BOTSWANA
Botswana is a country located in the southern Part of Africa, having approximately 965KM from north to south and 965Km² from east to west. Botswana is a member of the UN, The Common Wealth, The AU as well as SADC. Botswana has various regimes regarding various aspects and sectors as enumerated hereunder.
To get a clear picture of the Legal aspect of various commercial related activities, this page provides a synopsis of the same in the areas of:
Incorporation
Immagration
Residency
Tax Regime
Intellectual Property
Employment
Incorporation and Business Registration
Incorporation and business registration in Botswana is as well regulated under among other laws, The Companies Act Chapter 42:01 of the laws of Botswana. The law provides for incorporation, types of companies, duties and liabilities of company directors and other matters related to Companies in the country.
To be able to register a company in Botswana, the Applicant ought to door have the following;
i. Submit a complete application form appended with the name reservation certificate plus the declaration of compliance with statutory requirements.
ii. If the Company to be registered is a Limited Liability Company (LLC), it must have not more than 25 shareholders and a minimum of 1 shareholder and one director.
iii. Memorandum and Article of Association
On the other Hand, an individual in need of registering his business in Botswana can also do that through the online registration system to be accessed www.cipa.co.bw must have or possess the following;
i. Proof of citizenship for Botswana citizens and Proof of non-citizenship for non-Citizen i.e Passport(the copy of which will be uploaded).
ii. The addresses of all directors, shareholders or members.
The registration application in OBRS is thereafter sent to the CIPA which is a Companies and Intellectual Property Authority in Botswana for review and upon payment of the required fees, the company or business will be fully registered and established.
Immigration
To visit, invest and live in Botswana must come across immigration issues where he/she will be required to comply with certain legal formalities for him to be allowed to visit, invest or live in the country.
Foreign investors can obtain Botswana residency by investing in the country and applying for a residence permit as per procedures. There is an ongoing program named “Botswana immigration, residency by investment program” which expediently accelerates attainment of residency on short and quick procedures.
The law regulating work and immigration for foreigners is Botswana Labour and Immigration Laws and the Employment of Non-citizens Act. The laws points out that a foreigner can attain permanent residency permit after residing in Botswana for five years.
VISA
For an individual to be allowed to remain in most of countries, such individual must apply for and be issued a VISA for that purpose. In Botswana a total of 103 countries and jurisdictions are VISA-exempt, meaning that, nationals of such countries can enter and stay in the country without VISA as long as they do not stay longer than 90 days within a 12- month period.
One has to do an inquiry on whether his country of origin is among the VISA exempt countries. On the other hand, For the countries whose nationals require VISA to stay in Botswana have to go through the application procedure available at Botswana’s Immigration department through https://www.gov.bw/immigration-civil-registration
Residency & Work Permit
A foreigner seeking to invest and remain in Botswana is required by the Employment of Non-citizens Act to apply for the residency permit based on the nature of the investment he is seeking to undertake.
The application should be in conformity with the form and procedures prescribed in the regulating laws upon successful submission, the immigration board will seat to determine the nature of the application and decide on it.
The immediate documents required in application are;
i. Medical report form no. 3
ii. Application Forms
iii. Certified Copies of a valid passport
iv. Five Passport type photos
v. Copy of birth certificate
vi. Bank Statement/Balance sheet
vii. Police clearance certificate As married couples, must submit their relevant documents as well even if one of the spouses does not apply for residency.
viii. Certified copy of the Trading license
ix. Company Profile
x. Certified copy of Lease agreement(Place of operation)
xi. Certified copy of Tax Clearance Certificate and other necessary documents.
Tax Regime
Like any other country, Botswana also depends on the tax revenue to run the government and provide necessary social services to its citizen. Tax in Botswana is regulated by the Income Tax Act (Cap. 52:01). An act enacted for the purpose of regulating assessment, imposition and collection of income
The tax Regime in Botswana is as follows:
For a person to be issued a TIN, he must possess a National Identification Number for a national and Passport for non-resident/national.
The following are obliged and liable to pay Tax in Tanzania.
Personal Income
Individuals in Botswana are taxed on wages, salaries, leave pay, fee, commission, bonus, gratuity, and compensation and commutation under any contract of employment or service pension, lump-sum payment. Basically, the tax regime operates on a territorial basis in the sense that income tax payable provided the source of such income is within Botswana.
On the other hand, Non-resident are taxable on earned income accruing from the source within Botswana as per PIT (Personal Income Tax Rate) ranging from 5% to 25%
Property Tax
Housing benefit is taxed on 10% of municipal value, Rural properties 8% of Value computed by applying P 250 per square metre. Vehicle benefit is taxed at between 5% and 10% depending on the value of the vehicle.
Corporate Tax
A corporate company in Botswana is taxed at 22% of its total income generated from its undertaking within Botswana for Resident companies and 25% for Non-resident companies. However, the manufacturing companies with a special tax rate approved by the minister of Finance are charged at the rate of 15%.
Benefits arising from the company investment by the shareholders such as Dividends, distribution, interest and royalties are taxable at the shareholders hand from the rate of up to 7.5% for residents and up to 15% for Non-residents.
Botswana has signed multilateral agreements with various countries regarding double taxation, prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and other like.
These countries include; India, Barbados, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, UK, France, Mauritius, Sweden, Swaziland (Eswatini), Zambia, China, Lesotho, Czech Republic and Luxembourg.
More information can be accessed through; https://www.burs.org.bw
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property rights in Botswana are placed are under the protection of The Industrial Property Act, 2010 which protects Industrial designs, Patents, Trademark and copyrights respectively. This law is under the enforcement and supervision of the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) which is a regulating authority on matters pertaining to intellectual property in Botswana.
Registration of Intellectual property in Botswana is done by the CIPA upon application by the owner. However, in Botswana, it is not mandatory for an owner of IP to register copyrights and or trademark for him to have exclusive right over such property even though registration gives the owner a declared right. Even though, Patent requires registration.
More details on Intellectual Property and registration of the same are available online at Online Business Registration System (OBRS) accessible through https://www.cipa.co.bw
Labour and Employment
Botswana’s Laws regulating labour and employment are The Employment Act, CAP 47:01, Workers Compensation Act, 1998, Employment of Non-Citizens Act, CAP 47:02, Trade Unions and Employers Organizations Act, 2003. These laws regulate and provide standards to be observed by employers in both public and private sector.
Botswana is a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) thus; labour laws in the country are enacted in consideration of international labour standards. Such laws can be accessed through Botswana’s official website https://www.gov.bw.
FARus 