Starting a Business - Brazil

An LTDA can be fully foreign-owned with no requirement for a Brazilian partner, and there is no statutory minimum share capital for the LTDA.

Every foreign partner must hold a Brazilian individual tax ID (CPF), and a foreign-resident shareholder/quotaholder must appoint a representative resident in Brazil; foreign-owned companies also need a local administrator/attorney.

Setup runs through the REDESIM network and the state integrator: name/viability check, registration of articles of incorporation with the Junta Comercial (assigning the NIRE), automatic issuance of the CNPJ by Receita Federal, then state/municipal tax registrations and licenses.

Inbound foreign direct investment must be declared by the Brazilian recipient company in the Central Bank's SCE-IED system (formerly RDE-IED), required for currency conversion, profit/capital repatriation and dividend remittance abroad.

Foreign capital faces caps or bans in some sectors: journalism and broadcasting limited to 30% voting/equity capital, foreign acquisition of rural land and border-zone properties is restricted/requires authorization, and nuclear, postal and aerospace activities are reserved or barred.

Junta Comercial approval commonly takes around 5-15 business days, but the full path from obtaining a CPF to an operational CNPJ with licenses typically takes roughly 30-45 business days depending on state and activity.