Limited Liability Company in Serbia: To Form or Not To Form?

Why opt for Serbia rather than any other country where you can set up a limited liability company? This is a great question, and every entrepreneur should know the answer to that before making the final decision. Well, Serbia is a neutral country, and you will easily expand to any international market here. What is more, the local government has worked hard to create excellent conditions for non-residents: you will have European-quality business and banking at prices that are much lower than in Western or Northern European countries. Serbia is much more than business, of course: this is a country with its peculiar Balkan lifestyle, opportunities for investment in real estate, and the possibility to set up a foundation to protect your assets in the most reliable way possible. Follow the link to discover more.

Peculiarities of the Serbian Limited Liability Company

If you see doo in the name of a Serbian company, it means LLC. This is the most popular company type in Serbia. You can be a company owner no matter whether you are an individual or a legal entity, a resident of Serbia or not. A Serbian LLC can have just one director, and it can be a non-resident.

You can establish a doo if you have just 1 euro as this is the minimum authorized capital required.

It is recommended to have a local legal address to add stability to your business, though a virtual office is allowed as well.

You will have to select the main kind of activity your LLC will engage in during registration.

You will have to pay a corporate tax of 15% regardless of whether you make profits globally or internationally.

Serbia is a party to double taxation treaties with more than 60 countries, which means that the dividend tax rate will be as low as 5% as compared to the standard one of 15%.

All of the above turns the country into a popular destination for international investors.

If you want to register an LLC in person, you will have to visit Serbia and stay there for at least 3 days. However, you can also get a fully operational company remotely by engaging a local expert and issuing a power of attorney to delegate all the administrative responsibilities to a person who knows all the ins and outs (click on the above link to discuss this possibility with an expert).

If you have no corporate account that your LLC will work with, we can open it for you in Serbia. You can choose a local bank or a branch of an international bank to get top-notch banking services.

The banking sector in Serbia has a lot of advantages:

• The country has its own deposit insurance system that protects deposits up to 50,000 euros.
• You will be able to open an account locally even if this is a branch of a foreign company or an offshore company.
• You can create a non-resident personal or corporate account with a Serbian bank.
• The country has a robust banking system with various local and international banks.

Documents Required for Doo Incorporation

Let’s look at the package of documents you will have to collect to establish a limited liability company in Serbia:

• Passports or other IDs of company owners (if it is owned by individuals) and original extracts from the company register with all the required information (address, registration number, name, the director’s and owner’s names) if the company is owned by legal entities.
• Company name (it is better to come up with 2 or 3 options in case the main one is unavailable).
• Proof of the owner’s address of residence (a bank statement or a utility bill that bears the address of residence issued no more than 3 months ago).
• A form with certified signatures.
• The passport (or another ID) and the proof of residence address should also be provided for the director.
• A limited power of attorney if you want to set up a company online.
• Proof of your limited liability company’s legal address in Serbia.
• Foreign legal entities will have to provide a certified version of the Articles of Association.
• Proof of authorized capital payment (as we have mentioned before, it may start at 1 euro).
• The main type of activity you have selected from the local classifier (it must be an activity that brings the largest amount of money).

Make sure that each document included in the package has been translated into Serbian (it is better to use the services of Serbian certified translators to avoid administrative delays). In some cases, you will also need to have your documents certified by a notary.

If you want your registration process to be as smooth as possible, please follow the procedure as strictly as possible. If you make a mistake, your company will not be registered, and the documents will not be returned to you. As a result, you will have to start the procedure all over again or abandon the idea.

Please double-check the documents you submit or entrust the whole thing to professionals.

Remember that you will need to use the accountant’s services for your company to operate on a legal basis.

Advantages for LLC Owners in Serbia

First of all, you should know that there are a lot of free economic zones in Serbia, and you can register a company in one of them to get an exemption from customs duties and VAT. You will have complete freedom as to the number of employees and the amount of authorized capital. If you want to obtain a local residence permit, you will have the right to do so after you set up a business company in Serbia.

A Serbian doo will give you the right to operate in the domestic market and internationally without the obligation to pay any duties.

Sounds interesting? We strongly recommend that you click on the above link and study this promising Balkan country in more detail. The portal you will reach is totally devoted to Serbia, and you will be able to talk to a qualified expert free of charge using live chat during business hours. Do not hesitate to get professional advice for free!