Lebanese statutory accounts are maintained in lira and in foreign currency at the same time. How the two sets are kept consistent in practice.
- Mandatory work permit for every foreign hire
- Statutory audit applies almost universally
- How long does it take to register a company in Lebanon?
Because so much of Lebanese company and tax law is drafted in fixed LBP amounts — minimum share capital, statutory audit turnover triggers, social security contribution ceilings — the collapse has silently rewritten what those figures mean in practice. A SARL's LBP 5,000,000 minimum capital was worth roughly $3,300 in 2019 and is worth about $56 today; the LBP 750 million turnover threshold that triggers mandatory audit for sole proprietorships and partnerships was a meaningful screen in 2019 and equates to roughly $8,370 today, catching businesses the rule never intended to reach. Bookkeeping itself reflects the same duality: the Lebanese Chart of Accounts must be maintained in both LBP and foreign currency simultaneously, and banks distinguish "fresh dollars" held in accounts opened after the crisis from pre-crisis frozen deposits, a distinction that affects how salaries, supplier payments and capital contributions can practically move.
What a company pays in Lebanon. Every figure below is published on the Lebanon country page.
| Lebanon | |
|---|---|
| Official language | Arabic (French and English widely used in business) |
| Legal forms | SARL (limited liability) · SAL (joint stock) |
| Employer social security (NSSF) | ~23.5% combined: 11% sickness & maternity (ceiling LBP 140M/month) + 6% family allowances (ceiling LBP 28M/month) + 8.5% end-of-service indemnity (no ceiling) |
| Dividend / movable capital tax | 10% withholding |
| Minimum share capital | SARL: LBP 5,000,000 ( |
What makes it complex in Lebanon
- Mandatory work permit for every foreign hire — — Ministry of Labour approval is required for any foreign national in any role, with the employer required to demonstrate the position cannot be filled by a Lebanese national.
- Statutory audit applies almost universally — — Ministerial Decree No. 8089/1996 requires an LACPA-registered CPA audit for every SARL, SAL, holding, offshore and foreign-branch entity regardless of size, with no small-company exemption.
How long does it take to register a company in Lebanon?
Total registration typically takes around 2–3 weeks: name reservation with the Commercial Registry takes 1–3 working days, followed by roughly 10–15 days for registration itself. An SAL generally takes longer than a SARL given its three-shareholder minimum and additional capital-deposit formalities.
Mandatory work permit for every foreign hire is one of the points HTLC Network handles for clients operating in Lebanon, within a single engagement that covers every other country they operate in — executed locally, governed centrally.
In Lebanon the scope is: Dual-currency bookkeeping under the Lebanese Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général Libanais), LACPA-audited annual statements, and VAT/CIT filings tracked against both LBP nominal thresholds and market exchange rates.
See Accounting & Tax Compliance in Lebanon for the full scope, or the Lebanon country page for the statutory framework across every service.
Figures as published on the HTLC Network country pages, reviewed September 2026 and collected from public sources. They are not a substitute for advice on a specific case and should be verified before being relied on.