About Diana Grosz Diana Grosz is a licensed attorney in Israel with over 10 years of experience working in law firms and multinationals in the corporate field. In her current position as Head of Legal and Corporate in TMF Israel, she manages the GEM department and oversees corporate governance and compliance of TMF Group’s clients in Israel. In addition, she is the Practice Lead for GEM in the MEA region, utilising her background and knowledge to ensure that global entity management clients are and remain compliant in the wider market. About TMF Group TMF Group is an international provider of administrative services. Its 9,100 experts provide legal, financial and employee administration through the Group’s 120 offices worldwide. Contact Diana Grosz Head of Legal and Corporate TMF Israel Rival St 7, Tel Aviv-Yafo, 67778, Israel Tel: +972 3-687-0701 www.tmf-group.com opting to appoint local outsourced providers to provide company secretarial and legal compliance services and act as their official notifiers. Foreign documentation used in support of registration – such as passports, foreign certificates of incorporation, overseas registrars’ company excerpts and certificates of good standing – must still be apostilled and provided to the official notifier in the original. Thereafter, certified copies can be submitted online. Branches which already have an ‘Attorney-in-Fact’ registered with the IRoC or private companies who appointed an Israeli director can opt to use this person to submit notices to the IRoC. Even if this is the case, many companies choose to use local outsourced service providers to assist with the process and ensure they remain compliant with the changing rules. Physical submissions, though currently still possible, are taking longer to process, as the IRoC is directing most of its resources to online submissions. This heightens the already considerable risk of not meeting filing and notification obligations on time, or in an orderly way. Overall, there are considerable efficiency and compliance benefits for moving to paperless communications with the IRoC, even if the legal obligation is not there. Those unsure about making the transition would do well to seek out professional third-party expertise to help smooth the process and ensure compliance with changing regulations. through an online portal. Once set up, there is no personal identification required each time an enquiry is submitted. Documents can be attached as needed, and a contact number is provided for further inquiry and followup. What Do These Changes Mean for Overseas Businesses? The paperless system implemented by the IRoC has dramatically accelerated the process of registering with, reporting to and communicating with the governmental body. It has provided a real efficiency boost, especially for overseas businesses wanting to set up and operate in Israel. For example, the need to complete, print and get multiple wet ink certified signatures on company registration documentation has been removed. Where previously companies would typically have to wait weeks to get their Israeli entity registered, the process can now be completed in a few days. Enquiries that could take weeks to be dealt with are now often handled within a matter of hours through the online system. However, there are some particular requirements placed on overseas entities registering a branch or subsidiary in Israel. In order to submit notices online for foreign entities registered with the IRoC (branches), the company representative needs to be registered on the governmental portal and appointed as Power of Attorney (PoA) Holder for the branch in question. Subsidiaries need to appoint an Official Notifier to perform the same role. These notices cover various changes, such as: directors, registered address, shareholders, share capital, etc., which must be submitted to the IRoC within 14 days of the change. Since the PoA Holder or Official Notifier still needs to be an Israeli resident, many overseas companies are still SPECIAL FEATURE 45
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