Registration of a cooperative

Registration of a cooperative must comply with all provisions of the current legislation. At the same time, you should consider the type of cooperative you want to open: production, service, or consumer.

Let’s look in more detail at how to create a garage cooperative.

First of all, you should know that a cooperative is a legal entity carrying out economic (and other) activities and having the goal of meeting economic and social needs.

Any natural or legal persons who take direct part in its operations have the right to create such a legal entity or be its member. However, the number of cooperative members must always be at least three.

For this, a founding meeting must be held, at which:

• members decide to establish the cooperative, determine the entrance fees, in which bank to open an account, distribute powers among the management bodies, approve the charter, and decide who among its members will handle the registration (or they consult lawyers);
• at the meeting a list of members and associated members is drafted and approved.

A Protocol is kept during the meeting, which, in essence, is the main legal document confirming the decision to create the legal entity.

The next step is state registration. It is necessary to prepare all the documents for the registration of the cooperative and submit them to the authorized body. Of course, the documents must comply with all legal requirements, otherwise the registrar will refuse you, even if you follow the registration procedure.

Registration of a garage cooperative requires submission of the following documents:

• registration card (note that recently it includes information about the ownership structure of the founders and beneficiaries);
• charter in two copies, one of which is attached to your file, and the other is marked by the authorized person and returned to you;
• the founders’ decision to create the cooperative (Protocol);
• the passport of the person submitting the documents must be presented, and if a representative acts – a power of attorney must also be submitted.

Some legal officials mistakenly claim that when creating a legal entity you need to obtain a registration certificate. Such a provision of the law is long outdated. During state registration you should receive a document confirming the creation of the legal entity – an Extract.

It does not fundamentally matter what type of organization is created: whether it is the registration of a production cooperative or registration of a consumer cooperative, the main thing is to approach its formation wisely. For this, you need to properly draft the founding document – the charter, which the cooperative will follow in resolving any issues, of course without ignoring current legislation. The charter is literally a handbook on the one hand for the board, and on the other for all members of the cooperative. It should detail all nuances of the cooperative’s activities, for example, the procedure for a member’s withdrawal or the system of fee payments and various charges.

Our specialists engage in forming legal entities and supporting their subsequent activities. They approach each case professionally, so the cooperative registration procedure will be carried out promptly.

Our lawyers monitor legislative changes daily, so they are confident in the correctness of the prepared documents.

Our services include:

• assistance with choosing a name;
• preparation of the draft charter and the Protocol of the members’ meeting on the creation of the cooperative;
• opening a special bank account for forming the authorized capital;
• assistance with selecting activities according to KVED;
• preparation of the document package for the state registrar;
• registration of the legal entity with the fiscal service, the pension fund, and the social insurance fund;
• obtaining information from the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations of Ukraine (EDRPOU) – not mandatory;
• manufacture of a seal;
• assistance in opening a bank account for the legal entity.

What we need from you to create a cooperative:

• send us by email all the information about the cooperative being created: the founders’ decision, desired shares in the capital, location (legal address), areas of activity, passport details of the founders;
• personal presence of the founders at the notary to sign the charter and power of attorney;
• personal presence of members for filling out (signing) bank cards and when opening an account at the bank.

Legislation:

“Civil Code of Ukraine” dated 16.01.2003 № 435-IV;

Law of Ukraine “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” dated 15.05.2003 №755-IV;

Law of Ukraine “On Cooperation” dated 10.07.2003 №1087-IV.