Opening a company bank account is one of the last things you do before you start your business operations in South Sudan. Before even stepping into a bank, you need to register your company name with the SSTICA (South Sudan Trade & Investment Concervation Agency). Then, you must incorporate your company with the South Sudan Investment Authority and obtain your investment license and tax identification number. Don’t try to shortcut this process. If you don’t have these documents in hand, your application will be refused. If your company is a South Sudan branch of an existing foreign corporation, you will also need to supply incorporation documents from your parent company, as well as a board resolution from the parent company approving the South Sudan branch.
Below are details on the required documents
They include the following documents:
Articles of incorporation
You will provide your certificate of incorporation, as well as your Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Board resolution
You’ll need a board resolution that specifies who is allowed to sign on the company bank account and what kinds of transactions they will be authorised to approve. (We recommend only allowing cheque signing authority)
Identification documents
The bank will want photocopies of the passports and recent utility bills as proof of address for all directors and shareholders with more than a 10% stake in the company. Along with these copies, you must include a one-page biography for each director.
Beneficial owners
If any of your shareholders are corporations, you will need to provide the same documentation from those companies, and so on. Ultimately, you must document yourself all the way down to the natural persons who have ultimate control over the company. The bank will refer to this as UBOLD, Ultimate Beneficial Owner Disclosure and they will reject your application if it is incomplete.
Proof of business
Evidence that you are an operating business includes copies of audited financials (if available), a business plan specific to the South Sudan operation and a contract or letter of intent from a South Sudan client or supplier.
Penalties for missing deadlines
Timely filing is taken seriously at the SSRA. There are consequences for failing to meet deadlines and the repercussions are seveir.
Underpayment penalties: If you have paid less than 25 percent of your total tax liability, you will be penalised 10 percent on the amount you underpaid. If you paid less than 25 percent, your penalty is increased to 50 percent.
Expect to pay
Legal and translation fees: For attorney and translator fees, they charge between $1,000 and $4,000 USD based on how much assistance you need. Translation and legalisation of documents are costly. Anything written in Chinese must first be translated into English by a certified translator. Translated documents then need to be notarised. If you require an apostille or embassy legalisation, then the fees will increase accordingly.
Timeline
Allow two to four months from start to finish. You’ll need to register your company (which alone can take several weeks), and then go through the process of getting documents authenticated. Once you’ve submitted your bank account application, the bank will conduct its own internal compliance review, which they say can take up to eight weeks.
Background
South Sudan’s banking sector is experiencing liquidity problems. Petroleum-related revenues, which represent about 98% of the government’s budget, shrank considerably after militants damaged a pipeline that runs through northern Sudan. The central bank of Sudan has found it difficult to provide commercial banks with enough hard currency. South Sudanese banks have placed restrictions on customer withdrawals.
You may also find these articles helpful
Opening a bank account for a company in Gambia – full guide
Opening a bank account for a company in Burkina Faso – full guide
Guide on company registration in Turkey
