Expand Business in Belarus
Belarus
Global Upside helps businesses expand into Belarus by providing talent acquisition, human resources, accounting, payroll, tax, incorporation, and professional employer organization (PEO)/employer of record (EOR) services. Our comprehensive offerings create an end-to-end solution that helps you establish your business and optimize your operations, all while maintaining compliance with Belarusian laws and regulations.
The hiring and incorporation processes in Belarus are often complex, time-consuming, and involve numerous legal and compliance challenges. Global Upside simplifies these processes and lifts the compliance burden from your business. Our teams have the experience and expertise required to help you establish a legal entity in Belarus. We also offer PEO/EOR solutions to companies interested in hiring employees quickly, without setting up a legal entity in the country.
Capital City
Minsk
Currency
Belarusian Ruble (BYN)
Language
Belarusian, Russian
Government
Presidential Republic
Country Overview
Located in Eastern Europe, Belarus is a landlocked nation and the smallest of the three Slavic republics counted in the Soviet Union (Russia and Ukraine being the larger two). The economy is largely state-owned and also open to international trade.
- Belarus exports motor vehicles for the transport of goods, cheese and curd, petroleum oils other than crude, and mineral or chemical potassium fertilizers.
- Major import products are petroleum oils (including crude), hydrocarbons, and medicament.
- Belarus has relatively low levels of inequality and poverty.
Options for setting up a legal entity in Belarus include:
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
A limited liability company (LLC) is a form of an entity set up that requires at least one investor and is the most flexible establishment type.
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Joint-Stock Company
A joint-stock company is a business entity set up that needs two investors. A JSC is of two kinds: open joint-stock company and closed joint-stock company. A JSC is best suited for large businesses.
Representative Office
A representative office is a form of an entity set up that cannot engage in any activities which involve commercial activities and income generation. It can only engage in market research and promotional activities.
It takes a minimum of four to six weeks to establish a legal entity set up in Belarus.
According to the Belarus Labor Code, both employers and employees are required to comply with the law.
There are three types of labor agreements:
- Permanent Labor agreement
- Terminal Labor Agreement
- Contract
Following are the public holidays in Belarus:
- 1 and 2: New Year’s Day
- 7: Christmas (Orthodox Christmas)
- 8: Women’s Day
- May 1: Labor Day
- May 9: Victory Day
- May 11: Radunitsa (date per the calendar of the Orthodox denomination)
- July 3: Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus
- 7: October Revolution Day
- 25: Christmas (Catholic Christmas)
The payroll frequency, in Belarus, is monthly.
The 13th salary is not mandatory and is established by the employment contract or collective agreement.
All organizations in Belarus must prepare their financial statements per the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Corporate Tax
The corporate tax rate in Belarus is 18%.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
The VAT rate in Belarus is 20%.
Telecommunication services are subject to VAT at the rate of 25% and the preferential rate is 10%.
The Law on Personal Data Protection in 2021 is the first Belarusian legal act established specially for the regulation of personal data protection issues.
Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Law
The Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus regulates bribery offenses.
The legal consequences for bribery in Belarus are:
- A fine or correctional labor for up to two years, or imprisonment
- Restriction of freedom for two to seven years.
Under Articles 430, 431, 432 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, bribery by a formerly convicted person, the penalties are:
i) Imprisonment for five to ten years
ii) Confiscation of property
