VAT and tax registration for a Monaco company
The registrations a newly authorised Monegasque company owes, prepared in the State's order.
- Declaration of existence: 15 days (Art. 66 I 1°)
- Free, in person, at the counter
- NIS attestation in 5 working days (IMSEE)
- First VAT return before the 25th (Art. A-147)
What we register, and where this service stops
The authorisation is not the last step. Every business created in Monaco is declared to the Direction des Services Fiscaux, fifteen days from the start of operations (Art. 66 I 1°, Code des taxes). Both sit inside Monaco tax, after registering a company in Monaco.
We are not the tax department, an expert-comptable or comptable agréé, or an accredited representative under Art. 72. We prepare and steer the file; the gérant signs. Tax advice for payment is itself an authorised activity (Loi n° 1.144, Art. 8).
What is included
The sequence for your form. DDE domiciliation, the NIS, the tax department, CAMTI-CARTI, the employer file.
The NIS file with IMSEE. Online request, the RCI extract or the ministerial authorisation.
The declaration of existence. Four documents, the "Régime TVA" form 353-0020, the counter.
The VAT position on that form. Art. 68, the franchise en base, form 353-0045 for intra-Community trade.
The filing regime and first returns. EM, ET or FB, the first return, nil returns, e-TVA.
The first profits-tax file. A fresh declaration on a substantial change; thirty days on cessation.
The sequence after your authorisation
1. Before this page begins. The activity is authorised or declared under Loi n° 1.144. Buying instead: our existing companies walkthrough.
- 01
DDE domiciliation
- 02
then RCI (1 month, 3 months for a joint-stock company, EUR 75 or EUR 100, the lapse) with a branch marked "civil or artisanal activity
- 03
bureau administratif: straight to the NIS"
- 04
then NIS with IMSEE (5 working days)
- 05
then the Division des Taxes counter (15 days, four documents)
- 06
then the regime code EM
- 07
then the first return (before the 25th of the month after creation)
- 08
then CAMTI-CARTI (1 month) and the employer file. Each node carries its own period and its article. No cumulative bar
The post-authorisation chain, node by node
2. RCI, one month from the receipt or the authorisation. Miss it and the authorisation becomes caduque (lapsed) and the file closes. A civil or artisanal activity, a bureau administratif or a representative office in Monaco skips it.
3. NIS, five working days. IMSEE issues it on an online request with the RCI extract. Banks want it too: Company in Monaco: Business Bank Account in Monaco.
4. The declaration of existence, fifteen days from the start of operations (Art. 66 I 1°), at the Division des Taxes counter (the procedure).
5. The number. No processing time is published; the department may demand proof of an actual or intended activity (Art. 68 bis).
6. CAMTI and CARTI, one month from the start of activity, or from RCI registration for an SARL; then the employer file, before hiring non-domestic staff.
7. The first profits-tax return, then staying current. Three months from the year end, or before 1 April; then any substantial change, thirty days on cessation.
Each clock runs from its own event; no text reconciles them and we publish no total.
Not sure which registration your company owes first?
Send the form, the activity and the start date.
What the Division des Taxes counter asks for
On the spot: Le Panorama, 57 rue Grimaldi, 9:30 to 17:00 weekdays.
- The NIS attestation from IMSEE.
- An RCI extract, where the business is registered.
- The completed "Régime TVA" form, reference 353-0020_03-2023.
- A mandate, where someone else files.
- At the counter, a déclaration de début d'activité.
- Not on the official list: financial statements, contracts, tax certificates.
A mandate moves the errand, not the liability (O.S. n° 3.152, Art. 30). Protected titles: who may keep a company's books in Monaco.
Every deadline in the sequence, and where it is written
The declaration costs nothing: "Cette démarche est gratuite". Our fee is on request.
| Step | Period | Where the period is written | What is published about missing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCI registration | One month from the receipt or the authorisation; three months from publication of the ministerial decree for a joint-stock company. Duties EUR 75, or EUR 100 for a joint-stock company | RCI procedure page, archived 06/09/2026; Loi n° 721, Art. 2 | Registration refused, the authorisation caduque, the file closed |
| NIS attestation | 5 working days from the online request | IMSEE and NIS page, read 2026-09-19 | Not published |
| Declaration of existence | 15 days from the start of operations | Code des taxes, Art. 66 I 1° | Not published for the declaration itself; Arts. 105 and 111 are written for returns |
| First VAT return | Before the 25th of the month following creation | Annex Art. A-147 | The return rules below govern |
| Ongoing VAT returns | Monthly; quarterly where the tax due for the year is under EUR 4,000; a nil return where there is nothing to declare | Art. 70 §§ 1 and 2; Annex Art. A-144 | EUR 15, raised to EUR 150 after a formal notice; interest 0.20% a month; 10%, 40% after a first notice, 80% on an undeclared activity (Arts. 105, 110, 111) |
| CAMTI and CARTI | One month from the start of activity, or from RCI registration for an SARL | Government post-authorisation sheet, 18.11.2025 | Not published |
| First profits-tax return | Three months from the close of the financial year, or before 1 April | O.S. n° 3.152, Art. 23 § 2 | Fine of EUR 15 to 75 (Art. 34); no return at all, and the tax is assessed of office (Art. 25) |
| Cessation | 30 days to declare it, and the final VAT return inside the same thirty days | Annex Art. A-142; Art. 70 § 3 | Not published |
Eight clocks, each from its own event, never added together.
The VAT number: what is issued, and what is not published
An individual number identifies the taxable persons of Art. 68: deduction-entitled suppliers, intra-Community acquirers, liable importers, and two service cases. The Direction des Services Fiscaux issues it; a franchise business trading intra-Community asks the Recette des Taxes on form 353-0045.
Under Art. 7 of Directive 2006/112/EC Monaco's transactions are treated as French, and Art. 215 requires a prefix identifying the Member State of issue. No official Monegasque or French text we could read publishes the format, an example, or a way to check one, so we print none.
Which VAT position your company is in, and how it will file
Identified and liable (Art. 68). Monthly return and payment, code EM, before the 25th; a nil return in an empty period. Rates 20, 10 and 5.5%: Monaco's VAT rate.
- 01
established in Monaco and liable, identified by an individual number
Art. 68
- 02
established in Monaco and under the Art. 87 ceilings, franchise en base (FB, the compulsory invoice wording, one January return)
Art. 87
- 03
established outside Monaco, an accredited representative in the Principality (Art. 72 I). Footer: the branch turns on establishment and turnover, never on activ
Art. 72
Three positions, three filing rhythms (Arts. 68, 70, 87, 72 I)
Quarterly (ET). Where the tax due for the year is under EUR 4,000, on request by letter or email (declaring and paying VAT).
The franchise en base (FB). Established in Monaco, under the Art. 87 ceilings: no deduction, no VAT on invoices, the mention "TVA non applicable, article 87 du Code des taxes", one annual return in January.
Established outside Monaco. An accredited representative in the Principality (Art. 72 I), failing which the tax falls on the customer. Establishment decides it, never turnover.
Paper returns are automatic; e-TVA is optional, free, closed to the franchise, and not a way to register.
Are you inside the profits tax, and when is the first return?
The statute reads "25 % au moins", at least 25% of turnover from operations outside Monegasque territory (O.S. n° 3.152, Art. 1er); the filing page writes "plus de 25%", and the statute controls. The tax itself: the corporate tax guide.
| Question | What the text says | Article and source |
|---|---|---|
| Is the company inside the tax? | Turnover coming for at least 25% from operations made outside Monegasque territory, directly or through an interposed person; or income from patents, marks, processes or copyright | O.S. n° 3.152, Art. 1er § 1 a), "25 % au moins"; the filing page writes "plus de 25%" |
| At what rate? | 25% for financial years opened from 1 January 2022 | Art. 21 |
| When is the first return due? | Within three months of the close of each financial year, or before 1 April where no year closed in the calendar year | Art. 23 § 2; filing page |
| Does a long or short first year change it? | The tax follows the financial year; a new business drawing up no balance sheet in a calendar year is assessed on the profits from the start of operations to 31 December | Art. 6 § 1 |
| What must the return quote? | Both registration numbers, the commerce directorate's and the recette des taxes', and turnover split between Monaco, France and abroad; forms 353-0018 and 353-0016 | Art. 23 § 1, 1° and 7°; filing page |
| Are there instalments in year one? | February, May, August and November, each a fifth of the tax on the most recent closed financial year. It follows that a company with no closed year pays none yet, and that inference is ours | Art. 31 § 1 |
| What is the new-business relief? | Two years exempt, then tax on 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of profit, under three cumulative conditions: created in the Principality, inside the scope of the tax, developing a genuinely new activity | Government page; no statute located behind it |
A government page, not a statute, is named in the source column.
Ready to map your registrations?
Tell us where the authorisation stands.
Why work with us
Julien Rossi, tax, licensing and compliance lead: thirteen years, seven on Monaco.
From our practice: whether the 25% test bites, the counter file assembled, the NIS and VAT position registered.
Prepared by Julien Rossi · Reviewed by Camille Perrin · Updated {{BUILD_DATE}}
Start the registrations
Tell us where the authorisation stands; we map the registrations.
Start your Monaco file
Tell us the activity, where it will be carried on and who will run it. One of us reads it and comes back with the questions the authorisation file will ask. Our fees are on request.
The authorisation is personal and non-transferable, and it names the activity and the premises. Nothing on this site is sold ready to trade.
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