Business in Syria

The formal company forms under Legislative Decree 29/2011 include a general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company and private joint-stock company. A limited liability company, commonly called an LLC, is a separate legal entity after the required publication and registration steps. The company register should generally be completed within 30 days of formation under the law text. The Directorate of Companies, provincial company offices or commercial register secretariats handle the relevant registration work, while the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the General Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection oversee parts of the wider system. A company can normally register up to five activities, including heterogeneous activities. Import and export must be stated expressly, and the selected goods sectors are also limited to five. Changing activities, the registered seat or the company structure requires a formal amendment and any necessary approvals. Capital companies may use a provisional seat for up to six months before securing a permanent one. A lease, investment or loan agreement for the seat should cover one calendar year and show its start and end dates. Industrial-zone businesses may add compatible activities only with the zone administration's approval and proof that the activities fit the zone. The company-registration portal launched on 7 July 2026. Initial access requires personal contact with the administration in Damascus or the relevant provincial directorate to obtain a username and password. Applicants can then upload legal documents and track the application online. For complete and correct documents, preliminary review is limited to a maximum of five working days. The portal is still developing: remote identification, an electronic commercial register and connections with public authorities, financial institutions, courts and banks are planned or being added. A temporary legal uncertainty concerns one-person LLCs. Their formation was reportedly stopped on 21 January 2025, while the portal reported one-person LLC applications in August 2026; the Directorate of Companies should therefore confirm current eligibility before an application is filed. Foreign entrepreneurs face additional limits. An individual commercial register generally excludes import activity. An investment project under the Investment Law may provide an exception for equipment required for that project. A circular dated 28 March 2026 also restricts registration of representatives of foreign companies or agencies where the owner or partner is not Syrian. Projects using the investment process should be assessed through the Syrian Investment Authority or the Investor Services Center under Investment Law 18/2021, its 2023 amendment, Decree 114/2025 and Implementation Instructions 11/2025. Sector classification, guarantees and approvals depend on the project; there is no general guarantee of financial support or incentives. Banks, insurance companies, exchange businesses and other regulated activities need approval from their specialist authority. Protection and guarding services require prior approval from the Ministry of Interior, a special licence and additional capital, security, seat and reporting requirements. These rules should not be applied to ordinary business activities. The exact fees and tax amounts also depend on the legal form, activity, province, investment or export status and current tariff. Services related to the tax number, the official gazette, a certificate of no criminal conviction and financial clearance may be required, but no single nationwide cost figure is reliable for every business. A registered business must keep its commercial record current and formally report changes to activities, seat or structure. Provincial procedures are being unified during 2026. In Damascus, individual commercial registers became available online from 28 June 2026, while company-register work can be handled directly or on paper through the Centre for Company Services. A chamber of commerce may handle membership or renewal, attestations, certificates of origin and business identification, but digital chamber or registry services do not replace the underlying registration. Businesses with capital that was not fully paid in must regularize their status under Articles 56, 92 and 224 of Legislative Decree 29/2011. The one-year regularization period began on 25 May 2025, and certified register extracts remain blocked until the status is corrected. If a business employs staff, it must use written employment contracts and register all employees with the General Organization for Social Insurance. From 1 August 2025, the insurable wage range is SYP 750,000 to SYP 14,090,000; failure to register can create sanctions and liability. Exporters use the National Export Registry operated through the Export Development and Support Authority. The export process includes registration, supporting documents, a fee and an exporter certificate. Existing exporters had a renewal window from 1 April to 30 June 2026. Export compliance should be checked separately from ordinary company registration. Many Syrian businesses operate as micro, small or medium-sized enterprises, family businesses, workshops, farms, traders, service providers or home-based businesses. Some remain partly informal. Family or personal funds, cooperatives, self-help groups, NGO or UNDP grants, training, mentoring and incubators can provide functional alternatives, but access depends on the programme and region and does not create a general state entitlement. Financing shortages, electricity, fuel and transport interruptions, skilled-worker departures and sanctions-related over-compliance can affect operations and supply chains. Formal registration therefore does not automatically provide financing, stable utilities or permission to enter every market. Closing a registered company normally requires dissolution, entry of the dissolution in the register and liquidation. After the dissolution is registered, the legal entity continues only for liquidation purposes and should not start new business. The liquidator settles debts, realizes assets and distributes any remaining value according to the ownership interests. No uniform digital closure and deletion procedure has been established in the verified sources, so the relevant company directorate, tax office, social-insurance office and sector authority should each confirm clearance and licence cancellation requirements.