Solomon Islands - Register Company

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Procedure

1. You need to choose a company name when you register a company, the name must be distinct and not being used by another company. The company name must have the word 'limited' or 'ltd' at the end. If it is a community company, it must have 'community company limited' or 'ccl' at the end of the name. You should do a search of company names before you choose your own to make sure that your preferred name is not already taken. A business name is different to a company name. It is the name usually used in a trading context. For example, a company may have the company name ABC Tropical Limited, and it may own and run a shop, under the business name Nambawan Hardware Store. You may still use your company name in a trading context, however if you do, it must include the full company name (ie the word Limited must be included).
2. Registration of business names is done by going to the Company Haus office, submitting a completed form and paying the fee.
3. To register your company, you may complete an application online - Link.
4. Provide all required information on the form. Make sure that you review your application before proceeding to the final steps.
5. You must pay the application fee to complete your application. To submit your application to incorporate your company you must pay the application fee of SBD$1,250 (SBD $2,500 for an overseas company) at either the Treasury Counter in Honiara, or the Inland Revenue counters in Gizo and Auki. You will then be required to show your receipt at Company Haus, or arrange for the Chief Industrial Officer in Auki or Gizo to fax over a copy of the receipt to Company Haus. This money will then be credited to your account with Company Haus.
   Important information: After finalising your online application, you will need to wait until you are presented with a confirmation screen or your requested information. Actions such as clicking the browser back button or closing the window may disrupt the transaction.

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Required Documents

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e.g.
1. Proof of child birth from the Hospital.

Office Locations & Contacts

Company Haus - Registrar of Companies
PO Box G26
Honiara
Tel: +67 7 26 812
Fax: +67 7 25 084

Business hours:
9:00am - 11:30am and 1:30-3:00pm
Monday to Friday (except public holidays)

Eligibility

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Fees

• For an application to register a company: SBD 1,250
• For registration of an annual return: SBD 200
• For registration of documents to effect an amalgamation: SBD 250
• For an application to restore a company to the register: SBD 1000
• For an application to register an overseas company: SBD 2500
• For registration of an annual return by an overseas company: SBD 500
• For an application to change the name of a company: SBD 100
• For certification of a copy of or extract from any document: SBD 150
• For a copy of, or extract from, a document that is part of the register, in addition to any fee for certifying the copy or extract:
  • if a photocopy is made by a member of the public using a photocopy machine provided for public use, for each A4 sheet: 5 per sheet
  • if a photocopy is made by the registrar, for each A4 sheet: 5 per sheet

Validity

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e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

Business Structures:

• The sole trader : a sole trader is a small business, like a shop or a market stall. In Solomon Islands, these people usually just register a business name and obtain any other licence required by the city council or provincial government. If you register a business name, you are not registering a company.
• The Partnership: A partnership is where two or more people contribute their own resources- cash, or property, or even their time. They then have an agreement about how they share the profits between them. A partnership is usually used by professionals, like accountants and lawyers.
• The Company: A company is a separate legal entity from the owners, who are called shareholders. The significance of this separation is that in most cases, shareholders cannot be personally liable for the debts of the company. If the company fails, generally the only liability of the shareholder is the amount they have invested in the company to purchase their shares. This type of liability is called limited liability. This is why a company name always has 'limited' or 'ltd' at the end of it's name.

Required Information

• Company Details
• Company addresses : Physical address and a postal address. The address of the registered office must be a physical address in the Solomon Islands. That is, a street address, not a Post Office Box. In Honiara, this should be the name of the building or the name of the neighbourhood. Outside of Honiara, this should be the name of the building, town or village.
• Director details : Each company must have at least one director.
• Shares & shareholders : Each company must have at least one share and one shareholder. You need to record the full name and address of each shareholder.

Need for the Document

This procedure provides you information on how to register a company.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Why you should register your company:

• Limited liability: the company is liable for all of the obligations it incurs, not the shareholders. By comparison, a sole trader or a person involved with a partnership will be personally liable for any business debts that cannot be paid by the business.
• Shareholder control: the Companies Act allows a good degree of shareholder control through the power of the shareholder to vote on certain decisions, such as removing directors. The shareholder can control the company without the need to be involved with the day-to-day business.
• Continuity of existence: a company will usually survive changes of ownership, and will continue to exist until it is removed from the company register. A partnership often ends on retirement or death of a partner. Shares can be transferred- It is easier to sell and transfer shares in a company than it is to sell or transfer a partnership interest.
• Credibility: Registering a company will give the business some credibility towards third parties, such as lenders and other people it does business with, because certain information is made available to the public and it has to abide by clear rules under the Companies Act.

External Links

The Company Haus

Others

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