Registration of Liasons Office

Registration of Liaison Office in Bangladesh

A Liaison Office refers to an establishment that does not engage in any commercial activities, which are generally understood as activities related to income generation. While the Board of Investment (BOI) guidelines do not explicitly define commercial activities, they clearly state that Liaison Offices cannot participate in such activities. Instead, these offices are intended to promote the activities of the parent office abroad within Bangladesh, acting as a communication channel without conducting business, trade, or industrial activities.

Liaison Offices and Representative Offices are treated similarly in Bangladesh, as their permitted activities and characteristics are largely the same, and the establishment process follows the same guidelines under BOI.

How to Incorporate a Liaison Office in Bangladesh

To set up a Liaison Office in Bangladesh, prior authorization from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is required. The investor must submit a prescribed application form along with the following documents, which must be attested by the Bangladesh Embassy or High Commission of the country of origin or the Apex Chamber of Commerce of the country of origin:

1. Duly filled, signed, and sealed application form
2. Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Articles of Association (AoA) of the principal company
3. Certificate of Incorporation of the principal company
4. Names and nationalities of the directors/promoters of the principal company
5. Board resolution to open a Liaison Office in Bangladesh
6. Audited accounts of the last financial year
7. Proposed organogram of the office showing positions to be occupied by expatriates and local personnel
8. List of activities of the proposed office on the company letterhead

Time Required for Opening a Liaison Office

Once the aforementioned documents are submitted to BIDA, it takes about 2-3 weeks to obtain approval for setting up a Liaison Office in Bangladesh.