Business in Mongolia

Entrepreneurial activity in Mongolia commonly uses a company, partnership or cooperative. A company may have one founder. The registry also recognizes structures such as associations, foundations, foreign representative offices and state or self-financing entities, but their purposes and legal effects differ. A legal entity is an organization that can hold rights and obligations in its own name; it cannot participate in civil transactions as that entity before State registration is completed. The General Authority for State Registration (GASR) handles registration, while the Tax Authority, the Investment and Trade Agency, the SME Agency and the relevant permit issuer handle other parts of the business lifecycle. E-Business 2.0 supports digital formation, amendments, permits and dissolution. E-Mongolia and territorial GASR offices provide additional access, and paper filing remains functionally available. A registration application commonly includes the approved name, founding decision, charter, founder information, address and equity evidence, state stamp-duty receipt and beneficial-owner information. An electronic signature may be required for digital filings. Name confirmation lasts 30 days and may be extended for up to 60 days. A decision on a new domestic legal entity generally takes 2 working days and a foreign-invested legal entity generally takes 5 working days. After an online notification, original documents may need to arrive within 5 working days. Registered changes, including changes to founders, equity, address, activities or beneficial ownership, generally need filing within 15 working days; the tax authority’s statement can be relevant to the change-registration process. A business may conduct an activity unless the law prohibits it or requires an ordinary or special permit. The activity right begins when the relevant permit is granted. Authorities may not demand documents or fees that the law does not require. A 2026 initiative identifies eight categories and 87 notification-based activities in which notification may allow an immediate start, but the specific activity, responsible body and sector requirements still need checking. After registration, the business must complete tax registration and follow accounting, financial and tax-reporting duties. Corporate income tax is 10% on taxable income up to MNT 6,000,000,000 and MNT 600,000,000 plus 25% of the excess above that level. An eligible taxpayer with taxable income up to MNT 300,000,000 may qualify for a 1% regime, subject to sector exclusions. Value-added tax (VAT) is 10% where the tax rules apply; no general tax exemption follows merely from registration. A foreign-invested business may use a foreign-invested limited liability company, representative office or permanent establishment. Foreign-language documents generally require Mongolian translation and apostille or diplomatic legalization. The cited investment guidance requires total equity of at least USD 100,000 and a foreign share of at least 25% for a foreign-invested business entity. A foreign state-owned investor holding at least 33% in mining, banking and finance, media or communications may need approval. Investment-law protections for property, intellectual property and profit repatriation remain subject to Mongolian law. A small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) under the SME Law is a domestically owned profit-making business permanently located in Mongolia, registered by the state, with no more than 200 employees and annual sales of no more than MNT 2,500,000,000. Foreign legal entities are excluded from this definition. The SME Agency can provide concessional loans, financial support, training, consulting, innovation and cluster assistance. SME certificates can be pursued through burtgel.sme.gov.mn or E-Mongolia, and the Credit Guarantee Fund can assist eligible businesses that lack sufficient collateral. Self-employed, herder and household activities provide functional alternatives to incorporation. Mongolia’s Labor Law recognizes self-employment and formal or informal economic activity, but the cited registry material does not establish a separate sole-trader legal form. Tax, permit and support access therefore requires an activity-specific check, and informal activity does not automatically receive an exemption from registration, tax or permit rules. Dissolution begins with a decision and notice to GASR within 15 working days. The dissolution commission normally has at least 2 and no more than 6 months to complete its work, including public notice, tax exclusion documentation, a court debt inquiry, a termination report, the state stamp-duty receipt and newspaper notice. GASR dissolution registration generally takes 3 working days. A registered entity that has filed no audited financial statements for at least eight quarters may face exclusion procedures and a six-month public-notice period if no objection, bankruptcy, filing or debt finding prevents removal. In the first half of 2025, Mongolia recorded 270,800 registered legal entities, including about 210,000 companies; only 41.2% were active in the first quarter, and roughly 70% of registrations were concentrated in Ulaanbaatar.