As a general principle, in order to authorise registration of a Branch Office, the Mother Company's constitution is taken into consideration, direct and indirect benefits are assessed, such as the closest links between supplier and company, the quality of products or services that are commercialised, technology transfers, post-sale services and the image of Cuban Foreign Trade.

The application for registration in the National Registry of Branch Offices and Agents of Foreign Mercantile Societies is formalised by the interested party or its legal representative, by means of the following documents:

a) A written statement of the reasons for the application, subscribed by a duly authorised person from the mercantile society or an individual businessperson interested in establishing a branch office; Public Notary or the Chamber of Commerce must authenticate signature.

b) A simple copy of the foreign mercantile society's constitution and bylaws. In case of an individual businessperson, a document stating that he/she is authorised to act as such in his/her country of origin.

c) A writ or proxy stating the designation and faculties of the natural person who will act as the Branch Office's representative.

The documents referred to in items b and c must be duly legalised in presence of the Cuban Consul at the company's original country, by the ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba and certified by a Cuban public notary.

d) List of the products or services comprised in the mercantile operations of the society or the individual businessperson that will be the object of commercial operations in the national territory.

e) A Bank Report of the mercantile society or individual businessperson, issued no more than three months previous to the date when the application is filed. It should proceed through a bank of the National Banking System in the Republic of Cuba.

f) The representative's Curriculum Vitae.

g) General information on the productive, technical or services activity carried out by the mercantile society or individual businessperson and the volume of operations during the last five years.

h) Information of the operations carried out in Cuba for the last three years, detailing the products commercialised each year to the Cuban import company and the amount of the operations.

The above-mentioned commercial operations must be vouched for by a letter from the chief authority of the corresponding Cuban bureau or institution, stating the amount of the operations, the products commercialised and the date when commercial relationships with the applicant began. In case the vouching letter is from a company that belongs to the System of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the director thereof must subscribe it.

Documents written in a foreign language must be accompanied by the corresponding translation into Spanish, with a note certifying that it matches the originals.