Five Steps to set up a Limited Liability Company in Italy

#Italy

当下，越来越多的中国企业前往欧洲进行投资，而意大利政府也本着开放的姿态欢迎各国投资者来意投资兴建公司。意大利公司大体可以分为S.R.L.（有限责任公司）和S.P.A.（股份有限公司）两种。由于S.R.L.公司的设立手续简单，注册资本要求低，大多数投资者均采用该公司形式在意设立公司。

Nowadays,more and more Chinese enterprises invest in Europe, and the Italian government also welcomes investors from all over the World to make investments and set up companies in Italy. Generally Italian companies often use S.R.L. (limited liability Company) and S.P.A. (joint stock limited company) as the legal form. The procedure for the establishment of S.R.L.is much simpler and the required minim registered capital is relatively low, that is why most of the investors prefer this legal form to set up their first company in Italy.

S.R.L.公司类似于国内的有限责任公司，公司以其资产为限承担公司全部债务，股东只需要以其对公司的出资为限承担责任，其个人财产不会受到影响。这种类型的公司可以由两个或两个以上主体通过订立设立协议而设立，也可以由单一主体设立。自然人和法人都可以成为有限责任公司的股东，最低注册资本10.000欧元。

S.R.L. is similar to a limited liability company in China.The company shall bear all the liabilities of the company with its assets. The shareholders only take responsibility for the capital contributed to the company, and their personal property will not be affected in case of company’s insolvency. This type of company can be set up on the base of an agreement between two or more parties, but also by a single subject (s.r.l. unipersonale). Natural persons and legal persons can both become shareholders of limited liability companies and the minimum registered capital is €10.000.

第一步：选择投资主体，个人和公司均可作为投资主体，如公司作为投资主体，需首先前往当地的商务主管部门进行境外投资备案。

Step One: Choose the investment subjects. Both individuals and companies can be the investment subjects. If the company is the investor, it first needs to go to the local business authorities to obtain the overseas investment back-record.

第二步：准备在意大利注册公司所需要的文件,并前往中国公证处进行公证,获得公证文件后前往意大利驻中国使领馆进行认证,所需公证及认证的文件包括但不限于:投资母公司营业执照(公司为投资主体)、投资人护照（个人为投资主体）。

Step two: Prepare all the required documents for the registration of the newly established Italian company and go to the notary office in China. After get the notarial certificate, go to the Italian Embassy or Consulate in China to authenticate the notarization. Required notarized and certified documents include but not limited to: business license of the parent company (company as the investor) and investor’s passport (individual as the investor).

第三步：前往意大利税务局或意大利驻中国使领馆申请获得意大利税号；并前往意大利房产中介或相关网站寻找合适的公司办公场所，在特殊情况下，亦可使用虚拟地址注册公司。

Step Three: Go to the Italian Tax Bureau (Agenzia delle Entrate) or the Italian Embassy/Consulate in China to apply for an Italian tax code, and then you need to find a good location for an office through Italian real estate agency or related websites. In some special circumstances the company may also use a virtual address to register the company.

第四步：开立资本金账户，并将公司注册资本汇入资本金账户；此后新成立的意大利公司法定代表人（若不通晓意大利文，应当由有资质的翻译人员陪同）前往意大利公证处，并在公证员的鉴证下阅读并签署公司设立文件及公司章程。

Step Four: Open a capital account and transfer the registered capital into the account. The legal representative of the new established company (if the legal representative cannot speak Italian, he should be accompanied by qualified translators) should go to an Italian notary, read and sign the Incorporation Deed and Articles of Association in front of the notary.

第五步：在上述步骤全部完成后，需携带所有公司设立文件前往意大利商会企业登记处进行公司登记备案手续；该等手续完成后前往银行开设基本账户并完成人员招聘及员工社会保障账户开设等工作。

Step Five: After the aforementioned steps are completed, you need to bring all the documents for the incorporation to complete all the registration procedures at the Italian Chamber of Commerce. Then you should open a basic bank account, complete the recruitment of personnel and open an Italian Social Security account.

上述所有步骤虽复杂，但均可委托意大利律师代理完成。

Though the procedure is complicated, all procedures can be done with the assistance of an Italian Lawyer.

在公司并购中，由于项目标的额高，我们更常用S.P.A.（股份有限公司）作为设立形式，下一期，我们将介绍此类公司的特点及设立步骤，敬请期待。

In Italian Mergers and Acquisitions process we will often use more the form of S.P.A. (JointStock Company) considering the high value of project. In the next issuance, we will introduce the steps to set up other kind of companies, so stay tuned.