Many translators and simply users of the English language have at least once in their lives had to deal with the problem of translating abbreviations when preparing legal documents or documents related to various types of economic activities. Russian abbreviations such as INN, OGRN, DOU and others sometimes seriously puzzle even professional translators who puzzle over how these designations are translated.
What is a TIN?
TIN is usually deciphered as “tax identification number,” but a more correct wording is “individual taxpayer number.” It is she who appears in all official documents.
TIN is a sequence of numbers that is assigned by the state to all persons (both individuals and legal entities). This code is necessary for the tax service to create and subsequently maintain a single database in which all taxpayers are registered. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, all able-bodied citizens are required to have a TIN. This also applies to institutions/organizations conducting commercial activities in the country.
The TIN system was previously used exclusively in the tax system, but now this individual number accompanies a person in various fields of activity involving social, economic and labor relations.
Translation of abbreviations into English
Here is a list of some of the most common abbreviations.
- BIC (Bank Identification Code) - BIC (Bank Identification Code)
- SAOU (State Autonomous Educational Institution) - State autonomous educational institution
- GRN (State Registration Number) - SRN (State registration number)
- DOU (Preschool educational institution) - Preschool educational institution
- CJSC (Closed Joint Stock Company) - CJSC (Closed Joint-Stock Company)
- TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) - ITN (Individual Taxpayer Number) - for individuals and TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number - for legal entities;
- Individual Entrepreneur (Individual Entrepreneur) - SP (Sole Proprietor - American version)/ST (Sole Trader - English version)
- IFTS (Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service)
- Consolidated account
- Corresponding account
- KPP (Classifier of Industrial Enterprises) - IEC (Industrial Enterprises Classifier)
- OJSC (Open Joint Stock Company) - OJSC (Open Joint-Stock Company)
- OGRN (Primary State Registration Number) - PSRN (Primary State Registration Number)
- OGRNIP (Primary State Registration Number of an Individual Entrepreneur) - PSRNSP (Primary State Registration Number of the Sole Proprietor)
- OKATO (All-Russian Classifier of Administrative-Territorial Division Volumes) - OKATO (All-Russian Classifier of Administrative-Territorial Division)
- OKVED (All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activity) - OKVED (All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activity)
- OKOGU (All-Russian Classifier of Governmental Authorities)
- OKONKH (All-Russian Classifier of Economy Branches)
- OKOPF (All-Russian Classifier of Organizational-Legal Forms) - OKOPF (All-Russian Classifier of Organizational-Legal Forms)
- OKPO (All-Russian Classifier of Enterprises and Organizations) - OKPO (All-Russian Classifier of Enterprises and Organizations)
- OKTMO (All-Russian Classifier of Territories of Municipal Units) - OKTMO (All-Russian Classifier of Territories of Municipal Units)
- OKFS (All-Russian Classifier of Forms of Ownership) - OKFS (All-Russian Classifier of Forms of Ownership)
- LLC (Limited Liability Company)
- RAS (Russian Academy of Sciences) - RSA (Russian Academy of Science)
- Current account (or r/s, in the meaning of “current account”) - Current account (Britain)/Checking account (USA)
- RCC (Cash Settlement Center) - PPC (Payment-Processing Center)
- SNILS (Insurance Number of Individual Personal Account) - Insurance Number of Individual Ledger Account
- SSOT (Community of Labor Protection Specialists) - Association of Labor Protection Specialists (I haven’t seen it as an acronym)
- FSUE (Federal State Unitary Enterprise) - FSUE (Federal State Unitary Enterprise)
- Ltd. (Limited) - used in English-speaking countries to indicate limited liability.
- Inc. (Incorporated) - the same as Ltd., used in America.
- Corp. (Corporation) - a corporation, or rather an enterprise, the authorized capital of which is divided into shares. Essentially the same as Ltd. and Inc.
- Limited Duration Company (LDC) - A company with a limited duration. A company is created for a certain period, after which it must be liquidated or re-registered.
- Pte.Ltd. (Private Limited) - This form of company registration is most often found in Asian countries, for example, Singapore.
№ 1. In most cases, abbreviations mentioned in a document are simply transliterated, although everything also depends on the context. You can indicate the transliterated abbreviation, and in brackets give their decoding in English.
№ 2 . Most often, abbreviations are transliterated, since they have no analogues in English. The maximum that can be done is to decipher them in brackets. But, for example, in accounting reports, they simply use transliteration, without using decoding.
№ 3. Apparent correspondences in another language are usually erroneous. In Western countries, the concepts present in our language have completely different meanings. This primarily applies to abbreviations and company names indicating their form of ownership.
№ 4. There are still some correspondences in the abbreviations, however, to avoid confusion, transliteration is used in the preparation of such serious documentation. There are times when a lot depends on the context. When translating a document where the TIN is mentioned in passing, you can use the English version of TIN, although you will still have to explain what it means. If the balance sheet, bank details or company information are translated, in this case amateur activity (i.e., the invention of new abbreviations) is not welcome. The fact is that those who need our reports in English usually know about the existence of such designations as INN, OKATO, OGRN, OKPO, etc. Then giving English abbreviations for some concepts and transliterating others is unlikely to be correct.
№ 5. Indeed, there are many problems with translating legal and financial designations and terms. People who frequently encounter this type of practice gradually develop their own translation style and subsequently adhere only to it. We often turn to forums, leaf through online dictionaries, and consult with online translators in search of the option we need. However, the safest thing to do in this situation is to turn to the good old specialized dictionary of legal/economic terms. Here is a list of worthwhile sources that can be found on the Russian market.
Surely, in their practice, each of the translators was faced with the problem of translating forms of ownership and abbreviations of various enterprises. At the moment, no rules have been formulated in this direction. But you can still highlight the main points and recommendations.
1. Firstly, I would like to note that each country has its own forms of ownership, or, more correctly, it means different things by them. Speaking about various companies and enterprises, we can distinguish the following types of forms of ownership: LLC (limited liability company), OJSC (open joint-stock company), CJSC (closed joint-stock company), AOZT (closed joint-stock company). In addition, there are abbreviations that characterize the direction of the enterprise’s activities: NPP (research and production enterprise), NPC (research and production center), KB (design bureau), NII (research institute) and others.
The following abbreviations are used to indicate the legal form in different countries.
PLC
Public Limited Company
An open company with limited liability (England, Ireland and some other English legal countries, not the US) is similar to a Russian open joint stock company: a joint stock company whose shareholders enjoy the right to alienate their shares. At the head of the enterprise is a meeting of shareholders.
Ltd
Limited
A traditional abbreviation for English-speaking countries to indicate limited liability. Widely used in the names of international business companies in offshore zones. This abbreviation is also often used in the names of Delaware limited liability companies to hide their real organizational and legal form (to avoid the LLC abbreviation). Limited liability companies in England and Ireland can only use this abbreviation (unless, of course, they fall into the PLC category), but not Inc, S.A. and etc.
Inc.
Incorporated
Almost the same as Limited. Denotes the registration of a company as a corporation. The abbreviation is very widely used in America and throughout the offshore world.
Corp.
Corporation
Corporation (an enterprise whose authorized capital is divided into shares, a form of joint stock company, an association of several companies); same as Incorporated and Limited.
LLC
Limited Liability Company
A company, society or partnership limited by liability. In a general sense, it means a company that has limited liability but does not issue shares to the general public; is liable only for its obligations and only with the property belonging to it and is not liable for the obligations of shareholders, just as shareholders are not liable for the obligations of the company. In the USA, as well as in some offshore centers living under American laws, it means a special type of enterprise - a cross between a partnership and a corporation.
LDC
Limited Duration Company
Limited term company. Such a company can be created in almost all offshore jurisdictions using the English legal model; in particular, this type is most common in the Cayman Islands. A company is created for a certain period, after which it must be liquidated or re-registered.
IBC
International Business Company
International commercial company. Introduced as a special form in some offshore zones (Bahamas, British, Virgin Islands, Belize, etc.). May not conduct business in the state in which it is registered or with its residents. Such companies very rarely use the abbreviation “IBC” in their name, but are more often referred to as “LTD”, “Inc.” or in another word indicating limited liability.
IC
International Company
International company (analogous to the International Business Company in some jurisdictions, such as the Cook Islands).
...& Co
and Company
If these words are not followed by an indication of limited liability (for example, the abbreviation Ltd.), then this is a general partnership.
LP
Limited Partnership
Limited partnership (otherwise known as limited partnership). An association of individuals and/or legal entities to form a business enterprise that includes at least one general partner and at least one limited partner.
S.A.
Sosiedad Anonyma in Spanish, Societe Anonyme in French
In translation - joint-stock company. In France, Belgium, Switzerland and some other countries of continental Europe, the use of this abbreviation is limited only to directly joint-stock companies (enterprises that issue shares to a wide range of investors); however, in many offshore jurisdictions this abbreviation is used by ordinary businesses to indicate their limited liability. Due to the dominance of the Spanish language in the region, this acronym is often used by Panamanian companies. English equivalent – PLC (Public Limited Company), German equivalent - AG (Aktiengesellschaft).
SARL
Societe a Responsidilite Limitee
In France it means a limited liability company without the right to freely sell shares. In offshore jurisdictions this abbreviation is sometimes used in the same way as "SA", simply to indicate limited liability, although very rarely. The Italian equivalent of SARL is SRL.
B.V.
Vennootschap Met Beperkte Aansparkelij kheid
In Holland and the Netherlands Antilles - a limited liability company. Some offshore jurisdictions allow the use of this phrase simply to indicate limited liability.
N.V.
Naamlose Vennootschap
In Holland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles - a joint stock company (translated as an unnamed partnership). Some offshore jurisdictions allow the use of this phrase simply to indicate limited liability.
AVV
On the island of Aruba, this abbreviation refers to companies that copy the Dutch BV, but are much more flexible and adapted for offshore business. As far as we know, this abbreviation is not used in other offshore zones.
GmbH
Gesellschaft mit beschrakter Haftung
In Germany, Austria, Switzerland - a limited liability company. Some offshore jurisdictions allow the use of this abbreviation simply to indicate limited liability. There are also options mbH(used when the term Gesellschaft is part of the company name), and gGmbH(gemeinn?tzige GmbH) for non-profit companies.
A.G.
Aktiengesellschaft
In Germany and Austria it means a joint stock company. Some offshore jurisdictions allow the use of this abbreviation simply to indicate limited liability.
The above abbreviations can be found in various dictionaries; however, using these options is not recommended, since the forms of ownership of different countries differ significantly. Any form of ownership is reflected in a certain way in the law of the country, i.e. describes the rights and restrictions imposed on a company of the corresponding form of ownership. In short, the use of English abbreviations when translating the ownership forms of Russian companies is legally incorrect and distorts the real meaning of the Russian abbreviations. This is supported by Comments to the Letter of the Bank of Russia dated April 20, 2005 No. 64-T: SWIFT BIC (international standard ISO 9362): “the form of ownership and legal form are given in abbreviated form after indicating the name in capital Latin letters - LLC, ZAO, OAO, AKB.”
A strong argument for this rule can be considered that due to the discrepancy in legislation, the abbreviation of the form of ownership immediately makes it possible to determine the country of registration of the company: PLC (OJSC) - Great Britain; GmbH (LLC), AG (JSC) – Germany; SpA (JSC) - Italy, A/S (JSC) - Denmark, OY (JSC) - Finland, etc. Therefore, if a company is registered in Russia, due to the use of a non-Russian abbreviation, the country of registration will not be clear.
Sometimes it is logical to indicate in brackets the name of the company with an analogue of the abbreviation in the target language.
For example: ZAO Motorola - ZAO Motorola (Motorola, JSC)
The abbreviation of the direction of activity of the enterprises should also be transliterated, giving a decoding in brackets (if desired).
For example: NPP Spetskabel (Spetskabel Research and Production Enterprise)
2. The same rule applies to the translation of English forms of ownership, with the only amendment: forms of ownership are not transliterated, but remain in the original language.
For example : Honda Motor Co., Ltd. -Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
3. As for the names of companies (enterprises), they are subject to practical transcription. Moreover, the form of ownership (field of activity) needs to be transliterated.
When translating a foreign company name, the following model is recommended:
foreign name (foreign name transcribed in Russian).
For example:
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. -Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Co., Ltd.)
Hans Weber Maschinenfabrik GmbH(Hans Weber Maschinenfabrik GmbH )
Ferroli S.p.A(Ferroli SpA)
In addition, since this or that company is unique in its kind (a unique name is important to us), its different sound and spelling in different languages (when translating abbreviations and names) will look unsuccessful.
4. Russian names are also usually not translated, but transcribed (practical transcription). Although in some cases you can indicate the translation of the company name in brackets. In addition, please note that when translating Russian companies, quotation marks are not used.
For example:
"Russian Helicopters" - Vertolety Rossii or Vertolety Rossii (Helicopters of Russia)
OJSC Topaz - OAO Topaz
Based on all of the above, we can highlight the following basic rules for translating forms of ownership, areas of operation of enterprises and company names.
RULE 1: Abbreviations of Russian forms of ownership should be transliterated; their direct translation using foreign abbreviations is unacceptable.
RULE 2: Abbreviations of foreign forms of ownership when translated into Russian should be left in the original language.
RULE 3: The names of foreign companies when translated into Russian should either be transcribed (practical transcription) or left in the original language, in some cases with the transcribed version indicated in brackets.
RULE 4: The names of Russian companies should be transcribed (practical transcription), in some cases with the translation indicated in brackets.
Used sources:
- Large legal dictionary
Creating an individual enterprise is always an ambitious project that requires compliance with all legal formalities, especially if it is planned to introduce it to the international market. One of these formalities is the translation of the name of the company/firm, which will appear in contracts in the future. Difficulties always arise here with abbreviations that carry information such as form of ownership or format of activity. Therefore, the heads of certain private organizations are most often interested in the following question: how exactly will the name of their LLC sound in English?
Meaning of the abbreviation "LLC" and its equivalents in English
The abbreviation "LLC" stands for limited liability company. The equivalent of this form of ownership in English is Limited Liability Company, or LLC for short. This translation option is more often used in the USA. The UK identifies similar enterprises as Limited Trade Development or Ltd.
As for the correct written format, it should be taken into account that for foreign companies, unlike Russian ones, the abbreviation indicating their organizational and legal form is written after the name of the company, that is, first the name, then the abbreviations - “Loafman” Ltd or “Plasticpack” LLC.
Thus, when translating the additional name LLC into English, it can be transliterated as LLC or translated as LLC or Ltd. But here, too, there may be pitfalls.
The best translation of "LLC" into English
If instead of “LLC” you write LLC or LSC, the owner of a domestic organization, the participants of which are responsible for its activities only with a specific part of their investments, may have legal problems, and quite serious ones. Legal conflicts cannot be avoided when translating the abbreviation to Ltd Co or simply Ltd. This is because there is still a slight difference between a foreign Ltd and our LLC. And not only in terms of organizational and legal format, but also in terms of legal status.
It would not be superfluous to add the fact that the name of the company, just like its abbreviation, will be subject to constant metamorphosis, depending on the country in which it will be represented.
For many entrepreneurs, the main argument that “LLC” should be translated into English without resorting to alliteration is the experience of foreign companies. Enterprises with a similar form of ownership, ordering a legal and notarized translation of an abbreviation, receive the same three O. The usual logical thinking works here: if a foreign company that has expanded its activities in the domestic market can be called an LLC, then why can’t our company call itself Ltd?
The difficulty lies in the fact that this translation option will indicate the country in which the company is registered. Lawyers advise businessmen to translate the abbreviation in accordance with the mood of the foreign partner, although the details should definitely be written in transliteration.
Translation options for the abbreviation “OJSC”
In English, OJSC is usually translated as: OJSC (abbreviated) or Open Joint Stock Company. Sometimes the word "open" is left out and it becomes a Joint Stock Company. In addition, there are several other translation options for “OJSC”:
- JSCo (joint stock co.);
- public corporation;
- PLC (Public Limited Company);
- open corporation;
- publicly traded company.
Working with various kinds of documentation, translators often wonder how to translate abbreviations of legal forms of various Russian and foreign enterprises. For example, how to translate LLC or PLC into Russian or LLC, OJSC, etc. into foreign languages. As an example, let’s take the name of the organization Pilot LLC. The following options are possible:
- LLC Pilot
- OOO Pilot
- Pilot LLC
- Pilot, OOO
That is, three questions arise at once:
- Should the abbreviation be separated from the name by a comma?
Should LLC be written as an abbreviation for Limited Liability Company, or OOO, since in Russian we usually preserve foreign abbreviations and abbreviations of legal forms, simply transliterating them: GmbH, Ltd., Plc., SA, etc.?
Should we put an abbreviation before the name, as in Russian, or after the name of the organization, as is customary in most European and American countries?
In our work, we used a systematic approach to achieve clear logic and maximum uniformity of application practice. Using, for example, LLC as a translation of LLC, in our opinion, introduces some confusion. First, when you see “Pilot, LLC,” you might mistakenly think that it is a foreign company. Secondly, LLC does not legally correspond to LLCs; they are not complete analogues. Therefore, in our opinion, it is better to use transliteration. For example:
- JSC – AO (Joint Stock Company)
- PJSC – PAO (Public Joint Stock Company)
- LLC – OOO (Limited Liability Company)
- OJSC – OAO (Public Joint Stock Company)
- CJSC – ZAO (Private Joint Stock Company) (not used since September 1, 2014)
- ODO (Supplementary Liability Company) (not used since September 1, 2014)
- etc.
We do the same when translating foreign organizational and legal forms into Russian. For example:
- GmbH – GmbH
- Ltd. – Ltd.
- LLC - LLC
- plc. – plc.
- LP - LP
- SA – SA
- S.p.A. – S.p.A.
- etc.
To translate “IP” it is better to use the expression Sole proprietorship or Individual Entrepreneur. There is no established abbreviation or abbreviation in English for this form.
As for the place of writing, since the most common practice abroad is to write the legal form after the name, our version in English is: Pilot OOO. The use of commas is left to the discretion of the editors.
Examples of translation of full names of foreign legal entities:
New Century Technology Public Limited Company – Open (public) limited liability company “New Century Technology”;
FreeTravel Limited Liability Company – FreeTravel Limited Liability Company;
NewLite Corporation – NewLite Corporation.
In conclusion, one might ask, what about OJSC (Open Joint Stock Company), CJSC (Closed Joint Stock Company) or simply JSC (Joint Stock Company)? Moreover, 15 years ago, almost only these abbreviations were used in translations. Okay, let’s say we accept this translation, but how then can we distinguish between the outdated legal forms of AOOT/JSC and modern OJSC/ZAO? Quite problematic. Therefore, in this case, transliteration is a universal solution. And if clarification is needed somewhere, then it can already be indicated that “ZAO means a closed joint stock company.”
It is worth noting that the terms “Open Joint Stock Company” and “Closed Joint Stock Company” are also likely to require clarification, since these are general types of organizations, the content of which varies greatly from country to country.
For example, there is the following definition: “Closed Joint Stock Company - A closed joint stock company is a company or corporation where there is a limited number of shareholders that can have stock in the company or corporation.” In these companies and corporations, investors receive stocks or shares in the company or corporation, but they can be transferred and also can elect a board of directors, but since these are joint, they are held accountable for all the company or corporation's debts and obligations. In the United States, joint stock companies and corporations cannot hold real property titles. In the United Kingdom, the liability of the owners is limited to the value of the stocks or shares they hold."
Another example: “There are two types of joint stock company in Oman: a closed joint stock company (SAOC) and a general joint stock company (SAOG). Only a general (or public) joint stock company may offer its shares to the public and trade those shares on the Muscat Securities Market.”