Main points
- Checking a company in the Unified State Register allows you to find out basic information about a business partner, such as the date of registration, legal address, and status of the enterprise.
- Checking tax status through the State Tax Service portal helps confirm the company's economic activity and identify possible debts.
How to check if a company exists / Pexels
A successful business is based not only on the right strategy, but also on the right choice of partners. To avoid running into scammers or bankrupts, before starting work with a company, it is worth checking whether it even exists.
How to check a company in the registry?
Thanks to the digitalization of public services in Ukraine, a basic check of an enterprise can be carried out in a few minutes using state registers and online services where official business data is stored, the Ministry of Finance writes.
First of all, experts advise contacting the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs (USRE).
This database contains the main information you need to know about a business partner:
- date of company registration;
- legal address;
- company executives;
- its activities;
- and the current status of the enterprise, i.e. whether it is in the process of liquidation.
If the company cannot be found in this register, then its legality should be questioned.
Important! According to experts, it is more convenient to search for a business partner by the EDRPOU code (for legal entities) or TIN (for individual entrepreneurs). After all, searching by name can yield dozens of similar results and lead to errors.
Why check through the tax office?
It is also important to check the tax status of the company. To do this, you need to go to the State Tax Service portal and find out whether the company is a VAT or single tax payer.
If a company is in these registers, it means that it conducts economic activities and regularly interacts with government agencies.
The search is usually carried out:
- by EDRPOU code;
- or by tax number.
Please note: If a company has huge debts to the tax office, cooperating with it may also trigger audits of business partners.
Why check the court registry?
It may be equally useful to check the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, which stores documents regarding court cases and decisions.
Using search you can find out:
- whether the company is involved in litigation;
- whether it has debts to partners or government agencies;
- whether it participated in bankruptcy proceedings.
Such information will allow you to assess possible risks before starting cooperation.
What other ways are there to verify a company?
If government portals seem too complicated, you can use services such as YouControl. They collect data from all registers.
As a result, the businessman receives one structured dossier with all the necessary information.
Important! According to experts, checking business partners should be carried out not only before concluding a deal, but also periodically during cooperation.
How to quickly register a sole proprietorship?
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You can register an individual entrepreneur in Ukraine completely online through the Diya portal. Submitting an application takes about 10 minutes and does not require a visit to the state registrar. All data is filled in in the citizen's account, and the applicant is notified of the registration result by e-mail.
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An application can be submitted by a citizen of Ukraine aged 18 or over, who has full civil capacity and a registration number of a taxpayer's registration card. At the same time, the person must not be registered as an entrepreneur in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and must plan to conduct entrepreneurial activities.
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At the same time, the parliament is considering new rules for small businesses. The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights has returned to discussing a bill that would allow engaging in certain types of activities without opening a sole proprietorship, if they do not require a special license.