IRAQ – Update on submissions to Registrar of Companies.

January 21, 2025


By: Carlijn Langeveld, Senior Manager, Newland Chase Advisory.

The Government of Iraq’s Registrar of Companies (GOI-ROC) has requested companies in two consecutive circulars at the end of December 2024 to not update their company registration in the beginning of the year with new notarized documents if the current documents on file are less than one year old.

Corporate documents must be ratified annually to keep the company’s ROC file up to date, including:

  • Financial statements (by July 31st);
  • Confirmation letters for the company’s location, statutory lawyer, and accountant;
  • Company’s bank account details.

Failing to submit all of the required documents may impact a company’s operations in various ways, as other government entities use the data collected by the ROC. For example, the Ministry of Labour may request up-to-date company documents during inspections, or when issuing a clearance letter.

Although not an official deadline, many companies update their ROC records at the start of the year, which can result in delays. To reduce bureaucracy, expedite processes, and ease congestion, the ROC has therefore issued two reminders to companies that ratification requests can be submitted at any time, as long as this is done so within one year of the date of issuance of the documents on file.

No penalties apply for delayed ratification in general, however, failure to submit new financial statements by July 31, or to update the ROC of a change of company address within seven days will incur financial penalties.

Newland Chase insights.

To help prevent overloading the system, we recommend that companies check the issue dates of their corporate documents in the ROC records and plan their ratification requests accordingly.

This immigration update is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal or scenario-specific advice. Furthermore, it is important to note that immigration announcements are subject to sudden and unexpected changes. Readers are encouraged to reach out to Newland Chase for any case- or company-specific assessments.