Setting up a business in the French overseas territories is nothing like setting up a business in mainland France!
Entrepreneurs are not subject to the same conditions and constraints. From the outset, the formalities involved in setting up a business have little in common: administrative services are relatively inefficient.
In La Réunion, it takes an average of 3 to 6 months to obtain a K-bis certificate, compared with around 48 hours in Ile-de-France.
You have to go in person to the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce (Commercial Court Registry) to obtain the precious document you need to operate your business. This procedure cannot be carried out online, as is the case elsewhere in mainland France.
To address this situation, the government has announced the creation of private transplants as of 2019.
Entrepreneurs have high hopes that this measure will reduce processing times. But that's not all: access to services is uneven , as is the scope of the target clientele.
Let's take a look at the main difficulties encountered by entrepreneurs in Overseas France.
On Reunion Island, the difficulties encountered by local administrations are the subject of lively debate.
Company founders have to be patient to obtain their K-bis register: 6 months on average.
And without this invaluable document, it's not legal to start trading, because the company can't legally exist. It is impossible, for example, to obtain a loan, release capital from a bank orfile an administrative declaration.
Many young companies are immediately faced with financial difficulties and put at risk.
Better still, many overseas entrepreneurs prefer to domicile their business in mainland France.
This is probably the best way to get around the administrative difficulties.
We're not talking about utilities here, but about certain technologies such as Stripe or Paypal, famous Internet payment companies for individuals and businesses.
For the time being, none of the French overseas territories can use it, which is a major drawback for their economic development.
As a result, companies are often obliged to open a bank account in mainland France.
Internet access is also inferior, and it's sometimes impossible to ship goods without incurring substantial additional costs.
This doesn't really contribute to cost optimization, which a young company cannot do without.
Corporate domiciliation in metropolitan France enables you to set up your head office at a particularly prestigious address, in the most sought-after Parisian arrondissements or in the heart of the most dynamic French metropolises.
The address of your registered office is very important, and is a key element of your company's identity: it defines its nationality, its country of taxation and the competent jurisdictions in the event of litigation.
As we mentioned earlier, the shortcomings of overseas administrations can be a handicap for your company.
This is why business owners often prefer to domicile their company in mainland France, to benefit from the advantages of having a legal entity in mainland France.
Much more than just a mailbox, domiciliation companies offer additional services for their customers, such as mail management, switchboard, administrative and legal assistance.
Being located in mainland France undeniably gives you access to the full range of business development support schemes to help you reach more customers and grow your business.
Unless it's a local business aimed at customers in the French overseas departments and territories, expanding into mainland France makes it easier to reach a large number of customers.
Delayed economic development in the French overseas departments and territories has led the French government to increase the number of targeted aid schemes.
The French government has taken on board the inequalities in regional development between mainland France and the French overseas departments and territories (DOM-TOM). However, many difficulties persist, leading entrepreneurs to domicile their businesses on the Continent.
Online company domiciliation is a crucial asset for having an ideally located mailbox, while at the same time lightening the day-to-day workload of your teams.
Ultimately, it allows you to visibly improve your company's performance.
Written by our expert Paul LASBARRERES-CANDAU
February 19, 2019
