Guides

Practical explainers with sources, for business owners, employers, employees and investors in Suriname. Every guide names the law or office a rule comes from, and the date we checked it.

Starting and running a business

Start a businessLegal form, KKF, tax number and bank account, step by stepWriting a business planWhat banks and funds want to see, chapter by chapterBusiness licencesWhich activities need a licence and how to applyOpening a business bank accountDocuments per legal form, UBO and what banks askBusiness financingBank loans, NOB funds, guarantees and microcreditGrants and support programmesGrants, cost-share and mentoring: what is open and how to applyBusiness insuranceMandatory and sensible cover per type of businessPower, water and internetConnecting power, water and internet, tariffs and back-upTrademark registrationProtecting your trademark, trade name and domainNew Civil CodeContracts, general terms, interest and limitationBusiness associationsKKF, VSB, ASFA and others: what they do, how to joinBusiness resourcesEvery office, bank and fund with its official siteGovernment offices and contactsAddresses and phones of the tax office, customs and KKF

Tax, money and admin

Business taxesEvery tax a business pays, with the yearly calendarVAT in SurinameRates, registration, input VAT, invoices and returnsIncome tax and returnsProvisional and final returns, rates and deductionsIncome tax 20262026 rates, tax-free amount and AOVBookkeeping and invoicesRecord keeping, invoice rules, annual accounts and auditorsAccepting paymentsCash, SNEPS, cards, QR wallets and payments from abroadPrice rules for shopsPrice display, maximum prices, SRD and USD, inspectionsAnti-money laundering rulesWMTF: who must report to the FIU and how to set it upDebt collection and disputesReminders, interest, the courts, attachment and arbitrationTax deadlinesEvery fixed date in your calendar

Staff and employment

Hiring staffYour first employee: contract, pay, premiums and recordsEmployer costsWhat an employee costs: APF pension, FVO, health insuranceLabour law basicsHours, leave, sickness, equal treatmentDismissal and noticeDismissal permits, notice periods and summary dismissalWorkplace safetySafety Act, labour inspection, accidents and young workersStaff training and internshipsTraining providers, on-the-job learning, scholarships and internsWork and residence permitsWork permit, residence, visa and PSAMinimum wageThe minimum hourly wage and what it is per month

Trade and export

Importing goodsCustoms, import duties, import VAT and carsExporting from SurinameExport declaration, certificates and the currency ruleTrade agreements and market accessCARICOM, the EU and UK EPAs, and other marketsDoing business by countryThirteen trading partners: figures, rules, contacts and openingsEU rules for Surinamese suppliersEUDR, NIS2, GDPR and food rules your EU customer imposesShipping and logisticsPorts, air cargo, forwarders, Canawaima and IncotermsStandards and certificationSSB, technical regulations, ISO and HACCPBusiness eventsFairs, summits and trade missions through the year

Investment, sectors and market

Investing in SurinameClimate, law, moving money, opportunities and risksSectors and opportunitiesWhere the opportunities are, sector by sector, with figuresEconomy in figuresGrowth, inflation, exchange rate, debt and ratings at a glanceBusiness by districtAll ten districts: population, economy and opportunitiesMarket researchSizing your market with statistics, import data and your own surveysStarting an agribusinessLand, the agriculture ministry, finance and export for farms and processorsMining and goldMining rights, GMD, small-scale gold, mercury and communitiesStarting a tourism businessLicences, standards, the interior and the visitor marketBuying land and propertyLand lease, freehold, notary, land registry and building permitsMaximum prices of basic goodsThe official EZOTI price list

Oil and gas

Oil and gasThe sector for business: state of play, opportunities and datesGranMorgu projectThe Block 58 project, its contractors and what is bought in each phaseOil blocks and concessionsEvery block, operator and find, Block 52 gas and the Open-Door OfferingBecome an oil and gas supplierRegistering in SSRP and Ariba, local content and winning EOIsOil and gas jobsRoles, certificates, training and where the vacancies areStaatsolieWhat the state company does, figures, bonds and doing businessOil and gas lawPetroleum Act, production sharing contracts, tax and environmentOil money and businessWhat oil revenue changes for the exchange rate, wages and customersOil and gas glossaryOver a hundred terms from FPSO to profit oilFuel prices todayPetrol and diesel per litre today, the price cap

Rules, environment and sustainability

New laws and rulesWhat is changing: import rules, customs, tax collection, privacyEnvironmental rules for businessEnvironmental Framework Act, NMA, impact assessment and wasteSustainable businessEnergy, green finance, ESG questions and carbon

Travel, living and diaspora

Business trip to SurinameEntry, flights, money, SIM card and a week of meetingsLiving and working in SurinameHousing, healthcare, schools and the first 90 daysDoing business from the diasporaPSA, legal form, tax treaty and a reliable partner

Tools that go with the guides

Invoice generatorFree, no accountQuote generatorFree, no accountPayslip generatorFree, no accountNet salary calculatorFree, no accountVAT registerFree, no accountUnpaid invoices trackerFree, no accountStock trackerFree, no accountCash flow plannerFree, no accountImport cost calculatorFree, no accountLoan calculatorFree, no accountBreak-even calculatorFree, no accountVAT calculatorFree, no account

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