Business
Companies Act 2003 with CIPA registration and an IFSC concessionary regime
The Companies Act 2003 governs incorporation, administered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA). Botswana operates an International Financial Services Centre regime offering a reduced corporate rate to approved companies serving non-residents, which is the main reason for the jurisdiction's use in regional holding structures.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — CIPA registers companies; the High Court hears company disputes and winding-up.
- Deadline — Annual return: filed with CIPA within 28 days of the anniversary of incorporation
- Deadline — Company name reservation: valid 30 days
Governing law
- Companies Act 2003Cap 42:01
- Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act 2011
- Income Tax Act (Cap 52:01) — IFSC provisions
In practice
Company law is Roman-Dutch in its underlying private-law concepts but the Companies Act itself is a modern statute drawing on New Zealand and South African models, including a solvency-based approach to distributions rather than the older capital-maintenance rules.