Registration of Sole Proprietorship in Sri Lanka

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Registration of Sole Proprietorship in Sri Lanka
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The sole proprietorship or sole traders is a type
of enterprise that is owned and run by an
individual. This is a type of business where
there is no legal difference between the business
entity and the owner. However, Sri Lanka is an
excellent place for this kind of business.
To register your sol proprietorship in Sri Lanka,
you need to follow some documented
procedures. Firstly, you need to head to the
Business Registration Department within your
region to collect the application form. The
application form is a 3-page document. The first
two pages of the document are written in Tamil
and Sinhalese with English translation. But the
3rd page of the document is written
in Tamil and Sinhalese. If you dont know Tamil
or Sinhalese, you need to find someone who can
translate Sri Lankan Local language.
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List of Document for Sole Proprietorship
Registration

• You will need to prepare and submit various types
  of document to register your sole proprietorship.
  All the listing of documents is discussed below
• Completed form of application  The necessary
  application form can be downloaded from the
  government website, or it can also be collected
  from the government office of company
  registration. You will be asked to print the
  application double sided to minimize the page
  number.

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Validation form Grama Niladhari and Grama Sevaka
It is required to sign the 3rd page of the
application from Grama Niladhari and Grama
Sevaka, to verify your business address.
Generally, they will check the owner of the
property, i.e., address within your application.
If they found the owner of the property is valid,
they will sign your form. Letter of consent from
a resident owner There is no need of
consentient letter if the deed is in your name.
But if you are a renter, you need to sign the
consent letter from the resident owner. Copies of
resident owner ID card copies of applicant ID
card must be submitted with consent letter. House
tax invoice copy  this is required for
confirming the resident of the stated
address. Original deed only for the revision in
the validation of the property of the declared
business address.
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Important Points to Note

• You must submit the application within 14 days
  after the signing of Grama Niladhari and Sevaka.
  If you failed to submit the application within
  the time period, you would be fined LKR 2500 for
  per day delay. The government fees for
  registering a sole proprietorship is LKR 2500.

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My Personal Experience

• When I submit my forms, the officer in the
  registration department noticed that I had a
  delayed for five months.  The officer directed me
  to another gentleman who was very polite and
  helpful. He explained to me everything about the
  policies for business registration. However, I
  managed to convince him and paid fine of just
  4500 LKR for the delay. The gentleman took my
  number and call me next evening saying my
  registration document is ready.

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Advantage of a Sole Proprietorship

• Control Sole trader have the full power of their
  business. They can run the business without the
  interface of others.
• Private Information the confidential information
  of the sole traders can be kept private, unlike
  other companies who need to make a public
  announcement after company registration.
• Personal  Since it is not necessary to discuss
  with other decision makers, sole traders can
  quickly make decisions and act quickly to meet
  the needs of their customers.

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Disadvantages of a Sole Proprietorship

• Decision Making sole traders make all the
  decision. There are no opportunities to get help
  from others. The success or the failure of the
  company depends on one person.
• Finance sole trader may find difficulties to
  raise the fund of their business. Sometimes they
  may face problems with the expansion of their
  business.

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Conclusion

• Beside Sole Proprietorship, there are lots of
  business opportunities in Sri Lanka such
  as- Private Limited Company, Joint Venture,
  Limited Liability Company, etc. The recent
  economic development of the country helps to
  attract many foreign entrepreneurs to establish a
  business in Sri Lanka.  Do not worry about
  registration procedures. The government of Sri
  Lanka made the registration procedure much more
  comfortable by introducing an online portal for
  the company registration.
• However, like Sri Lanka, there are also many
  business opportunities in Malaysia. As the
  economy of Malaysia growing steadily over the
  years, therefore most of the foreign business
  entities think doing business in Malaysia could
  be profitable. The company registration procedure
  in Malaysia is not complicated if you know the
  actual process. It doesnt matter whether you
  start your business in Malaysia or Sri Lanka, a
  right business plan is necessary to achieve your
  business goals.