Tunisia

Operating a business

Different types of companies	Number of partners/shareholders	Maximum and/or minimum capital	Liabilities	Registration fees
The individual company.	1 person.	No minimum capital.	The individual businessman is liable for company debts on his personal property.
Limited liability company SARL	2 partners minimum.	1 000 TND minimum. The minimum nominal value of a share must be 5 TND.	Their liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.
Public limited company SA.	Minimum 7 partners.	No minimum capital. 1/4 of the capital must be paid up at the creation. The balance must be paid up within a maximum of 5 years.	Their liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed..
General partnership.	Minimum 2 partners.	No minimum capital.	Their liability is unlimited.
Limited joint-stock partnership.	There are 2 types of partner, the active partners and the silent partners.	No minimum capital.	The liability of the active partners is unlimited. The liability of the silent partners is limited to the amount of capital contributed as long as they do not participate in the management of the company.

Business setup procedures: The creation of an SA or an SARL needs a trader's card to be issued first and the company to be registered in the Register of Commerce. The formalities are quite flexible, especially for companies which hold procurement contracts.
The competent organization: The agency for the promotion of foreign investment

Legal weekly duration: 40h or 48h according to the regime.
Retirement age: 60
Working contracts: Legal measures govern work contracts; collective agreements and individual negotiation complete them.
The formality of work contracts is extremely rigid. The constraints of dismissal and hiring conditions are rather flexible.

Minimum wage: Decree n ° 2007-2079 of 14/08/2007 established:
- the minimum monthly salary is 239.824 TND and 207.828 TND according to the number of working hours per week (respectively 48 and 40);
- the minimum hourly wage is 1.153 TND and 1.199 TND according to the number of working hours per week (respectively 48 and 40).
Social contributions: Social security contributions paid by employers: 18 %.
Social security contributions paid by employees: 6.25 %.