If the company should be incorporated within the scope of an investment project, previous steps have to be taken, as follows:
The NPIL is not applicable to investments made in the oil and gas sector, mining sector and financial institutions, which are regulated by specific legislation. Additionally, it should be noted that the registration of branches or representative offices is no longer deemed as foreign investment under the NPIL. The NPIL is not applicable to investments made by private companies of which the Angolan Government or Angolan Companies hold 50% or more of the share capital. The NPIL requires that, in some sectors, foreign private investment must be undertaken in partnership with Angolan citizens, Government owned companies or Angolan private companies. These sectors are the following: • Construction; • Electricity and water; • Hotel and tourism; • Media; • Telecommunications and information technology; and • Transportation and logistics. Tax benefits and incentives under the NPIL can be granted to foreign investment in an amount equal to or greater than USD 1,000,000 and to domestic investment in an amount equal to or greater than USD 500,000. Angolan companies which invest a minimum of USD 500,000 will benefit from a special scheme of tax deductions, accelerated depreciation and reincorporation. The NPIL also establishes objective criteria for the granting of extraordinary incentives that are applicable to investments in a total amount equal to or greater than USD 50,000,000 and that generate between 200-300 job positions for Angolan citizens, depending on the region. This new law also establishes that the profits arising from an investment may be repatriated immediately upon the conclusion of the project. This is a considerable step forward in Angolan business practices as the old law only allowed profits to be repatriated 3 years after the conclusion of a project. If the amount of dividends or profits distributed to the shareholders of a company incorporated under an investment project exceed the participation of the shareholders in the company’s own funds, such shareholders are under obligation to pay a surcharge of capital application tax at the following rate:
Estimated Time
Item
Estimated Cost
1 Obtaining the investment approval (CRIP) from the relevant ministerial UTAIP
It depends on the negotiations with the relevant ministerial UTAIP To be assessed on a case by case basis
N/A
To be assessed on a case by case basis
2 Obtaining a commercial operations license (locally known as Alvará ) from the Ministry of Commerce (Ministério do Comércio)
3 Obtaining a currency
1 month
N/A (administrative fees to be
import license from the Angolan Central Bank (Banco Nacional de Angola) (BNA).
charged by commercial banks)
Further licenses and authorisations may be required depending on the activity of the new company. The licences and additional information would need to be sought from the relevant administrative authority. The World Bank report “Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency”, has highlighted important developments in Angola’s business environment. Angola has moved up 33 places in the table ranking the ease of setting up of businesses. Additionally, the cost to set up a business in Angola is lower than in other sub-Saharan African countries, reflecting the focus of the country in stimulating economic growth. Investment Promotion and Incentives The Angola’s New Private Investment Law (the NPIL ) entered into force in 2015 and establishes the principles of private investment in Angola. Furthermore, it provides a scheme of tax benefits and incentives and aims to make private investment in Angola more attractive. The NPIL applies to all foreign investment where the minimum domestic investment amount required is set at AOA 50,000,000 (approximately USD 302,000).
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