BUSINESS AND PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION AND CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP

Major differences between a sole proprietorship, partnership and other forms of business entities

(A) Business name and partnership registration

Requirement for business name and partnership registration

In Kenya to register for a business name and/or a partnership, the following are the requirements:

• The proposed name of the entity,
• Nature of the business and the intended objectives of the entity,
• Names of the proposed proprietor (for business name) or partners (for partnership),
• Contact information of the proprietor (for business name) or partners (for partnership).i.e. email address, telephone number, postal address and residential addresses,
• Proposed profit/loss sharing ratio (for a partnership),
• Passport photographs of the proposed proprietor (for business name) or partners (for partnership) and,
• Proposed physical address of the entity.

The process of business name and partnership registration in Kenya

The promoter of the entity will lodge the process of registration with the registrar of companies by;

• Fronting at least three names of the entity according to the order of their preference.
• Executing the following document;
• Form BN2 – Application for Registration Form,
• Making payment with the registrar of companies.
• Thereafter, the registrar confirms the name reserved.
• In completion the registrar of companies issues a certificate of registration.

(B) Change of ownership

In sole proprietorship, the natural person is the entity and therefore, the entity cannot change ownership. However, in partnerships, the process of change of ownership occurs when the partnership intends to;

• Increase the number of partners or,
• Decrease the number of partners.

Here at MNC Consulting Group, we help our clients realize the proper procedure for their needs and facilitate in the process to ensure that process is duly lodged and completed in accordance to the law stipulated in the Partnership Act.

For addition of partners, the following must be present;

• Copy of Certificate of Registration,
• Minutes of the meeting in which the resolution(s) were made,
• Full name of the new partner(s),
• Contact information i.e. email address, telephone number, postal address and residential addresses and,
• Passport size photo for the new partner(s).

For reduction of partners, the following must be present;

• Copy of Certificate of Registration,
• Minutes of the meeting in which the resolution(s) were made,
• Written resignation letter and affidavit from the outgoing partner(s) and,

Following the execution of the above stated requirements and documents, we at MNC Consulting Group follow the statutes requirements in the Stamp Duty Act, and thereafter lodge the transfer with the registrar of companies. Payment is then made to the registrar who upon satisfaction that the process lodged is valid, approves the changes.

Follow this link to FIND OUT THE TRANSACTION COST OF BUSINESS NAME AND PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION AND CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP

About the Author

Thank you for reading this article. The author, James Ndambiri is an avid Business Advisor and Consultant: A Tax Surgeon, Proficient Accountant, Skilled Auditor, a Guru in Financial and Investment management, Expert in Business Strategy Formulation, Business Transformation Wizard, Family Business Advisor, Lecturer, Business Coach and a Family Man.

James is the Founder, Team Leader, CEO & Managing Partner of MNC Consulting Group. MNC Consulting Group is your most trusted and respected professional business consulting firm recognized by our clients for delivering excellent business advisory and consulting services that create value to their ventures. With our focus set on value addition, we offer our clients the highest quality professional services in Accounting, Audit and assurance, Tax, Business Transformation, Investments and Financial Advisory, Family Business Advisory, Company Secretarial Services and Property Management that addresses their business needs through attracting, recruiting and retaining knowledgeable and passionate professionals who enable us to deliver superior results while contributing positively to the community in which we live and work.

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