proof of residence, certificate or Proof of professional experience, your respectability certificate, lease your office, the statutes of your company etc...
Each case is introduced by recommended letter to ensure optimal processing time. Generally, for a complete file, the acceptance of the authorization is made within 10 days on average.
Our conclusion
Although the establishment of a new society is freely accessible in theory, in practice we find that a number of points can hamper your upcoming project. That is why it is important to define all the work method you will adopt in your business.
An example: You live in Lyon and you want to develop a new company from Luxembourg. EU law allows you to do this naturally, Luxembourg too. But we must be aware of the nuances: If you have the right to form a new company, its operation is subject to trade permit condition. There, you will meet various types of block: maybe a qualification blocking, but especially a blocking in management. Indeed, in the modifying of the establishing law of the 02 September 2011, the legislature introduced a notion of location of the company management and regular presence of the management. Now living in Lyon, it will be difficult to justify that you are always present in Luxembourg. Also, the application for authorization may be refused.
That's why it makes sense to contact us to arrange an interview to put in place all the elements to ensure the durability of your business and find the best solutions at the best price.