Forming an Estonia OU as non-resident for eCommerce in EU

[Jocus]

I am considering establishing an Estonia OU for eCommerce within EU (not including Estonia).

1) I am personally residing in SEA (Philippines)
2) I have a Dubai FCZO (with personal‌ residence visa)

3) Can my Dubai FZCO establish an Estonian company as non-resident, if not;‍

4) Can I personally establish an Estonian company as non-resident
- being resident of the⁠ Philippines?
- being resident of UAE?

5) Payment Gateways: Can Estonia OU companies sign up⁤ with Payment Gateways operating in EU without much hassle?

6) I'd like Stripe, according to⁣ their policy for e-residency holder, I have to be resident in a Stripe accepted country⁢ (Dubai is accepted, Philipines is not). Stripe doesn't state that owner has to be in︀ the same country as the company (Estonia). Any thoughts?

7) Banks/EMI: Can Estonia OU companies︁ sign up to a brick&mortar bank? If not;

8) Can Estonia OU companies sign up︂ with most EMIs operating in EU without much hassle? Revolut, Wise, Currenxie et al.

9) Do I at any stage need to be physically present in Estonia?

10) Reducing the︃ taxable 20% by paying for invoiced services (programming, SM marketing, CRM, to Dubai FZCO, and︄ other EU based 3rd party entities) not a problem with proper and consistent invoicing, incl︅ signed Service Agreements in place?

11) I'm aware of the fact that there's plenty of︆ (regular and often) accounting to do, that is not a problem.

12) Do you need︇ / can you get Service, Business, Registered offices addresses? I read it is possible with︈ a Local office representation through their "e-Residency marketplace"

13) Need to obtain a Business License︉ for e-commerce?

- Anything else I need to consider?

Anyone out there who has actually︊ done it, and have a similar setup? Is it recommendable?

 

[Marzio]

Estonian companies are always resident in Estonia, there's no such thing as Estonian non-resident company.‌

If you are looking for a EU non resident company try Cyprus.

 

[Jocus]

Thank you for your reply.

Ok, so for the e-residency in Estonia, I suppose that‌ can only be an individual in that case? Is there anything that is given in‍ my initial thread that would make it impossible for me to become an e-resident in⁠ Estonia?

 

[Forte]

For e-residency, you need to be an individual. There are a lot of companies that‌ provide services for e-residents, you should consult with them, their consulting is not expensive.

 

[Don]

This option might not last too long...
Cyprus is adopting an additional test‍ for the determination of corporate tax residency based on the incorporation principle:
https://ibccs.tax/cyprus/additional-corporate-tax-residency-test-our-remarks/

 

[Don]

Yes, you can‌ do that. However, I would not advise setting up anything with zero substance. You'll have‍ problems with banking and eventually with tax officers.

 

[Jocus]

Thanks for all input - highly appreciated. I've found a service provider for the entire‌ process (personal recommendation), and, amongst others, I don't need e-residency to establish and run a‍ company in Estonia as a non-resident.

 

[Don]

Yes, it's not needed.⁠ In fact, you can buy a ready-made company and start immediately. The shares of the⁤ company can be transferred even without the notary in certain cases.

 

[ITexpert7]

How much is the⁠ Corporation tax (and any dividend withholding tax) for an Estonian company set up like you⁤ want to do?

 

[drspak]

Hi, if you have set up your Estonian company, you can give me the reference‌ of your incorporation consultants. Thank you

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

You can set up a company in Estonia and pay out a salary to yourself.‌
You could also use transfer pricing to shift profits to the UAE FZCO to a‍ certain degree and then either pay dividends or salary from there.
The Estonian company could⁠ also set up a branch/PE in the UAE, which would then be taxed as a⁤ UAE company and excluded from taxation in Estonia, but this would be more complex.
In order to get access to banking, you will most likely need some sort of substance⁣ in Estonia, a small office and ideally some local director.