The Italian word accomandita came to French as commandite, which later derived, in our language, into comandita. The concept is used in the field of commerce to name a company that is established as a group, in which the partners have different responsibilities.
In a limited partnership, also called a limited partnership, there are two kinds of partners. There are the limited partners, who have a responsibility linked to the economic contribution they made to the company. The other type of partner are the general partners, whose liability is unlimited in terms of corporate debts.
While limited partners do not get involved with the management of the partnership, general partners do. Another difference is that the names of the limited partners cannot be included in the name of the partnership.
When starting a limited partnership, it is necessary to carry out what is known as the deed of incorporation. A document in which important data such as the company name, the duration of the partnership, the name and surname of the partners as well as their address, the capital that each partner contributes, the total number of partners…
Finance experts point out that, among the advantages offered by limited partnerships, is the possibility that general partners have to add capitalists without investors getting involved in the management of the company. For limited partners, a benefit is the chance to participate with limited liability.
It is important to bear in mind that the characteristics of a limited partnership may vary according to the legal regime of each country. At a general level, it can be said that there are two main types of limited partnerships: limited partnerships (which must carry out an audit of their accounts when they exceed a certain limit) and simple limited partnerships (which do not need to audit their accounts except that the all of its general partners are companies).
It is important to establish that, as with numerous advantages, there are also disadvantages with respect to a simple limited partnership. In this case, among the most significant are some such as the following:
-This company can only carry out what are industrial or commercial activities.
-It has a series of limitations when it comes to deductions from expenses.
– No less relevant is that this type of partnership comes to an end when the death or retirement of one of the partners occurs.
-In the same way, it is indicated that another disadvantage of a simple limited partnership is that limited partners cannot intervene at any time in its management or in the decisions that need to be taken. They are only informed of everything that happens with respect to the aforementioned company.
-It has also been established that the personal assets of the managing partners are absolutely unprotected and that, if necessary, they can be seized to face certain legal demands.
