SARL

SARL · Commercial Registry of Beirut

The company for doing business in Lebanon.

The default choice for trading, services and most small companies. One partner is enough. Your liability stops at what you put in.

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What a SARL needs
At incorporation
Minimum capital Paid in full and deposited in a Lebanese bank before registration
LBP 5M ≈ $56
Partners A single-partner SARL has been permitted since Law 126/2019
1 to 20
Manager Must be a natural person. A partner or someone from outside.
1+
Tax on profit Plus 10% withheld when you distribute profit to yourself
17%

Capital has to be paid up in full, unlike an SAL where a quarter of each share is enough at subscription. An auditor only becomes mandatory once capital reaches LBP 30,000,000 (about $335), or partners holding a fifth of the capital ask for one. General information, not tax advice.

Honest first

A SARL is usually the right answer.

If any part of your business touches Lebanon, this is almost certainly the structure. The exceptions are worth knowing about.

Not sure? Just ask

It works if

  • You have clients, suppliers or staff in Lebanon
  • You want a company without a board or three shareholders
  • You want to keep personal assets out of reach of business debts
  • You are a foreigner A SARL can be wholly foreign owned. Some regulated sectors are the exception.

It does not work if

  • All your income comes from outside Lebanon An offshore SAL pays no tax on that profit. Worth reading before you commit.
  • You want banking, insurance, savings schemes or scheduled air transport SARLs are barred from these by statute.
  • You need freely transferable shares or outside investors Transfers need partner approval. An SAL is built for this.
  • You already own a single-partner SARL and want another the same way A sole-partner SARL cannot be the sole partner of a second one.

How it goes

Four steps. Usually four to eight weeks.

  1. Your email

    We confirm a SARL is right, agree a name and an object, and check the address you will register at.

    Day 0

  2. You send your documents

    Passports or IDs for every partner, proof of the registered address, and a recent judicial record extract. Scans are fine.

    Week 1

  3. Articles drafted and notarised

    We draft the articles and the manager's appointment, send them with exact signing instructions, and legalise them before the notary. Wet ink, blue pen.

    Weeks 2–3

  4. Bank, registry, Ministry of Finance

    Capital is deposited in full and certified. The file goes to the Commercial Registry for your company number, then to the Ministry of Finance for your tax number and VAT registration if you need it.

    Weeks 3–8

Scope

Everything, to the certificate.

One engagement, first email to Ministry of Finance certificate.

  • Structure advice, SARL or something else, in writing
  • Name check and reservation
  • Articles of association and the corporate object, drafted
  • Manager's appointment and powers
  • Registered-address file, legalised with the owner
  • Notarisation and Commercial Registry filing
  • Ministry of Finance registration, tax number and VAT where needed
  • Every original document, delivered and explained

Questions

The ones people actually ask.

Yes. Law 126/2019 introduced the single-partner SARL. You sign decisions on your own. They are recorded in the Commercial Register. A sole-partner SARL cannot itself be the sole partner of another SARL.

Legally yes. At about $56 the floor has not moved since 1992. Banks and counterparties read capital as a signal. Most companies register meaningfully more. We will suggest a figure that fits what you are doing. Above LBP 30,000,000 (about $335) an auditor becomes mandatory, which is the real threshold to think about.

Yes, and wholly. Certain regulated activities carry Lebanese ownership requirements. Holding real estate has its own rules. The answer depends on your object. We check that before drafting rather than after.

Where are your clients. If every one of them is outside Lebanon, an offshore SAL pays no tax on profit and nothing on distributions. The difference is large. If any meaningful part of your revenue comes from inside Lebanon, an offshore company is not permitted to serve them. A SARL is the honest answer.

Only once capital reaches LBP 30,000,000 (about $335), you pass twenty partners, or partners holding at least a fifth of the capital ask for one. Below that you still keep proper accounts and file annually.

Start with an email.

Tell us what you are doing and what you need. You will get a straight answer on which structure fits and what it costs. If we are not the right people for it, you will hear that too.

Email Gracia

Replies within one business day. Arabic, English or French.