Doing Business in Malawi

Malawi business has reached new heights since the social and political transformations have taken place in the recent years. Doing Business in Malawi has now gained an acceptance among the business fraternity worldwide. It is now embraced to capitalize on its advantages through greater co-operation with private sector. The scenario was changed as soon as The Investment Promotion Act of 1981 was implemented. MIPA the investment promotion agency looks after the entire process. Doing Business in Malawi is a good idea since the investment and business policies have been reformed.

An aspiring entrepreneur has to abide by the rules right from seeking a work permit to required notifications and verifications pertaining to the companies from the relevant authorities to commence his business for Doing Business in Malawi Certain procedures are to be followed when it comes to setting up a business in Malawi. They are:

First of all one has to search a probable name for his company. He has to put in an application for the Certificate of Incorporation to the Registrar general in the Ministry of Justice He has to file his name for the payment of income tax with the Malawi revenue Authority Next step is to obtain a seal

• Submit an application form to receive a license from the Ministry of trade and Industry and in respect to food and liquor license from the Blantyre City Assembly
• After this the inspectors will inspect the precincts of the city
• Again he has to obtain license from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry by paying fees to the Director of finance office
• Followed by an application he has to file for registration at the work place
• Inspection of the venue once again by the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Department
• Lastly, getting oneself enrolled with the Malawi Revenue Authority for PAYE and fringe Tax benefits

The minimum time required for each procedure is one day. Nepotism does not work while obtaining certificates but acceleration of each procedure is possible through money. The filing is considered to be complete once the person receives the tax number or the registration certificate for doing Business in Malawi.

Costs are calculated from the company law, the commercial code, and fee schedules. It is entered as a percentage of the country's income for each person. The paid-in minimum capital requirement is the amount of money that an aspiring entrepreneur has to pay before he embarks on his business. It gets recorded as a percentage of the per capita income of the country.

Therefore, Doing Business in Malawi though entail a lot of procedures still is conducive for the investors.