Starting a company in Paraguay: what an EAS is

If part of your plan involves starting a business in Paraguay rather than just holding residency, the structure most people use today is the EAS — Empresa por Acciones Simplificada (Simplified Joint Stock Company).

What it is

The EAS was created by Ley N° 6480/2020 specifically to make company formation faster and less bureaucratic than Paraguay's older corporate structures. It's administered digitally through SUACE (the government's unified business-registration system), under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC).

What makes it different

Unlike traditional Paraguayan company types, an EAS can be formed by a single shareholder — a person or a legal entity — and there's no minimum capital requirement. The registration process runs entirely online, and incorporation itself typically takes a matter of days rather than weeks, with the RUC issued as a separate follow-up step.

Who can open one

Foreign nationals can be shareholders in an EAS. If you don't hold Paraguayan residency or a cédula yet, the company needs a legal representative who does — either a Paraguayan national or a foreign resident with a cédula — appointed through a power of attorney (apostilled, if signed abroad). Once you have your own cédula or permanent residency, you can act as your own legal representative.

Taxes, briefly

An EAS is a commercial entity subject to Paraguay's corporate income tax (IRE), with the option to use either the general regime or the simplified IRE RESIMPLE regime depending on income level. Income from outside Paraguay still falls under the same territorial system that applies to individuals.

The bottom line

The EAS is a genuinely simple structure by regional standards, but "simple" still means paperwork, a legal representative if needed, and ongoing tax obligations once it's running. It's worth setting up when you actually have a business to put into it — not before.