A business combines people, money, tools, and decisions to provide goods or services. In Iran, it may operate through a registered legal entity or through an individual business form permitted for the activity. A company, or sherkat, has an organized ownership and management structure. Different company forms allocate capital, decision-making, liability, and transfer of ownership in different ways. A partnership or family enterprise may be simple to organize in practice, but spoken understandings can create later conflict. Written rules should explain ownership shares, contributions, authority, profit distribution, losses, and exit. Cooperatives are member-based organizations created to pursue shared economic aims. They follow a different logic from a business controlled by one owner because members participate under cooperative rules. Many local activities also require a sector or trade authorization, often described generally as a mojavez or a business license. Company registration alone should not be assumed to authorize every product, profession, location, or method of sale. A business must keep reliable records of sales, purchases, wages, contracts, debts, assets, and payments. Accounting and tax duties depend on the legal form and activity, so records should begin on the first day. Employing workers creates separate responsibilities for employment agreements, wages, insurance, attendance, safety, and termination. Owners should not mix employment records with informal household arrangements. Foreign ownership, investment, management, payments, and work can involve additional rules. Before committing funds, a foreign participant should verify the lawful structure, authority to sign, banking arrangements, permits, and ability to operate in practice.
Business in Iran
Business in Iran includes registered companies, partnerships, cooperatives, sole businesses, shops, workshops, family enterprises, and independent professional activity. Sherkat commonly means company, while kasb-o-kar means business or commercial activity more broadly. The suitable form depends on ownership, risk, management, funding, permits, tax duties, and the way customers will be served.
Tip
Start a business in Iran only after defining the customer, activity, owners, and money flow in writing. Confirm both the legal form and every activity-specific permission before signing a lease or buying major equipment. Keep personal money separate from business money from the beginning.