Reference
How Lebanese companies actually work.
Lebanese corporate procedure is badly documented in English. Most online sources are outdated or wrong. These pages state the current requirements. They cite the governing texts.
Offshore companies
A complete reference
Legal basis, permitted and prohibited activities, tax treatment, capital, governance, documents, process and the misconceptions that persist online.
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Company types
SARL, SAL, offshore, holding
All four side by side: capital, owners, tax, audit thresholds and the governing text for each, then how to choose between them.
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Registering
Documents, offices, sequence
What you need before starting, the five stages in order, and how long each company type really takes.
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Tax
What a company pays
Corporate income tax, dividend withholding, the offshore lump sum, VAT thresholds, payroll and NSSF.
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Glossary
The Arabic terms, explained
Every document and office you will meet, in Arabic, transliteration and English, with a note on why the same word is spelled five different ways.
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Written and reviewed by Gracia Hobeich, a lawyer licensed by the Beirut Bar Association. General information, not legal advice. Corrections are welcome and will be credited.
Practice guides
Procedure by company form, for lawyers.
One guide per form. Formation, the documents for each step, governance, the annual cycle, every common change, and dissolution. Each rule cites its article.
SARL
Limited liability company
How to form, run, change and wind up a Lebanese SARL: steps, documents, majorities and deadlines, cited to DL 35/1967 and the Code of Commerce.
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SAL
Joint stock company
Forming and running a Lebanese SAL: founders, capital, board, assemblies, annual filings, changes and liquidation, cited to the Code of Commerce.
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Offshore SAL
Company restricted to activity outside Lebanon
The Lebanese offshore SAL under DL 46/1983: permitted activity, single shareholder, formation, lump-sum tax, filings and dissolution, cited.
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Holding SAL
Company holding participations
The Lebanese holding SAL under DL 45/1983: permitted objects, formation, the LBP 50,000,000 lump-sum tax, filings and changes, cited.
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Sole trader
Individual establishment
The Lebanese sole trader and the fonds de commerce: registration, books, and selling, pledging or leasing the business, cited to DL 11/1967.
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Need this applied to your situation?
The page above is general. Your exact steps depend on what you do. That requires a conversation.