878:, as do a number of business transactions, such as transfer of shares, issuing of stock, and amendments to the articles of association. Many of those documents have to be filed with the company registry, where they are checked by special judges or other judicial officers. This can be a tiresome and time-consuming process, as in most cases the transactions are legally valid only when filed with the registry. The founding process is expensive. Normally the foundation of a new GmbH costs about €1000 to €3000. The GmbH law outlines the minimum content of the articles of association, but it is quite common to have a wide range of additional rules in the articles.
890:) who have the unrestricted proxy for the company. The members acting collectively may restrict the powers of the managing directors by giving them binding orders. In most cases, the articles of the association list the business activities for which the directors obtain prior consent from the members. Under German law, a violation of these duties by a managing director will not invalidate a contract with a third party, but the GmbH may hold the managing director in question liable for damages.
1017:(gGmbH) is a special form of a limited liability company with a charitable purpose. Traditional foundations and gGmbHs in Germany do not have minimum annual giving requirements. They are required to spend any profits by the end of the fiscal year in which they were accrued, but are allowed to build capital reserves totaling 10 percent of annual donations or 33 percent of dividends received.
995:, was introduced. It does not require a minimum founding capital and was introduced to assist company founders in setting up a new company. Also, the UG must enlarge its capital by at least 25% of its annual net profit (with some adjustments), until the general minimum of €25,000 is reached (at which point the company may change its name to the more prestigious
53:
966:
existed in the United
Kingdom before it did in German-speaking countries. In 1892, the laws governing the GmbH were adopted in Germany, and in Austria in 1906. During the 19th century, a legal entity with liability limited to the contributed capital was regarded as something dangerous. Hence, German
860:
A GmbH is formed in three stages: the founding association, which is regarded as a private partnership with full liability of the founding partners/members; the founded company (often styled as "GmbH i.G.", with "i.G." standing for
881:
Under German law, the GmbH must have a minimum founding capital of €25,000 (§ 5 I GmbHG), of which €12,500 has to be raised before registering in the commercial register (§ 7 II GmbHG). A supervisory board
1207:
865:– literally "in the founding stages", with the meaning of "registration pending"); and finally the fully registered GmbH. Only the registration of the company in the Commercial Register (
1361:
1102:
602:
974:
Because there is no central company registry in
Germany but rather several hundred connected to regional courts, administration of the law can vary somewhat between
1090:
788:
560:
1211:
318:
1240:
515:
724:
1078:
1439:
Tiede/Ryczewski, "Introduction to the
Serbian Law on Limited Liability Companies" in WiRO 2012 (German Law Journal), vol. 5, pp. 140–144
1194:
1182:
794:
419:
228:
1273:
1353:
407:
351:
310:
289:
1387:
Fohlin, Caroline (November 2005). "Chapter 4: The
History of Corporate Ownership and Control in Germany". In Morck, Randall K. (ed.).
77:
1467:
1401:
987:
963:
852:), the other major company form corresponding to a stock corporation, was much more complicated to form and operate until recently.
356:
1062:
433:
334:
1477:
259:
193:
1472:
886:) is required if the company has more than 500 employees; otherwise, the company is run only by the managing directors (
443:
1330:
1487:
717:
630:
107:
1141:
326:
102:
87:
1096:
1068:
810:
675:
610:
399:
269:
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1160:
817:, also known as members) of the entity are not personally liable for the company's debts. GmbHs are considered
758:
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570:
437:
112:
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802:
279:
200:
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535:
67:
660:
597:
1390:
A History of
Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers
635:
389:
361:
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183:
173:
1176:
893:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and
Liechtenstein have different national requirements as follows:
1428:
1265:
1026:
848:
555:
475:
448:
128:
123:
92:
978:. Since 2007, there has been an internet-based central company register for Germany, called the
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615:
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373:
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210:
205:
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343:
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545:
427:
394:
44:
1411:
Franks, Julian; Colin Mayer (2001). "Ownership and
Control of German Corporations".
827:
818:
505:
495:
813:(LLC) in the United States. The name of the GmbH form emphasizes that the owners (
1057:
1036:
931:
846:
The GmbH has become the most common corporation form in
Germany because the AG (
767:
641:
178:
163:
158:
968:
840:
698:
464:
414:
1322:
1424:
1388:
1266:"Establishing Your Business In Germany - Payroll, HR & Entity Set Up"
670:
1432:
1138:
1046:
779:
763:
148:
991:(English: "entrepreneurial company (limited liability)"), or in short
1300:
1106:
17:
1157:
52:
1082:
1237:"GmbH gründen - alles zur Haftung, Geschäftsführer und Auflösung"
1208:"Limited Liability Company (GmbH) – Investment Guide to Germany"
922:
1449:
821:
under German, Swiss and
Austrian law. Other variations include
753:), literally 'company with limited liability' (abbreviated as
311:
Charitable incorporated organisation (England and Wales)
27:"Company with limited liability" in German-speaking countries
874:
The founding act and the articles of association have to be
1354:"German Billionaire Schwarz Seen Having Tax-Exempt Fortune"
792:(Sàrl) in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and to a
1179:
The GmbH: a guide to the German limited liability company
1297:"Historical Background of the Limited Liability Company"
1043:
Besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid
786:
in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a
1015:
1008:
Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
1167:. Bundesrecht.juris.de. Retrieved on 19 July 2013.
1396:. University of Chicago Press. pp. 223–282.
871:) provides the GmbH with its full legal status.
319:Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
718:
8:
1088:
988:Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt)
738:
1148:. Ris.bka.gv.at. Retrieved on 19 July 2013.
801:It is an entity broadly equivalent to the
725:
711:
235:
31:
1158:GmbHG – nichtamtliches Inhaltsverzeichnis
831:is part of the company name itself), and
895:
750:[ɡəˈzɛlʃaftmɪtbəˌʃʁɛŋktɐˈhaftʊŋ]
1419:(4). Oxford University Press: 943–977.
1231:
1229:
1131:
1103:Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością
456:
381:
300:
238:
43:
1243:from the original on 29 September 2018
1139:RIS – Bundesrecht konsolidiert – Suche
420:Limited liability limited partnership
335:Industrial and provident society
967:law has many restrictions unknown to
798:(Sagl) in the Italian-speaking part.
757:
748:
740:Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
517:Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
7:
1333:from the original on 2 February 2011
1295:Limited Liability Company Reporter.
1276:from the original on 28 October 2020
1364:from the original on 8 January 2015
1260:
1258:
1352:de Jong, David (23 October 2012).
25:
1079:Società a responsabilità limitata
1091:Société à responsabilité limitée
1063:Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
789:société à responsabilité limitée
562:Société à responsabilité limitée
51:
1413:The Review of Financial Studies
985:In 2008, a derived form called
805:in the United Kingdom and many
964:company with limited liability
1:
444:Massachusetts business trust
1327:www.unternehmensregister.de
795:Società a Garanzia Limitata
631:Piercing the corporate veil
327:Community interest company
302:UK / Ireland / Commonwealth
290:Economic interest grouping
1504:
999:). In this case, the word
400:Limited liability company
1069:Limited liability company
1003:must not be abbreviated.
950:
856:Requirements of formation
811:limited liability company
611:Internal affairs doctrine
606:and estoppel corporations
1468:Types of business entity
35:This article is part of
1074:Private limited company
993:UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
803:private limited company
759:[ɡeːʔɛmbeːˈhaː]
281:Societas unius personae
143:General corporate forms
1323:"Unternehmensregister"
1185:16 August 2023 at the
1163:31 August 2011 at the
1089:
1053:Business organizations
739:
593:Business judgment rule
1144:19 March 2021 at the
1033:Besloten vennootschap
537:Naamloze vennootschap
527:Kabushiki gaisha
344:Limited company
1478:Law of Liechtenstein
1425:10.1093/rfs/14.4.943
980:Unternehmensregister
825:(used when the term
661:Beneficial ownership
598:Corporate governance
434:Delaware corporation
261:Societas cooperativa
1473:German business law
809:countries, and the
676:Corporate registers
636:Rochdale Principles
390:Benefit corporation
216:Sole proprietorship
1488:Law of Switzerland
1272:. 5 October 2020.
1097:Francophone Europe
1027:Aktiengesellschaft
1001:haftungsbeschränkt
849:Aktiengesellschaft
477:Aktiengesellschaft
449:Nevada corporation
1195:978-90-411-2444-9
1177:Müller, Klaus J.
962:The concept of a
955:
954:
944:supervisory board
735:
734:
616:Limited liability
578:
577:
487:Ansvarlig selskap
374:Unlimited company
211:Shelf corporation
206:Shell corporation
194:Limited liability
16:(Redirected from
1495:
1454:
1436:
1407:
1395:
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1373:
1371:
1369:
1349:
1343:
1342:
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1299:. Archived from
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1262:
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1233:
1224:
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1210:. Archived from
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896:
782:), is a type of
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681:Registered agent
626:Drag-along right
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55:
32:
21:
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1381:Further reading
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1214:on 4 March 2021
1205:
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1187:Wayback Machine
1175:
1171:
1165:Wayback Machine
1156:
1152:
1146:Wayback Machine
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960:
888:Geschäftsführer
868:Handelsregister
858:
745:
731:
686:
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666:Civil procedure
656:
648:
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621:Tag-along right
588:
580:
579:
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519:
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489:
479:
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438:statutory trust
432:
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345:
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253:
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231:by jurisdiction
230:
229:Corporate forms
221:
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201:Private limited
169:Holding company
144:
136:
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117:
63:
62:By jurisdiction
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
1501:
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1485:
1483:Law of Austria
1480:
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1450:Anpartsselskab
1445:
1444:External links
1442:
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1382:
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1344:
1314:
1303:on 4 June 2001
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819:legal persons
816:
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772:Liechtenstein
769:
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655:Related areas
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45:Corporate law
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1366:. Retrieved
1357:
1347:
1335:. Retrieved
1326:
1317:
1305:. Retrieved
1301:the original
1290:
1278:. Retrieved
1269:
1247:29 September
1245:. Retrieved
1239:. Hannover.
1216:. Retrieved
1212:the original
1201:
1178:
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1153:
1134:
1121:(GK) (Japan)
1115:(YK) (Japan)
1113:Yūgen gaisha
1014:
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899:Differences
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828:Gesellschaft
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352:by guarantee
280:
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260:
249:
154:Conglomerate
98:South Africa
29:
1453:(in Danish)
1189:Beck, 2006
1119:Gōdō gaisha
1058:Corporation
1037:Netherlands
863:in Gründung
843:companies.
768:Switzerland
642:Ultra vires
362:proprietary
179:Partnership
174:Joint-stock
164:Corporation
159:Cooperative
1462:Categories
1368:13 January
1280:4 November
1126:References
969:common law
942:Mandatory
937:CHF10,000
841:non-profit
839:GmbH) for
776:Ges.m.b.H.
699:Law portal
547:Osakeyhtiö
466:Aktiebolag
415:Series LLC
1358:Bloomberg
1337:29 August
1307:18 August
971:systems.
876:notarized
774:, and as
587:Doctrines
357:by shares
73:Australia
1362:Archived
1331:Archived
1274:Archived
1270:UnaTerra
1241:Archived
1183:Archived
1161:Archived
1142:Archived
1095:(Sarl) (
1045:(bvba) (
1021:See also
928:€35,000
916:Minimum
905:Austria
902:Germany
671:Contract
604:De facto
436: /
250:Societas
68:Anguilla
37:a series
1433:2696732
1218:5 March
1081:(Srl) (
1047:Belgium
958:History
934:20,000
925:25,000
780:Austria
764:Germany
746:German:
571:more...
189:Limited
184:General
149:Company
129:Germany
113:Vietnam
1431:
1400:
1206:GTAI.
1193:
1107:Poland
1065:(KGaA)
1035:(bv) (
565:(SARL)
540:(N.V.)
530:(K.K.)
520:(GmbH)
468:
457:Others
422:(LLLP)
367:public
346:(Ltd.)
321:(SCIO)
292:(EEIG)
252:
124:France
83:Canada
1429:JSTOR
1394:(PDF)
1083:Italy
833:gGmbH
500:(A/S)
490:(ANS)
402:(LLC)
337:(IPS)
329:(CIC)
313:(CIO)
284:(SUP)
274:(SPE)
264:(SCE)
93:India
18:GGmbH
1398:ISBN
1370:2020
1339:2019
1309:2008
1282:2020
1249:2018
1220:2020
1191:ISBN
1029:(AG)
997:GmbH
770:and
755:GmbH
556:S.A.
550:(Oy)
510:(AS)
480:(AG)
470:(AB)
254:(SE)
1421:doi
932:CHF
823:mbH
778:in
762:in
78:BVI
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1427:.
1417:14
1415:.
1360:.
1356:.
1329:.
1325:.
1268:.
1257:^
1228:^
1013:A
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766:,
103:UK
39:on
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1423::
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1109:)
1099:)
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1039:)
923:€
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712:v
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