Entering Iraq without the surprises
Registration, vendor qualification, tax and counterparty checks, handled by Iraqi bar admitted advisors in Baghdad.
What we hear
From regional counsel and country managers
“We need an Iraqi branch before the tender closes.”
“The client’s vendor portal wants documents we don’t have.”
“Nobody can tell us what will be withheld from our invoices.”
“We don’t know who we’re really contracting with.”
Why us: we read the primary source, not the summary
Official Iraqi sources are often out of date or contradict each other. Three examples:
- The National Investment Commission’s English investor guide still reflects rules from around 2009 and 2010 on tax, currency and customs.
- The registrar’s own publications conflict in places with the law they describe.
- Some registrar search tools return no results for any name, so a clean search does not mean a clean record.
We check the law against the Official Gazette and practice against the registrar, then tell you where they differ.
Our guides, built from the primary sources:
Screening starts with us, too
Earlier this year a Gulf-based contractor’s representative asked us to register an Iraqi branch. The sender’s email domain did not match the company’s official one, and the company never confirmed the request through its published address. We declined to proceed. The same checks run on every counterparty you meet in Iraq.
What we handle
- Registration: branch and company registration with the Ministry of Trade registrar, filed in person in Baghdad
- Vendor and tender qualification: the documents and registrations Iraqi and regional operators require before you can bid
- Tax set-up: withholding at source on Iraqi public contracts, tax clearance, and what to price in before you sign
- Counterparty screening: registrar records and government debarment lists, checked before you commit
How an engagement works
- Assessment: a short Legal Shield assessment and a call to scope what you need
- Written plan: a defined scope, timeline estimate and fee before any work starts
- Execution: our Baghdad team files, follows up with the authorities and reports to you at each stage