A business is any activity that is not contrary to public policy, is self-employed, is intended to be long-term and profit-oriented, and is carried out in one’s own name and for one’s own account.

The following, among other things, are not considered a business:

• activities deemed socially undesirable, e.g., psychic readings,
• primary production, e.g., agriculture and forestry,
• liberal professions, e.g., doctors, attorneys, tax advisors,
• the management of one’s own assets (unless it involves a company registered in the Commercial Register).

A business registration is always required when you start an established business. An “established business” refers to a business with a fixed place of business from which or in which the business is conducted. This is the case if you:

• establish a new business,
• establish a new branch office,
• establish a new dependent branch office,
• take over an existing business, for example through purchase or lease,
• convert a sole proprietorship into another legal form,
• transfer a business from the jurisdiction of one government agency to that of another (this is considered a closure of the business by the first agency and a new establishment by the second).

You must register your business at the same time you begin operations. The registration requirement applies only if the activity is commercial in nature.

The following are exempt from business registration:

• Primary production (livestock farming, crop farming, hunting, forestry, and fishing)
• Liberal professions
• Management of one’s own assets
• Activities of no social value, e.g., psychic readings

Find out early on what personal, financial, and professional requirements you must meet in order to operate in these business sectors.

The purpose of registering a business is to enable the competent authorities to monitor business operations and conduct statistical surveys.