The Department of Economic Affairs, Commerce and Industry of Aruba (2024)

To relocate or change the address of your business you need a license, you have to submit a petition with the following documents:

• Copy of the passport and/or ID card of the applicant.
• Original extract from the Chamber of Commerce (not older than 3 months) of the company.
• Copy of the business license of the company.
• Copy of the Lease deed regarding data leasehold destination and where applicable decision destination modification.
• Copy letter of intent or agreement to rent a commercial property.
• Original location drawing of the property (plot).

It depends in which legal form you want to start you business, but If you want to start a business in the legal form of a corporation you have to incorporate the company at a local notary and after this you have to submit a petition at the Department of Economic Affairs with some documents of (all) the shareholder(s) and (all) the director(s)

A branch is an establishment other than at the place of the head office of an Aruba-registered company, for which a license was already been granted.
The branch of a foreign registered and established company will be considered as a new business for Aruba.

You have to take into account also the following stipulations:

• Parking standards: Parking standards are indicators that indicate the ideal parking needs on and around a plot. The relevant business must take into consideration the required “parking standards” in accordance with the D.O.W. guidelines.
• Establishment place: Established rules for the place of establishment of the businesses. In all cases, an adequate/appropriate place of establishment should to be taken into consideration. This implies, among others, that a company located in a residential area cannot cause nuisance to the local residents.

A foreigner or foreign company can establish a business in Aruba, but this must comply with the requirements and conditions as mentioned in the Guidelines. In general businesses for which no special know-how and/or large capital investment is required, are reserved for local entrepreneurs.

The following products are regulated: rice, baby food, baby formula, coffee, tea, cooking oil, corn and wheat flour, coffee milk, milk powder and liquid milk (in tetra pak or bottle), frozen broccoli, frozen spinach, frozen mixed vegetables, dry red beans, dry black beans, dry Lima beans, canned chunk/flaked/grated tuna fish in water, canned sardines in water, canned salmon in water, spaghetti pasta and havermout oats. The current package of regulated consumer goods contains more than 1000 products, divided into different categories, brands, types, packaging and units.

The package of regulated consumer goods are regulated by the government, where ceiling prices per product are determined. The following commodities are regulated: rice, baby food, baby formula, coffee, tea, cooking oil, corn and wheat flour, coffee milk, milk powder and liquid milk (in tetra pak or bottle), frozen broccoli, frozen spinach, frozen mixed vegetables, dry red beans, dry black beans, dry Lima beans, canned chunk/flaked/grated tuna fish in water, canned sardines in water, canned salmon in water, spaghetti pasta and havermout oats.
The current package of regulated consumer goods contains more than 1000 products, divided into different categories, brands, types, packaging and units.

‘Macuto di Compras’is a price comparison list of non-regulated products in the supermarkets. The ‘Macuto di Compras’ is published every week in the local newspapers. The publication is aimed at providing the public with the information of which super markets offer the cheapest products.

The S&P Global Platts US Marketscan Gulf Coast Waterborne daily posting is used as a basis for calculating the local selling prices of the various petroleum products.

Although the price development of crude oil is an important factor in the price development of refined products, these two prices don’t develop evenly. The prices for refined products have their own specific price developments, which are influenced by the supply and demand of the specific refined product. The price development of the refined product can therefore differ from the price development per barrel of crude oil.

Gasoline prices reflect four main components: 1. The price of crude oil; 2. Refining costs and profit margins; 3. Sales and distribution costs and profit margins; 4. And taxes. The first two factors tend to be variable, and have a greater influence in the variation of the sales prices of gasoline.

International Sanctions

The UN Security Council, the European Union and other international organizations use sanctions to maintain or restore peace and security, to promote the international legal order or to combat terrorism. The UN Sanctions are transposed into EU sanctions. Sanctions in the form of a European regulation have direct effect in all EU member states. International sanctions can be implemented in Aruba through the National Ordinance of 21 October 2013 (AB 2013 no. 77) amendment in the Sanctions Regulation 2006 (AB 2007 no. 24): extension of the possibility of applying sanction decisions and improving the designation of supervisors.

It is important for Aruban businesses when importing and exporting to carefully consider if they are not doing business with one of the sanctioned countries or importing/exporting a sanctioned good. Therefore, in order to promote transparency, the EU Sanctions Map is provided by this means to all businesses in order to verify a country or thematic restriction. The EU Sanctions Map provides both the sanctions adopted by the UN as well as those by the EU.

Please, click on the EU Sanctions Map to see the restrictions: