Starting a business in the United Arab Emirates is a dream for many. The country, for a long time has helped investors and business owners launch and expand their operations without the need for lengthy processes and administration. One of its Emirates, Dubai, has been growing rapidly in every sector from the last few decades. It has been always welcoming to the investors to start their establishment in the country and expand it further. Now, to start any company in Dubai one needs to first choose a legal structure and Dubai offers many such corporate entities to the entrepreneurs, one of such being a General Partnership Firm.
In simple terms, a General Partnership is an agreement between two or more partners whereby each of the partners is jointly and severely liable to the extent of their assets for the company’s liabilities. Only the UAE nationals are allowed to start a General Partnership in Dubai. The partners in the partnership are liable for its debts and legal action – either personally, created by agreement, proof of existence and estoppels. The agreement of the partnership must be created that with the outline in detail the profit-sharing arrangement between the partners. In the eventuality of death, insanity, bankruptcy, or withdrawal of any partner, the partnership must be dissolved. A fresh partnership agreement must be created among the remaining partners who would like to continue and any new partner(s) who are added now.
Features of a General Partnership in Dubai
- The company shares may not be represented in negotiable certificates
- Partners are severally responsible in all their money for the company's obligations and any agreement to the contrary might not be made against third parties
- The company administration shall be undertaken by all partners, unless the company contract or an independent contract assigns the administration to a partner or to a non partner party
- Each general partner may own any share of the business. There is no minimum or maximum level of ownership for any partner
- A partnership company can appoint one manager as per the DED business regulations
- A general partnership company in Dubai can have more than one branch. Each may undertake one or all of the activities included in the main business license
Procedure to Start a General Partnership in Dubai
While starting or registering any business, the first step to be performed is to select a name for the company. In this case, the name of the company shall be made up of the name of all partners and its name might be limited to the name of one or more partners and adding a word to modify the presence of the company. In addition to that the company may have a special commercial name, if the name of a person other than the partners was mentioned in the name while he is aware of that, then the said person shall be responsible in partnership for the company's obligations. Here are the further steps to be followed to register your general partnership in Dubai.
- The partners must apply for the registration of the General Partnership by signing and filing with the registrar an application for registration
- The application forwarded must include,
- The use of the General Partnership name which must end with the word Partnership
- The address of the registered office of the General Partnership
- The nature of the business to be conducted by the General Partnership and
- The name and address of each of the partners of the General Partnership
- Once this is submitted, the authority might even ask to submit extra information reasonably required for him to determine the application
- Once everything is reviewed, the registrar will approve your application and you can move forward to start your business.
In few cases, the Registrar may refuse to register a General Partnership or any partner for such reason as he believes to be proper grounds for refusing such registration. Where the Registrar refuses to register a General Partnership or any partner he shall not be bound to provide any reason for his refusal and his decision must not be subject to appeal or review in any court.
Documents Required to Start a General Partnership in Dubai
- Passport copies and valid ID of partners and managers
- Certificate of initial approval from the DED
- Company name registration certificate
- NOC from all the partners
- Official address of the company
General Partnership Company in Dubai might have not yet created successful buzz in the market, but is on its way to reach that point. If you are looking forward to start your business in Dubai, we at Business Setup Worldwide can help you with it. Our advisors are well versed with the legal aspects of the business with years of experience. Contact us today- we’d be happy to assist you.