Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | BT / BTN |
| Registry | Corporate Regulatory Authority (CRA) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Bhutan and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Tax Payer Number (TPN) | Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC), Ministry of Finance |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | Corporate Regulatory Authority (CRA) |
Sector regulators
RMA · FID/FIU
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Public Limited Company | PLC | Share-capital company whose shares may be offered to the public; minimum three directors required; may list on the Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Private Limited Company | Pvt. Ltd. | Closely-held company limited by shares; shares restricted from public offer; minimum two directors; most common vehicle for SMEs and FDI in Bhutan. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| General Partnership | — | Two or more persons carrying on business jointly under a partnership agreement; all partners bear unlimited personal liability for the firm’s obligations. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Limited Partnership | LP | Partnership with at least one general partner bearing unlimited liability and one or more limited partners whose liability is capped at their capital contribution. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | Single natural person trading under their own name or a registered trade name; no separate legal entity and the owner bears unlimited personal liability. Closest US equivalent: Sole Proprietorship. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned enterprise registered under the Cooperative (Amendment) Act 2009 and Cooperatives Rules 2010; common in agriculture, transport, and financial services. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Branch of Foreign Company | — | Registered extension of a foreign parent company operating in Bhutan; not a separate legal entity — the parent retains full liability. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Certificate of Incorporation |
| Constitutive Documents | Articles of Incorporation |
| Tax Registration | TPN Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Any one of: Trade License · Industry License |
| Ownership Records | Register of Members |
| Governance Records | Register of Directors |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Incorporation | Legal Registration |
| Articles of Incorporation | Constitutive Documents |
| TPN Certificate | Tax Registration |
| Trade License | Operating Permit |
| Industry License | Operating Permit |
| Register of Members | Ownership Records |
| Register of Directors | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | RMA License (sector-specific) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by CRA under Companies Act 2016. Confirms registration number, entity name, and date.
- Constitutive Documents: Single constitutive document filed with CRA at incorporation; covers objects, capital, governance.
- Tax Registration: Issued by DRC on RAMIS registration. Equivalent to national tax-ID certificate.
- Operating Permit: Issued by MoICE (or relevant Dzongkhag authority); required before commencing business activity.
- Sector-Specific License: Required for financial services, insurance, securities, payments under Financial Services Act 2011. Regulator: RMA.
- Ownership Records: Maintained by the company and filed/updated with CRA under the Companies Act 2016.
- Governance Records: Filed with CRA; includes CEO details (name, CID/passport, contact).
- Signing Authority: Board resolution bears company seal and director/company secretary signature; POA required for foreign companies appointing local agent.
- Address: Lease (no time limit) OR utility bill OR bank statement; utility and bank documents must be dated within 90 days.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Governance-level board member; minimum 2 (Pvt. Ltd.) or 3 (PLC). |
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Named operational executive; details filed with CRA alongside directors. |
| Power of Attorney Holder / Authorized Agent | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Person authorized via Board Resolution or POA to legally bind the company. |
Notes
- CRA was only elevated to full autonomous authority on 2024-04-03. The registry portal transitioned to system.cra.gov.bt; older references to “Office of the Registrar of Companies / MoICE” remain valid for pre-2024 filings.
- Bhutan is NOT a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Documents for cross-border use require full embassy legalisation chain. Verify current status at hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41 before onboarding.
- Foreign ownership restriction. FDI is permitted but sectoral caps and prior approval from relevant ministries apply; the Register of Members should be scrutinized for foreign shareholder compliance under the FDI Policy.