Types of organizational and legal forms of legal entities. What is the organizational and legal form of a legal entity, the concept and types of enterprises. state and municipal institutions

An enterprise is an independent economic entity created (established) in accordance with current legislation for the production of products, performance of work or provision of services in order to meet public needs and make a profit.

After state registration the enterprise is recognized as a legal entity and can participate in economic turnover. It has the following features:

the enterprise must have separate property in its ownership, economic management or operational management;
the enterprise is liable with its property for the obligations that arise in its relations with creditors, including to the budget;
the enterprise acts in economic circulation on its own behalf and has the right to conclude all types of civil law contracts with legal entities and individuals;
the company has the right to be a plaintiff and a defendant in court;
the enterprise must have an independent balance sheet and timely submit the established government bodies reporting;
the enterprise must have its own name, containing an indication of its organizational and legal form.

Enterprises can be classified in many ways:

by appointment finished products enterprises are divided into producing means of production and producing consumer goods;
on the basis of technological commonality, an enterprise with continuous and discrete production processes is distinguished;
according to the size of the enterprise are divided into large, medium and small;
According to the specialization and scale of production of the same type of products, enterprises are divided into specialized, diversified and combined.
by type production process enterprises are divided into enterprises with a single type of production, serial, mass, experimental.
according to the signs of activity are distinguished industrial enterprises, trade, transport and others.
according to the forms of ownership, private enterprises, collective, state, municipal and joint enterprises (enterprises with foreign investments) are distinguished.

Organizational forms of enterprises

In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the following organizational forms of commercial enterprises can be created in Russia: business partnerships and companies, production cooperatives, state and municipal unitary enterprises.

Business partnerships and companies:

general partnership;
limited partnership (limited partnership);
society with limited liability,
additional liability company;
Joint-Stock Company(open and closed).

Full partnership. Its participants, in accordance with the agreement concluded between them, are engaged in entrepreneurial activities and are liable for its obligations with their property, i.e. unlimited liability applies to the participants of a general partnership. A participant in a full partnership that is not its founder is liable on an equal basis with other participants for obligations that arose before he joined the partnership. A participant who has left the partnership shall be liable for the obligations of the partnership that arose before the moment of his withdrawal, on an equal footing with the remaining participants within two years from the date of approval of the report on the activities of the partnership for the year in which he left the partnership.

Faith partnership. It is a partnership in which, along with the participants who carry out entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the partnership and are responsible for the circumstances of the partnership with their property, there are participants-contributors (limited partners) who bear the risk of losses within the limits of their contributions and do not take part in the implementation by the partnership entrepreneurial activity.

Limited Liability Company. This is a company founded by one or more persons, authorized capital which is divided into shares of sizes determined by the constituent documents. Members of a limited liability company bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the company within the value of their contributions.

Society with additional liability. A feature of such a company is that its participants bear subsidiary liability for the obligations of the company in the same multiple for all of the value of their contributions. All other norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on a limited liability company may be applied to an additional liability company.

Joint-Stock Company. It is recognized as a company whose authorized capital is divided into a certain number of shares. Members of the company are not liable for its obligations and bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the company, within the value of their shares. A joint stock company whose members can freely sell their shares without the consent of other shareholders is recognized as an open joint stock company. Such a company has the right to conduct an open subscription for the shares they issue and their free sale on the terms established by law. A joint stock company whose shares are distributed only among its founders or other predetermined circle of persons is recognized as a closed joint stock company. Such a company is not entitled to conduct an open subscription for shares issued by it.

Features of the functioning of joint-stock companies is as follows:

they use effective method mobilization of financial resources;
dispersed risk, tk. each shareholder risks losing only the money that he spent on the acquisition of shares;
participation of shareholders in the management of the company;
the right of shareholders to receive income (dividend);
additional incentives for staff.

production cooperatives. This is a voluntary association of citizens on the basis of membership for a joint production or other economic activity based on their personal labor or other participation and the association of its members (participants) of property share contributions. Members of a production cooperative bear subsidiary liability for its obligations. The profit of the cooperative is distributed among its members in accordance with their labor participation. The property remaining after the liquidation of the cooperative and the satisfaction of the claims of its creditors are distributed in the same manner.

State and municipal unitary enterprises. A unitary enterprise is a commercial organization that is not endowed with the right of ownership of the property assigned to the owner. The property of a unitary enterprise is indivisible and cannot be distributed by contribution (shares, shares). Including between employees of the enterprise. Only state and municipal enterprises can be created in the form of unitary enterprises.

Unitary enterprises are divided into two categories:

unitary enterprises based on the right of economic management;
unitary enterprises based on the right of operational management.

The right of economic management is the right of an enterprise to own, use and dispose of the owner's property within the limits established by law or other legal acts.

The right of operational management is the right of an enterprise to own, use and dispose of the property of the owner assigned to it within the limits established by law, in accordance with the goals of its activities, the tasks of the owner and the purpose of the property.

The right of economic management is wider than the right of operational management, i.e. an enterprise operating on the basis of the right of economic management has greater independence in management. Enterprises can create various associations.

The procedure for the creation and liquidation of enterprises

Newly created enterprises are subject to state registration. From the moment of state registration, the enterprise is considered established and acquires the status of a legal entity. For the state registration of an enterprise, the founders present the following documents:

an application for registration of an enterprise, drawn up in any form and signed
founders of the enterprise;
founding agreement on the establishment of the enterprise;
the charter of the enterprise, approved by the founders;
documents confirming the deposit of at least 50% of the authorized capital of the enterprise into the account;
certificate of payment of the state fee;
a document confirming the agreement of the antimonopoly authority to establish an enterprise.

IN memorandum of association the following information must be contained: the name of the enterprise, its location, the procedure for managing its activities, information about the founders, the size of the authorized capital, the share of each founder in the authorized capital, the procedure and method for making contributions by the founders to the authorized capital.

The charter of the enterprise must also contain information: the legal form of the enterprise, the name, location, size of the authorized capital, the composition and procedure for distributing profits, the formation of enterprise funds, the procedure and conditions for the reorganization and liquidation of the enterprise.

For individual organizational legal forms enterprises in the constituent documents (constituent agreement and charter), in addition to the above, contains other information.

State registration is carried out within three days from the date of submission required documents or within thirty calendar days from the date of postal item indicated in the receipt of payment of constituent documents. Denial of state registration of an enterprise may be made if the submitted documents do not comply with the law. The decision to refuse state registration may be appealed in court.

Termination of the activity of the enterprise can be carried out in the following cases:

by decision of the founders;
in connection with the expiration of the period for which the enterprise was created;
in connection with the achievement of the purpose for which the enterprise was created;
in the event that the court recognizes the registration of the enterprise as invalid, in connection with the violations of the law or other legal acts committed during its creation, if these violations are of an irremediable nature;
by a court decision, in the event of carrying out activities without a proper permit (license) or activities prohibited by law, or with repeated or gross violation of the law or other legal acts;
in case of recognition of the enterprise as insolvent (bankrupt), if it is unable to satisfy the claims of creditors.

An important point in the creation and liquidation of enterprises is also informing the Federal Tax Service at the place of registration of the enterprise, as well as providing the tax service with information about opening or closing a current account. Interaction with the Federal Tax Service is generally mandatory at any stage of the business, and you should not forget about it, because. Fines are provided for failure to provide certain information and reports.

There is a question that sometimes confuses company owners. This is the organizational and legal form of the company. Although, in a good way, there is nothing complicated in the OPF.

What is OPF

The organizational and legal form (OPF), or as it is sometimes called, “the form of doing business”, is a way of owning and using property (for some, disposal) fixed by the legislation of the country, and, based on this, the purpose of creating and conducting activities.

Since legal entities can be divided into commercial and non-commercial, the purposes here may differ in:

Making a profit - for commercial;
Public interests, education, enlightenment, etc. - for non-commercial.

Commercial legal entities, in turn, are divided into:

Business partnerships and companies - with the right to own, use and dispose of property;
Unitary enterprises - with the right of economic management or operational management of property. They cannot manage it.

Let's take an example. The most common case of commercial legal. persons - LLC, or a limited liability company:

Society - view commercial organization, namely the economic society.
Limited liability - means that the company is liable for its obligations within the limits of its property and authorized capital. True, no one has canceled the subsidiary liability of its controlling persons.

Types of organizational and legal forms

Here it is easier to summarize everything in a table:

Commercial organizations
Partnerships	General partnerships
Partnerships	Faith partnerships
Business companies	Limited liability companies
	Non-public joint-stock companies
	Public Joint Stock Companies
Unitary enterprises	Unitary enterprises based on the right of economic management
Unitary enterprises	Unitary enterprises based on the right of operational management
Other	Production cooperatives
	Peasant (farm) households (since January 1, 2010)
	Business partnerships
Non-Profit Organizations
Consumer cooperatives
Public associations	Public organizations
	social movements
	Bodies of public initiative
Political parties
Funds	Charitable foundations
Funds	Public funds
Institutions	federal government agency
	federal state autonomous institution
	federal state state-financed organization
State corporations
Non-Profit Partnerships
Autonomous non-profit organizations
Communities of Indigenous Peoples
Cossack societies
Associations legal entities(associations and unions)
Associations of peasant (farm) households
Territorial public self-governments
Associations of property owners
Horticultural, horticultural or dacha non-profit partnerships
Religious organizations
Lawyer formations	Law Office
	law office
	Law office
	law firm
	Law Firm
Notary offices	State notary offices
	Private notary offices
Without formation of a legal entity
Mutual funds
Ordinary partnerships
Individual entrepreneurs

IN modern world people enter into different relationships. They interact both directly and through various groups. In the latter case, people are united by a common interest, purpose, and tasks. Groups can be formalized or non-formalized. The latter do not imply any official registration of activity.

Formalized groups receive the status of a legal entity, branch, representative office. Their activities are regulated by the Civil Code. Let's take a look at what are forms of legal entities in the Russian Federation.

Definition

It is given in Article 48 of the Civil Code. As the norm indicates, a legal entity is an association that has certain separate property in economic management, ownership, operational management, with which it is responsible for the obligations assumed, capable of receiving and exercising property and non-property rights on its own behalf, acting as a defendant / plaintiff in court, bear the responsibilities. This formulation presents the main criteria that a formalized society must meet.

Characteristics

Any types and forms of legal entities must meet the criteria established by Article 48 of the Civil Code. These include:

Separate property. As stated in the norm, material assets can be in operational management, ownership or economic management. Property must be accounted for on a separate balance sheet.
Sharing of responsibility. Participants are not liable for the obligations of the company, and it, in turn, for their debts. Exceptions can only be established by law.
Independent participation on one's own behalf in civil law relations. These include, among other things, the acquisition and implementation of non-property and property rights, the fulfillment of obligations stipulated by law.
The ability to protect interests by legal means. This feature indicates the company's right to be a plaintiff or a defendant.
The presence of a document confirming the official registration. It acts as a certificate of the established form.

Classification

The criteria for dividing associations into categories are:

The purpose of the activity. It may consist in making a profit, for example. Legislation allows the formation of associations for other purposes not related to entrepreneurship.
Organizational and legal form of a legal entity. This established by law permitted types of enterprises.
The nature of the relationship between the association and its members. In this case, the presence / absence of the founders' ownership of the contributions they make to the property of the company matters.

Target

Depending on the result that the subjects want to achieve, associations can be commercial or non-commercial. The activities of the latter are not related to entrepreneurship. At the same time, they can make a profit, but it is not subject to division between the participants. Accordingly, the purpose for which they are created is related to generating income. In the legal sense, the difference between these associations is only in the order of distribution of profits. Commercial legal entities are required to share the income received between the participants. The order in accordance with which the distribution of funds takes place is established by the accounting policy.

Forms of legal entities (commercial organizations)

The legislation provides for two main groups of associations:

Society. They are formed by pooling capital.
Partnerships. These businesses are created by bringing people together.
unitary enterprises.
Cooperatives.

Each group also provides for the division of enterprises. The criterion is organizational and legal form of a legal entity. This separation provides an opportunity to most effectively control the activities of economic entities in the market.

General partnership

This group provides for two. The first includes a full partnership. It recognizes such an association, the participants of which, according to the constituent agreement, conduct entrepreneurial activities on its behalf and are liable with their property for its obligations. The corresponding definition is disclosed in Article 69 of the Civil Code. There are several features that this organizational and legal form of a legal entity. This:

Another company or individual entrepreneur can act as full partners. At the same time, they are not entitled to become participants in another similar association or limited partnership.
The agreement acts as a founding document.
The corporate name must include the names (names) of all participants and the phrase "general partnership". Some names are allowed, to which the words "and company" are added. In this case, the phrase "full partnership" must be present.
The affairs of the enterprise are conducted by the participants themselves. This means that each general partner has the right to make transactions on behalf of the association. The memorandum of association may provide for a different procedure.

Faith partnership

It is also called "commandite". For this f forms of legal entities the following features are typical. Along with the main participants who conduct entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the association and are liable for the obligations of the enterprise with their property, there is one more (or several) contributors in the composition. They are called teammates. These depositors bear the risks of losses that may occur in the course of the enterprise's activities, within the limits of the amounts they have contributed. Limited partners do not participate in the work of the partnership. In other aspects legal status this one is identical to the status of a general partnership.

OOO

Legislation also provides for such as society. One of them is LLC. This is characterized by the following features:

An association is established by one or more entities.
When created, the authorized capital is formed. It is divided into shares. Their value is determined by the constituent documents.
Members are not liable for the obligations of the association. However, they bear the risk of financial losses associated with the operation of the enterprise, as part of the value of their contributions.
The number of participants must not exceed 50.

The constituent documents are the charter and the contract. The corporate name of the association must contain an indication of the organizational and legal form.

ODO

This one has some specifics. An ALC is created in the same way as an LLC - by one or more entities. In the first case, however, the participants bear subsidiary liability for the obligations of the association jointly and severally with their property in an amount that is a multiple of the value of the contributions. Otherwise, the legal status of an ALC is identical to the status of an LLC.

JSC

This is an association in which the authorized capital is divided into a certain number of shares. Participants are not liable for the obligations assumed by the company, however, they bear the risk of losses from the activities of the enterprise within the cost of their valuable papers. There is only one founding document in JSC - the charter.

JSC types

A joint stock company may be open or closed. The first has the right to carry out a public subscription to the papers that it issues. Participants, in turn, may alienate their shares without obtaining the consent of the other shareholders. JSC is obliged to annually publish a report, profit and loss account, balance sheet and other information. This information should be freely available. The maximum number of participants in an OJSC is not limited by law. CJSC has the right to distribute shares only among the founders or entities, the circle of which is determined in advance. Participants have a pre-emptive right to purchase securities of other founders.

Production cooperative

It is an association of citizens on a voluntary basis and on the basis of membership. The purpose of creating a cooperative is a joint production or other economic activity. In its implementation, the members of the cooperative personally participate in the labor or other process. When creating a cooperative, property contributions (shares) are combined. Legal entities can also act as participants, if the relevant right is enshrined in the charter of the production association. The number of cooperative members must not be less than 5. At the same time, the number of persons not involved in production or other economic activities cannot exceed 25% of those performing labor duties.

Unitary enterprises

Another criterion for separating associations is form of ownership of a legal entity. The private companies have been discussed above. In practice, unitary enterprises are quite common. They can be state or municipal. This form of ownership of a legal entity assumes that the property that the association uses does not belong to it. The enterprise does not have the right to dispose of the objects, distribute it according to deposits, shares, shares, including among employees. The municipality or the state acts as the owner. The property is transferred to the company operational management or economic management.

Bodies of forms of legal entities

In an LLC, the supreme management structure is general meeting. It resolves all issues related to the activities of the association. The competence of the meeting includes the election of a collegial or sole executive body. In AO, all issues are also decided by the meeting. It elects a board of directors, which acts as a supervisory structure. In addition, AO also contains executive bodies(sole or collective). In a production cooperative, the management structure is a meeting of members. It chooses supervisory board(if the number of participants is more than 50), as well as executive bodies.

Other categories

Non-commercial legal entities include consumer cooperatives. They are created by citizens who have combined share contributions to realize their property and other interests. Consumer cooperatives are housing-construction, garage, dacha and other cooperatives. Another form of non-profit entities are religious and public organizations. They are created voluntarily by citizens. Individuals are united by common interests, spiritual or other non-material needs. Religious organizations are formed for joint confession, the spread of faith. Their members conduct a variety of ceremonies, training sessions. Another form of legal entity is a fund. It is not created on the basis of membership. The fund is established by legal entities or citizens who invest their money.

The association is created for the implementation of cultural, charitable, social, educational and other socially useful tasks. The only way to liquidate a fund is through the courts. Institutions are called legal entities formed by the owner to carry out functions of a non-commercial nature. They are financed by him in whole or in part. The property is transferred to the institution for operational management. Unions/associations are associations of non-profit or commercial legal entities. They ensure the coordination of the activities of enterprises and the protection of their interests. Thus, knowing General characteristics associations, the founders can choose, what form of legal entity suits them.

Legal requirements

As mandatory condition for the implementation of the activities of an association of any type acts registration of a legal entity. The form statements is unified. The completed form P11001 is submitted to the authorized authority. Before carrying out the procedure, the association must prepare:

Charter.
Establishment agreement (if there are more than 2 founders).
Meeting minutes or decision.
Receipt for payment of the fee.

In addition, you must select OKVED codes, as well as the system of taxation.

Nuances

For an LLC since 2009, the foundation agreement must contain information about:

Nominal value and amount of shares in the capital.
Date of payment of contributions by participants.

Previously, this information had to be present in the charter. She is currently excluded from it. If the legal entity intends to use the simplified tax system, then two copies of the relevant application can be attached to the set of documents (f. 1150001).

Possible difficulties in practice

In some cases, in the course of the activities of the association, it may be necessary to reorganize it. This concept is revealed in Article 57 of the Civil Code. The norm states that the reorganization can be carried out by merging, transforming, joining, separating, separating. In this case, when any of these procedures is carried out, a new association is formed. Reorganization can be carried out on the basis of the decision of the participants or the authorized body of the legal entity. Of particular interest in practice is the transformation. As Article 58 of the Code points out (clause 5), changing the form of a legal entity presupposes the preservation of the obligations and rights of the reorganized association in relation to other entities, except for participants. According to the 66th norm of the Civil Code (clause 3), which was in force before the entry into force of Federal Law No. 99, business companies can be formed as JSC, LLC, ODO. joint stock company, in turn, can be transformed exclusively into a production cooperative or LLC. Accordingly, these changes in the form of the legal entity will be recognized as a reorganization. If JSC or PAO is used in the name instead of the abbreviation OJSC, the enterprise remains a joint-stock company. These changes in the name do not affect its organizational form. Accordingly, they are not recognized as a reorganization.

Additionally

It should be noted that any changes must be documenting. Legislation prescribes holding meetings and making official decisions. The documents approved by the participants are submitted to the registration authority. Based on the decision, adjustments are made to the charter and other local documents. Information about all changes must be present in the registry.

Public formations

The current legislation extends the rules governing the participation of legal entities in civil relations to another category of associations. They are public entities. They are responsible for their obligations. own property, except for the objects assigned to the legal entities created by them on the rights of operational management / households. management, as well as material assets which may be exclusively in municipal or state property. Public entities are not liable for each other's debts. It is not provided for the obligations of legal entities created by them. Exceptions are cases that are directly established by law. Liability is also provided for in situations where a public entity provides guarantees (acts as a guarantor) of another such association or legal entity. Capacity and legal capacity act as integral features of these institutions in view of their status.

Organizational and legal form

An economic entity is a form of an economic entity recognized by the legislation of a particular country, fixing the method of fixing and using property by an economic entity and its legal status and goals of activity arising from this.

Organizational and legal form- a way of fixing and using property by an economic entity and its legal status and business goals arising from this.

In the all-Russian classifier of organizational and legal forms (OKOPF) (OK 028-99 (as amended by amendment No. 1/99)) each legal form corresponds to a two-digit digital code, the name of the legal form, and the collection algorithm.

Classification of organizational and legal forms in the Russian Federation

There are the following types of organizational and legal forms of economic entities (hereinafter also OPF):

OPF of economic entities that are legal entities-commercial organizations

Partnerships
Society
Joint stock companies
Unitary enterprises
- Unitary enterprises based on the right of economic management
- Unitary enterprises based on the right of operational management
Other

OPF of economic entities that are legal entities-non-profit organizations

Public associations (including religious associations)
- Bodies of public initiative
Foundations (including public foundations)
Institutions (including public institutions)
Communities of Indigenous Peoples
Associations of legal entities (associations and unions)
Associations of peasant (farm) households
Horticultural, horticultural or dacha non-profit partnerships

OPF of economic entities without the rights of a legal entity

Ordinary partnerships

BTF examples

state and municipal institutions

The simplest name for the OPF of state institutions is FGU (federal) and GU (regional, Moscow and St. Petersburg). Sometimes the word “budgetary” is added to the OPF, for example, in the OPF forestry, correctional colonies. The name of the OPF may include the word "regional" and even the name of the subject of the Russian Federation: "Novosibirsk region", "city of Moscow", but not necessarily.

OPF of state institutions:

federal government agency
Regional State Institution (State Regional Institution), OSU
government agency
Federal state budgetary institution

Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science

Regional state budgetary institution
State budgetary institution of the Novosibirsk region
State budgetary institution of the city of Moscow
State budget institution
State (municipal) public institution

Educational, healthcare and cultural institutions have their own OPF names:

OPF of educational institutions:

federal state autonomous educational institution higher vocational education
State educational institution of higher professional education
State educational institution of secondary vocational education
State educational institution
Municipal budgetary educational institution
Municipal preschool educational institution

OPF of military educational institutions:

Federal State Military Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education
State military educational institution of higher professional education

OPF of health care institutions:

Federal Public Health Institution
Public Health Institution
Municipal Health Institution

OPF of cultural institutions:

Federal public institution culture
State Budgetary Institution of Culture of the Sverdlovsk Region
State institution of culture of the city of Moscow

Unusual OPFs:

Regional state educational institution for orphans and children left without parental care
State Special Rehabilitation Educational Institution of Secondary Vocational Education - College for the Disabled
Federal State Educational Institution of Secondary (Complete) general education "Astrakhan Suvorov Military School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Russian Federation» - does not have an indication of "military".

state and municipal unitary enterprises

OPF of unitary enterprises:

Federal State Unitary Enterprise
State Regional Unitary Enterprise
State unitary enterprise
Municipal unitary enterprise

Sources

Chapter 4
Federal Law No. 82-FZ of May 19, 1995 "On public associations"
Decree of the State Standard of the Russian Federation of March 30, 1999 N 97(as amended on 06/09/2001) "On the adoption and implementation of all-Russian classifiers" (together with " all-Russian classifier forms of ownership” OK 027-99)

Links

The choice of the organizational and legal form of the enterprise - an article by Doctor of Economics, Professor Adukov

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Organizational and legal form" is in other dictionaries:

Organizational and legal form- The legal form in which the registration and activities of a legal entity are carried out. Examples of organizational and legal forms are an open joint stock company, a closed joint stock company, a limited partnership, a limited company ...

Organizational form of ownership of the means of production, enshrined in national legislation Glossary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001 ... Glossary of business terms

Legal form of activity- organizational and managerial form of activities of authorized subjects. Its legal essence is that it is based on the prescriptions of law and always entails the onset of certain legal consequences. Unlike actual... Theory of state and law in schemes and definitions

FORM OF OWNERSHIP, ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEGAL- organizational form of ownership of the means of production enshrined in national legislation ... Big Economic Dictionary

This article or section needs revision. Please improve the article in accordance with the rules for writing articles ... Wikipedia

Joint stock companies- The organizational and legal form of an enterprise that, for its obligations to creditors, is liable only for the property that belongs to it. Shareholders do not bear any responsibility to creditors, they only risk ... Terminological dictionary of a librarian on socio-economic topics

General partnership- Organizational legal form of a commercial organization. A partnership is recognized as full, the participants of which (general partners), in accordance with the agreement concluded between them, are engaged in entrepreneurial activities on behalf of the partnership and ... ... Vocabulary: accounting, taxes, business law

MEETING OF THE FEDERATION COUNCIL- organizational and legal form of consideration by the upper chamber of the Federal Assembly of issues referred by the Constitution of the Russian Federation to its jurisdiction. The regulations of the Federation Council provide that the chamber holds meetings from September 16 of the current to 15 ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "Constitutional Law of Russia"

Every year, more and more people go to free-floating entrepreneurship. One, no matter how original it may seem, is not enough here. It is equally important to determine the form of the legal entity. Only after having thoroughly studied the main differences between different types of legal entities, you can make the only right decision and register your business. What is the difference different types legal entities and which one is better to choose?

Types of legal entities

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines a legal entity as a legal entity that has its own property, with which it is responsible for all obligations, and participates in civil relations (Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Article 48).

All legal entities can be classified into two main groups:

commercial;
non-commercial.

The first group includes activities that are aimed at making a profit. As for, making a profit is not their main goal. Alternative commercial goals may be social, cultural or educational purposes.

Commercial legal entities

As mentioned above, these are organizations that are created to make a profit and distribute it among the founders. Commercial entities include:

General partnerships, the participants of which are liable for all obligations with their personal property.
Partnerships on faith, where some participants are responsible for all personal property, while others - only with the property that they contributed to the organization.
Limited liability companies (LLC), where the participants are liable for obligations only with the property invested in the company, and receive profit in proportion to the shares distributed in the authorized capital.
Companies with additional liability, where, in addition to shares in the authorized capital, the participants are also responsible for the part of their personal property specified in the charter.
Joint stock companies, where liability and profit are determined by the number of shares received.
Production cooperatives providing for the personal labor participation of members.
State and municipal unitary enterprises that are created by the state or municipalities.

Non-commercial legal entities

This group includes organizations that are created for various non-profit purposes. It can be:

consumer cooperatives;
various religious or public organizations;
charitable foundations;
non-profit institutions;
various associations, associations and unions representing and protecting the interests of their members.

What is the difference between joint stock companies?

Please note that since the fall of 2014, the concepts of OJSC and CJSC no longer exist. These legal forms disappeared and were replaced by PAOs and JSCs. That is, now we mean OJSC - we say PAO, we mean CJSC - we say JSC.

What are the main differences between IP and LLC, it is worth understanding special attention. This can directly affect the level of income of your business.

IP advantages:

Easy registration and closing procedure.
Less tax burden and freedom of disposal of current account funds.
Fewer reports to various funds.
No need to maintain accounting policies and accounting.
Freedom of movement and business activities throughout Russia without additional registration.
Possibility of transition to taxation.

IP cons:

First of all, these are the risks that an individual bears. The fact is that an individual entrepreneur is responsible for all the obligations of the company with his personal property, even after the official closure.
IP cannot be sold or re-registered, but only opened again.
Investors and creditors treat sole proprietorships with a lower level of trust than LLCs, primarily due to the lack of mandatory accounting.
An individual entrepreneur without the formation of a legal entity is limited in the types of activities. For example, an individual entrepreneur does not have the right to issue alcoholic products and trade it, conduct banking and tour operator activities.

Who are self-employed citizens?

There is another possibility to provide services or conduct activities that generate income for an individual - self-employment. work directly with the customer, concluding a contract with him for the provision of services. This is how they remind individual entrepreneurs however, no special registration is required in this case.

It is important to remember that, like other individuals, self-employed citizens are required to be responsible for paying tax and insurance premiums. In this case, this responsibility lies entirely with them, since they do not act as employees for whom the employer is responsible.

By a special decree, the so-called micro-business, which cannot afford the burdensome contributions of individual entrepreneurs, has moved into the sphere of self-employment. These are nannies, tutors, representatives of the construction and finishing professions. A bill regulating the institution of self-employed citizens has already been developed. It is assumed that for this type of micro-business, a similar IP and a one-stop registration method will be introduced.

What to choose?

If you still have not decided which organizational and legal form is more profitable, we advise you to clearly identify the main goals, objectives and prospects of the future company, plan the budget and limit the scope of activities:

If you don't need wage-earners, and the scope of activity will be limited to services - the status of a self-employed individual is quite suitable for you.
If you sooner or later assume assistants for yourself and act as an employer, then you should think about it.
If you do not want to risk personal property and plan to attract third-party investments and loan funds, it is better.
If you are attracted to the issuance of shares and a clear distribution of company income, think about.
If your activity will not be commercial in nature and profit is not your main goal, non-commercial public organization or fund.

In any case, no matter what you choose, you can always change the field of activity, close the IP, sell the LLC, leave the JSC and start all over again.

Business is an exciting game in which maximum excitement is combined with a minimum of rules. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft

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