Luxembourg Economy Profile - Doing Business 2020
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Economy Profile
Luxembourg
Page 1
Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Economy Profile of Luxembourg
Doing Business 2020 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety
mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the
transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as postfiling
processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for
insolvency
Employing workers Flexibility in employment regulation and redundancy cost
Page 2Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and
regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life
cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for
starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across
borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of employing workers. Although Doing Business does not present rankings
of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages
economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector
researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational studies, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation.
These studies provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected
cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business study, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s study covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most
indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013
(Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data
for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from
feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the
regulatory environment for business around the world.
To learn more about Doing Business please visit doingbusiness.org
Page 3Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Ease of Doing Business in DB RANK DB SCORE
Region OECD high income
Luxembourg
Income Category High income
72
Population 607,728 69.6
City Covered Luxembourg
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Luxembourg
1
14 18
23
45
76
93 97 93
176
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Topic Scores
88.8 83.9 84.3 63.9 15.0 54.0 87.4 100.0 73.3 45.5
Starting a Business (rank) 76 Getting Credit (rank) 176 Trading across Borders (rank) 1
Score of starting a business (0-100) 88.8 Score of getting credit (0-100) 15.0 Score of trading across borders (0-100) 100
Procedures (number) 5 Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 3 Time to export
Time (days) 16.5 Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 Documentary compliance (hours) 1
Cost (number) 1.6 Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Border compliance (hours) 0
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 17.2 Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Cost to export
Documentary compliance (USD) 0
Dealing with Construction Permits (rank) 14 Protecting Minority Investors (rank) 97 Border compliance (USD) 0
Score of dealing with construction permits (0-100) 83.9 Score of protecting minority investors (0-100) 54.0 Time to export
Procedures (number) 11 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 6.0 Documentary compliance (hours) 1
Time (days) 155 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 5.0 Border compliance (hours) 0
Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.7 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 4.0 Cost to export
Building quality control index (0-15) 15.0 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 4.0 Documentary compliance (USD) 0
Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 2.0 Border compliance (USD) 0
Getting Electricity (rank) 45 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 6.0
Score of getting electricity (0-100) 84.3 Enforcing Contracts (rank) 18
Procedures (number) 5 Paying Taxes (rank) 23 Score of enforcing contracts (0-100) 73.3
Time (days) 56 Score of paying taxes (0-100) 87.4 Time (days) 321
Cost (% of income per capita) 32.7 Payments (number per year) 23 Cost (% of claim value) 9.7
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 7 Time (hours per year) 55 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.5
Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 20.4
Registering Property (rank) 93 Postfiling index (0-100) 83.8 Resolving Insolvency (rank) 93
Score of registering property (0-100) 63.9 Score of resolving insolvency (0-100) 45.5
Procedures (number) 7 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 43.9
Time (days) 26.5 Time (years) 2.0
Cost (% of property value) 10.1 Cost (% of estate) 14.5
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 25.5 Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0
concern)
Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 7.0
Page 4Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and
formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to
10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of
operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one
company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their
scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the
(number) procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the
entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation,
notarization)
The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business city -Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited
• Postregistration (for example, social security registration, liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms is
company seal) chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the
statistical office.
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave
-Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for
the home to register the company
the second largest business city.
• Obtaining any gender specific document for company -Performs general industrial or commercial activities such as the production or sale to the public of
registration and operation or national identification card goods or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle
products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days)
polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering information -Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
-Is 100% domestically owned.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot -Has five business owners, none of whom is a legal entity. One business owner holds 30% of the
start on the same day)
company shares, two owners have 20% of shares each, and two owners have 15% of shares
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day each.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is -Is managed by one local director.
received -Has between 10 and 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of them
domestic nationals.
• No prior contact with officials -Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita.
-Has an estimated turnover of at least 100 times income per capita.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
-Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate.
capita)
-Has an annual lease for the office space equivalent to one income per capita.
• Official costs only, no bribes -Is in an office space of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
-Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• No professional fees unless services required by law or
commonly used in practice
The owners:
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita)
-Have reached the legal age of majority and are capable of making decisions as an adult. If there
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old.
or up to 3 months after incorporation -Are in good health and have no criminal record.
-Are married, the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
-Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man in
question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be
the one that applies to the majority of the population.
Page 5Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Starting a Business - Luxembourg
Standardized Company
Legal form Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL)
Paid-in minimum capital requirement EUR 12,000
City Covered Luxembourg
Indicator Luxembourg OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 5 4.9 1 (2 Economies)
Time – Men (days) 16.5 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 1.6 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies)
Procedure – Women (number) 5 4.9 1 (2 Economies)
Time – Women (days) 16.5 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 1.6 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 17.2 7.6 0.0 (120 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Luxembourg – Score
76.5 83.9 99.2 95.7
Procedures Time Cost Paid-in min. capital
Figure – Starting a Business in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Starting a Business Score
0 100
94.3: Netherlands (Rank: 24)
93.1: France (Rank: 37)
92.7: Denmark (Rank: 45)
92.3: Belgium (Rank: 48)
91.3: Regional Average (OECD high income)
88.8: Luxembourg (Rank: 76)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of
the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Figure – Starting a Business in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
1.8
16
1.6
14
Cost (% of income per capita)
1.4
12
1.2
Time (days)
10
1
8
0.8
6
0.6
4
0.4
2 0.2
0 0
1 2 3 *4 *5
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 7Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Details – Starting a Business in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Deposit the minimum capital requirement 1 day no charge
Agency : Commercial Bank
The promoters must open a bank account in the name of the company in formation and must
transfer the amount of the share capital to this account before the passing of the deed of
incorporation. For the purpose of the passing of the notarial deed, the bank will remit an escrow
certificate (certificat de blocage) certifying that the funds corresponding to the amount of the share
capital are "blocked" in the escrow account. The funds are automatically unblocked on delivery of
a certified copy of the notarial deed of incorporation and the issue by the notary of the release
certificate (certificat de déblocage).
2 Verify uniqueness of company name and reserve name Less than one day EUR 4.75 to EUR 10
Agency : Luxembourg Business Registers (online procedure)
Shareholders are free to choose the company's name but must ensure that it is unique
(https://www.lbr.lu). Each person requesting the Luxembourg Business Register to confirm the
availability or non-availability of a company's name may select four types of documents to reflect
the answer of the Luxembourg Business Register.
3 Notary drafts and notarizes the company deed 2 days EUR 1,000 + EUR 75 fixed
Agency : Notary tax registration fee
A private limited liability company must be incorporated before a Luxembourg notary public. The
Luxembourg notary or lawyer draws up the deed of incorporation which includes the articles of
association of the company. Model of articles of association may be found on Internet (the national
Chamber of Commerce’s One-stop shop information center can help incorporates to complete the
model of documents).
The Luxembourg notary is held by law to pay all the costs relating to the incorporation and
registration of the company and which include:
- The notary fees EUR 450 (fee EUR 150 + sundry expenses EUR 200 + certified copies EUR
100);
- Company Register fees EUR 250;
- Publication in Official Gazette EUR 250;
- Effective Beneficial Owner Register fee EUR 15 (this fee is waived during the six-months
transition period of the Law of the Register of Effective Beneficial Owners);
- Sundries EUR 50.
- A fixed fee of EUR 75 for the tax registration.
The notary must provide a detailed account/invoice once the company is incorporated.
Page 8Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
4 Apply for business license 15 days, (simultaneous EUR 24
Agency : General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses - Ministry of Economy with procedure 3)
This license/permit is issued by the Ministry of Middle Classes for a commercial activity or by the
Ministry of Economy for industrial activities upon request and on proof of knowledge of business
management.
To apply for a business license, promoters must submit the following documents:
• Application form (completed and signed) for an establishment permit.
• Tax stamp for EUR 24 EUR (This varies from EUR 24 to EUR 2,500, depending on the type of
activity. 24 EUR refers to a sales/trade company). The amount can be transferred to the national
Giro account (CCP) of the Registration and Domains Administration (Administration de
l’Enregistrement et des Domaines): LU47 1111 0087 9262 0000, with the reference: “Office Fee
for Establishment Permit [ENTER APPLICANT’S NAME].” In this case, proof of payment must be
presented. The tax stamp can also be obtained from the One-stop shop information center.
• For non-residents and persons residing in Luxembourg for fewer than 10 years, a recent
notarized certificate of non-bankruptcy.
• Articles of association (executed or draft) for a commercial company.
• An affidavit on the exercise of any management posts previously held in Luxembourg, for
verification of non-bankruptcy.
• The applicant’s identity card (copy).
• The applicant’s police record or affidavit. Note: This applies to non-residents and persons
residing in Luxembourg for less than 10 years. In practice, the Ministry of the Economy and
Foreign Trade tends however to request the provision of a police record or affidavit to every
applicant although not required as such.
The business permit application can be submitted before executing the notary deed because the
Ministry of the Economy checks the draft articles of association—the company name, business
purpose, and identity of directors and officers for compliance with the provisions of the applicable
law. Generally, the business license/establishment permit application and notary deed processes
start more or less at the same time and are pursued simultaneously. Although the company
incorporation process requires a notary, the founder may directly register the company with
different administrations and obtain identification numbers and the business license/establishment
permit.
Since October 2011, business license requests can be handed in online at www.guichet.lu. The
required documents are the same ones. They all need to be transformed into a PDF and attached
to the online form. In order to be able to deposit the business license online, the applicant is
required to have a LUXTRUST certificate in order to sign the application form electronically.
5 Register at the one-stop shop 4 days, (simultaneous included in procedure 3
Agency : One-stop shop of the Luxembourg Business Register with procedure 4)
The notary public must levy an initial payment for all applicable company incorporation fees and
taxes, including registration costs. The notary must register:
(a) The articles of association with the tax administration (Administration de l’Enregistrement) at
the Registry one-stop shop (Guichet.lu). Applications can be filed for both VAT and social security
at the one-stop shop, which distributes the forms to the relevant administrations.
(b) The company with the Trade and Companies Registry, within 4 weeks of the incorporation of
the company. The Trade and Companies Register arranges for the publication of the incorporation
deed in the Official Gazette within 2 months of the company's registration. Upon usually 24 hours
within registration, the Luxemburg Business Register generates an administrative or official
(register) number that accompanies the company during its corporate life (matricule). This number
forms the basis for all other identification numbers to be issued by the administration for direct
taxes (tax number), the administration for indirect taxes (VAT number), or the social security
service (pay-as-you-earn number and employer number). The company's registration with the
Chamber of Commerce is done automatically.
(c) The beneficial ownership details with the Register of Beneficial Owners. The details required to
be provided are: the names of beneficial owners; their nationality; their date and place of birth;
their country of residence and business address; their national identification number (for
individuals registered with the RNPP) and the nature and extent of their ownership holdings.
These details must be submitted within one month of the date on which the entity became aware
of the owner's appointment. Within 3 business days, the applicant will receive a confirmation
receipt for the successful filing with the Register.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 9Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications,
requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building
quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional
certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction
company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary
clearances, licenses, permits and certificates
The construction company (BuildCo):
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest
inspections
business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has a
licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion
or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) experts, such as geological or topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its
• Does not include time spent gathering information completion.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day—though procedures
that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule The warehouse:
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
received - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6
square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be
• No prior contact with officials located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100%
owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If
capita)
preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior
• Official costs only, no bribes approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures.
- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory
Building quality control index (0-15) requirements).
• Quality of building regulations (0-2)
The water and sewerage connections:
• Quality control before construction (0-1)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water
• Quality control during construction (0-3) delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage
• Quality control after construction (0-3) infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built.
- Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and
• Professional certifications (0-4) a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day.
- Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1
inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.
Page 10Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Dealing with Construction Permits - Luxembourg
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse EUR 3,490,158.50
City Covered Luxembourg
Indicator Luxembourg OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedures (number) 11 12.7 None in 2018/19
Time (days) 155 152.3 None in 2018/19
Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.7 1.5 None in 2018/19
Building quality control index (0-15) 15.0 11.6 15.0 (6 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Luxembourg – Score
76.0 62.8 96.6 100.0
Procedures Time Cost Building quality control index
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
87.9: Denmark (Rank: 4)
83.9: Luxembourg (Rank: 14)
75.6: Regional Average (OECD high income)
75.5: Belgium (Rank: 45)
74.3: France (Rank: 52)
69.4: Netherlands (Rank: 88)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 11Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
0.6
140
0.5
Cost (% of warehouse value)
120
0.4
100
Time (days)
80 0.3
60
0.2
40
0.1
20
0 0
1 2 *3 *4 *5 *6 *7 8 9 10 * 11
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 12Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
16 15.0
14 13.0
12.0 11.6
12 11.0
Index score
10.0
10
8
6
4
2
0
Luxembourg Belgium Denmark France Netherlands OECD
high
income
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain a recent copy of the cadastre plans from the Cadastre Administration 1 day EUR 10
Agency : Cadastre Administration
2 Obtain commodo/incommodo classe 3 approval from the Ministry of Environment 120 days no charge
Agency : Ministry of Environment
An environmental clearance is required if the warehouse will be used for storing greater than 10
tons but less than or equivalent to 100 tons.
3 Obtain construction permit from the Urban Department (service de l'urbanisme) of the 90 days EUR 960
Commune
Agency : Urban Department, Commune
The building plans must conform to the master plan of the city of Luxembourg. The application file
comprises an application form, a cadastral extract, and the building design plans. Various
departments within the Commune must approve the application, including all the utility and the fire
safety departments. The Commune charges EUR 24 as an application processing fee and EUR
0.24 per cubic meter. If after 12 months construction has not started, the permit will be nullified.
4 Obtain approval in principle (accord de principe) 60 days EUR 60
Agency : Urban Department, Commune
An application for authorization and declaration of work, an agreement is required for any building
with a total built area of more than 2,000 cubic meters.
This agreement is valid for a period of 12 months. The final request must be submitted within the
deadline.
5 Obtain excavation permit from the Ministry of Public Works 60 days EUR 10
Agency : Ministry of Public Works
Assuming the warehouse will be built near a main road, BuildCo must obtain an excavation permit
to dig for utility connections. The Ministry of Public Works charges a stamp duty of EUR 10.
6 Obtain feasibility study for the sewage (canalization) connection 30 days EUR 1,950
Agency : Sewage Department, Commune
BuildCo applies for a sewage connection online. The following plans and documents must be
attached in duplicate:
(i) an extract of the cadastral map
(ii) the location map of the land and any building or structure (or erect), scale 1:500
(iii) plans for all levels of the building, scale 1:100 or 1:50
(iv) Construction cuts along the plan of the connecting line, scale 1:100 or 1:50, indicating the
location of the network and the level of public sewers
The construction permit is valid only if a sewage connection authorization has been granted.
7 Hire independent surveillance company to carry out inspections of construction works 1 day EUR 17,451
Agency : Independent Surveillance Company
BuildCo must hire an independent inspection company to perform inspections during construction,
which costs about 0.5% of the construction value.
8 Request and receive inspection of completed works from the Urban Department 1 day no charge
Agency : Urban Department, Commune
According to Article 66 of the Building Code, an application must be made to the Police des
Batisses once the major construction work is completed.
The authorization shall be deemed received if within three weeks after the formulation of the
relevant application, “La police des batisses” has not raised any objections in writing. Without this
authorization, no internal works can be completed.
9 Request and receive sewage (canalization) inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : Sewage Department, Commune
BuildCo applies for a sewerage connection and requests water services from the Commune in
order to prepare an estimate for all the costs associated with the sewerage connection.
Page 13Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
10 Obtain sewage (canalization) connection 32 days no charge
Agency : Sewage Department, Commune
11 Obtain water connection 5 days EUR 3,000
Agency : Water Services Department, Commune
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 14Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Luxembourg – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 15.0
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; Free 1.0
of charge.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building regulations or on any List of required 1.0
accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to
be paid; Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in compliance with existing Licensed architect; 1.0
building regulations? (0-1) Licensed engineer.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 3.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? (0-2) Inspections by 2.0
external engineer or
firm; Risk-based
inspections.
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0
inspections are
always done in
practice.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved Yes, final inspection 2.0
plans and regulations? (0-2) is done by
government agency;
Yes, external
engineer submits
report for final
inspection.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0
always occurs in
practice.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 2.0
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use Architect or engineer; 1.0
(Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) Professional in
charge of the
supervision;
Construction
company.
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible structural flaws or Architect or engineer. 1.0
problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1)
Professional certifications index (0-4) 4.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the architectural plans Minimum number of 2.0
or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) years of experience;
University degree in
architecture or
engineering; Being a
registered architect or
engineer.
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction on the ground? (0- Minimum number of 2.0
2) years of experience;
University degree in
engineering,
construction or
construction
management; Being
a registered architect
or engineer.
Page 15Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally,
the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data
collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, the
electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary
clearances and permits
The warehouse:
• Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
inspections
- Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing the second largest business city.
material for these works - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with no
physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final
- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
supply
- Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
• Is at least 1 calendar day The electricity connection:
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-
• Does not include time spent gathering information kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW).
- Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the
prior contact with officials
warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by
excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
owners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road.
capita)
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been
• Official costs only, no bribes completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base.
• Value added tax excluded
The monthly consumption:
The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours
(kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier.
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for
the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used.
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1)
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case
study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is
not included in the ease of doing business score nor in the ranking
on the ease of getting electricity.
Page 16Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Getting Electricity - Luxembourg
Standardized Connection
Name of utility Creos Luxembourg S.A.
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 12.1
City Covered Luxembourg
Indicator Luxembourg OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedures (number) 5 4.4 3 (28 Economies)
Time (days) 56 74.8 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 32.7 61.0 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 7 7.4 8 (26 Economies)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Luxembourg – Score
66.7 83.5 99.6 87.5
Reliability of supply and transparency of
Procedures Time Cost
tariff index
Figure – Getting Electricity in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
92.0: France (Rank: 17)
90.2: Denmark (Rank: 21)
85.9: Regional Average (OECD high income)
84.3: Luxembourg (Rank: 45)
82.5: Netherlands (Rank: 58)
70.6: Belgium (Rank: 108)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the
scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
25
50
Cost (% of income per capita)
20
40
Time (days)
15
30
10
20
5
10
0 0
1 2 3 *4 5
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
Page 17Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8.2
8 8 8
8
7.8
Index score
7.6
7.4
7.4
7.2
7 7
7
6.8
6.6
6.4
Luxembourg Belgium Denmark France Netherlands OECD
high
income
Page 18Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Details – Getting Electricity in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application to Creos Luxembourg and await connection conditions 14 calendar days EUR 0
Agency : Creos Luxembourg S.A.
The client submits an application along with a cadastre map and a sketch of the building.
Upon receiving the application, Creos Luxembourg S.A. will prepare the technical conditions for
connecting the client's premises to the grid. It will send the client an offer along with an order
confirmation and an authorization for the client's electrical contractor to fill out.
The offer is valid for 6 months. It includes all aspects of the connection works, except for the
excavation works and repairing of the road, which the customer will be responsible for.
2 Accept offer and sign connection and network usage contracts 7 calendar days EUR 0
Agency : Creos Luxembourg S.A.
The client accepts the offer and estimate of fees provided by the utility. The utility will then request
an excavation permit from the local road authorities (Administration des Ponts et Chaussées) and
in parallel, will draft a connection agreement and a contract of usage of network. The client will
sign both contracts and send them back to Creos.
3 Await completion of excavation works by contractor 5 calendar days EUR 15,000
Agency : Client's contractor
The client will be in charge of excavating the road crossing. They will also be responsible for
repairing the road once Creos has laid down the cable.
The client's contractor will also need to fill out the authorization provided by Creos confirming he
has completed the works according to the agreed conditions.
4 Sign supply contract with electricity supplier 3 calendar days EUR 0
Agency : Electricity supplier on the free market
For electricity to be provided, it is necessary to have a supply contract with a supplier. The
network manager and provider functions are separated in Luxembourg (based on European law)
and Creos does not act as a supplier. The customer therefore needs to sign a contract with a
supplier of his choice on the market as soon as he has enough technical details of its
consumption. If he does not do so before the final consumption, a default provider will
automatically be designated by the regulatory body. The client will still be able to change suppliers
at no extra costs thereafter.
5 Await completion of external works and final connection by Creos Luxembourg 30 calendar days EUR 7,860
Agency : Creos Luxembourg S.A.
Creos will then inspect the contractor's internal installation as well as the road opening. Upon
satisfactory inspection, it will lay down the low-voltage cable to connect the client's premises to the
grid and install the meter.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 19Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Details – Getting Electricity in Luxembourg – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 7
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 3
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 0.4
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 0.3
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 0.1
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of supply? Yes
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages exceed a certain cap? No
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online https://www.creos-
net.lu/fileadmin/dokument
e/downloads/conditions_g
enerales/pdf/fr_tarif_electr
icite_2019.pdf
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 20Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a
building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality
of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access
to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the
(number) transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, The parties (buyer and seller):
notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes)
- Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city. - Are located in the periurban (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits)
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title with area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the
municipality) second largest business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities.
• Does not include time spent gathering information
The property (fully owned by the seller):
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - though procedures
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule
- Is fully owned by the seller.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years.
received - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
• No prior contact with officials - Is located in a periurban commercial zone (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its
official limits), and no rezoning is required.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two-
value) story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse
is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety standards,
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties and building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be
taxes).
transferred in its entirety.
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments are - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
excluded - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind.
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use,
Quality of land administration index (0-30) industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required.
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 21Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Registering Property - Luxembourg
Indicator Luxembourg OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedures (number) 7 4.7 1 (5 Economies)
Time (days) 26.5 23.6 1 (2 Economies)
Cost (% of property value) 10.1 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 25.5 23.2 None in 2018/19
Figure – Registering Property in Luxembourg – Score
50.0 87.8 32.6 85.0
Procedures Time Cost
Quality of the land administration index
Figure – Registering Property in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Registering Property Score
0 100
89.9: Denmark (Rank: 11)
80.1: Netherlands (Rank: 30)
77.0: Regional Average (OECD high income)
63.9: Luxembourg (Rank: 93)
63.3: France (Rank: 99)
51.8: Belgium (Rank: 139)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of
the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 22Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Figure – Registering Property in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
12
25
10
Cost (% of property value)
20
8
Time (days)
15
6
10
4
5
2
0 0
1 2 *3 *4 5 6 7
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 23Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
Figure – Registering Property in Luxembourg and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
35
30 28.5
25.5 24.5 24.0 23.2
Index score
25 22.0
20
15
10
5
0
Luxembourg Belgium Denmark France Netherlands OECD
high
income
Details – Registering Property in Luxembourg – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Parties visit notary to draft and authenticate the sale agreement (Compromis de Vente) 2 days EUR 10; (4 EUR stamp
Agency : Civil Law Notary per page of the deed (2-3
After signing a sale agreement ("compromis de vente") between each other, as per common pages))
practice, the parties will visit a Civil Law Notary for the drafting and authentication of the notarial
deed. The sale is complete between the parties, and ownership is acquired by the buyer, as soon
as the property, and the price have been agreed, although the property has not yet been delivered
or the price paid (Article 1583 of the Civil Code). As a sale of real estate must be registered (which
triggers the payment of registration taxes) and recorded in the mortgage registry in order to be
enforceable vis-à-vis third parties and as only duly certified deeds may be entered in the register,
the sale must be recorded in a notarial deed ("acte de vente").
The Civil Law Notary is deemed a public official with powers delegated by the State to
authenticate the deeds he drafts and provides complete security to the contracts he supervises.
The authenticity of the deeds grants the parties an undisputable date and content in Court. The
law imposes personal liability on the notary for his professional acts which are more extensive
than that of other branches of the legal profession.
As of February 2018, there are 36 Civil Law notaries, 18 of those in Luxembourg canton, in the
Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and the sale may be drawn up in front of anyone of them. This study
assumes that parties would call on day one and receive an appointment for the same or following
day.
2 Notary conducts full search at property registry 1 day EUR 2.48; (EUR 2.48 for
Agency : Property registry (Bureau des Hypotheques) full search)
The Civil Law Notary may go in person to the Bureau des Hypotheques to request and receive
either a 'releve des inscriptions hypothecaires' (containing a list of mortgages), or a 'recherche par
case hypothecaire' (containing a list of all land transactions effected by the landowner together
with that of every mortgage or charge burdening the property). For each excerpt of the registry
EUR 1.24 is payable per property owner and EUR 0.50 per each registered property. If the excerpt
includes photocopies, EUR 0.50 is payable per each photocopy. For a closing certificate which
confirms that the excerpts are the only existing ones, EUR 1.24 per property-owner is payable.
For a negative excerpt ( no properties registered) EUR 2.48 is payable per person.
3 Notary conducts search at the Administration du Cadastre (online) Less than one day, EUR 0 (electronic) or EUR
Agency : Administration du Cadastre online 5 (paper)
The Civil Law Notary should also check the status of the property at the cadastre. The notary can
equally obtain this information through the cadastre's webpage where all this information is online.
Free information is available to the general public on the website http://www.geoportail.lu.
Authorized users, such as notaries, have direct access to all information whereas the general
public has only limited but adequate access to the land register information.
4 Notary notifies tax administration of transfer and obtains tax clearance 1 day no charge
Agency : Tax Administration office
The Civil Law Notary contacts the tax administration office to notify them that the property will be
sold. The tax administration office confirms that the property has no claims or unpaid taxes
delivering a document called "certificat de non-obligation" . If there are outstanding claims or
taxes, the tax administration may register a hidden mortgage ("hypothèque occulte") on the
property.
Page 24Doing Business 2020 Luxembourg
5 Buyer sends funds, fees, taxes and anti-money laundering documents to notary 2 days EUR 352,645.01; (6% of
Agency : Civil Law Notary the market value of
The buyer will pay the taxes, fees, and funds for the property by wire transfer to the Notary, in property (registration fee)
addition to notarial fees. Notarial fees are determined by the Regulation of 24 July, 1971 on notary + 3% of the market value
fees. The buyer must also send anti-money laundering documentation to the Civil Law Notary at
of property (municipal
this time, regarding the origin of the funds he is using. The Civil Law Notary also checks whether
surcharge within city of
the persons signing the authenticated deed have the necessary power of representation.
Luxembourg) + 1% market
value of property
(transcription duty)+ EUR
3,236,766.13 (Notary fee
according to the official
schedule).
Notary fee schedule for
dafting and authenticate
the sale agreement (Act
#7 - cumulative fee):
EUR 3.718,40 : 4%
EUR 3.718,40 : 2%
EUR 9.915,74: 1.5%
EUR 7.436,81: 0,80%
EUR 49.578,7: 0,6%
EUR 74.368,06: 0,5%
EUR 99.157,41: 0,3%
EUR 991.574,10: 0,10%
1.239.467,62: 0,05%
1.239.467,62: 0,05%)
6 Parties sign the transfer deed 2 days already paid in Procedure
Agency : Civil Law Notary 5
The parties return to the Civil Law Notary to sign the transfer deed.
7 Notary registers transfer deed at the Administration de l'Enregistrement et des Domaines 18 days already paid in Procedure
Agency : Administration de l'Enregistrement et des Domaines 5
The Civil Law Notary registers the transfer deed at the Administration de l'Enregistrement et des
Domaines, which charges the transfer duty to the notary. The Administration will record the
transfer after two to five days. The Administration will also send the deed to the Administration du
Cadastre for registration of the new owner there. It will take the Cadastre about two weeks to
record the new owner. At the same time, the Administration will take about two weeks to send a
copy of the registered deed, with the stamp of the Administration and a reference number on it,
back to the notary. The parties pay the registration, municipal and inscription fees to the Civil Law
Notary, who pays the Administration.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 25You can also read
