Serbia is becoming a popular destination for living and business, and this trend has been especially noticeable in the past five years. The Serbian authorities took care of the business environment in the country and adopted all required laws and regulations to bring it to high international standards and boost infrastructure development. As a result, the country has attracted major Asian and European capital and continues to enjoy the attention of investors from across the globe.
If you are a person that makes decisions quickly, we offer a product that will help you rush into the Serbian market without wasting time: a ready-made company in Serbia (also referred to as a shelf company). We will also be happy to see you on our portal focused entirely on Serbia where you can read more about business purchase in Serbia and different aspects and practices of the local business.
All of our articles are written by practical specialists who regularly help prospective business owners acquire and incorporate companies in Serbia, open bank accounts, and get support in company maintenance. You can book a session with our expert to ask any questions about Serbia and get qualified help. Some of our services are free, and some come at a fee. We have experts online and on-site in our local office in Belgrade, so we are sure to deal with any issue successfully.
Main Reasons to Acquire a Shelf Company
The most obvious reason is, of course, speed: you can become an owner of a company with a functional bank account today! All you need to do is to sign the agreement and make some changes. A ready-to-use company comes with a Serbian director, and you can change the name in the documents and become a director yourself or retain the Serbian director to run the company on-site.
Let’s see what other advantages a Serbian shelf company may offer:
- The company comes with a multicurrency bank account with a local bank that you can effectively use to make international payments.
- You will pay a bit more than in the case of a company establishment from scratch, but you get a fully-operational mechanism really quickly.
- If you want to obtain European citizenship in the long run, you may be happy to find out that opening a company in Serbia makes you eligible for a Serbian residence permit. Keep in mind that the country is on the verge of joining the EU, so a residence permit may well become your path to obtaining a European passport in the future. One more advantage of becoming a legal resident of Serbia is easier interaction with local banks: foreigners are welcome, but they still are subject to additional checks.
- Any company requires monthly maintenance payments, and the Serbian one is not an exception. However, you will pay much less than in other European countries (sometimes, the amount does not exceed 200 euros a month).
- Serbia boasts friendly relations with all major global market players, so you will have an opportunity to work with a counterparty from any part of the globe.
- Serbia is not a zero-tax jurisdiction, and still its taxation system is favorable enough to allow your business to develop quite successfully
- The country’s government offers various incentives to foreign investors as Serbia is really interested in international capital
Want to ask some questions about shelf companies or businesses in Serbia on the whole? Click on the link above to book a session!
Main Features of Serbian Business
A successful business consists of a number of good choices, and choosing an appropriate legal form is an important step. With that in mind, we offer shelf companies that have the most popular legal form that exists in Serbia: private limited liability company (d.o.o. in Serbian company names). Foreign and local business owners value d.o.o. for flexibility and limited liability.
Let’s look at its peculiarities in greater detail:
- If you have only one euro in your pocket, it will be enough to start a d.o.o.! In other words, there are no registered capital limits set, so you are free to choose any amount.
- The company can be founded by one person (or more if you want) who can be a resident of Serbia or any other country, a natural person, or a business entity.
- You will need at least one director who can be a foreigner.
- The corporate tax rate amounts to 15%.
- Serbia is a signatory of more than 50 DTTs, and you may be a beneficiary.
- A legal address is a mandatory requirement.
- The maximum number of shareholders for this legal form is 100: if you want to have more, you will need to register a public company.
- The d.o.o. can issue registered shares only. They can be sold or transferred, but the procedure will require the consent of all the company shareholders.
- Your company is required to keep accounting according to international standards.
- The d.o.o. has the right to open a foreign account in any country. As we’ve mentioned, it comes with a Serbian account. However, if you decide that it is not enough or you need some special services it fails to provide, our experts can help you set up an account with any reliable bank.
If you are impressed enough with the opportunities that a private limited liability company can give to you, you will need to take the following important steps after you sign the agreement:
- Inform the bank about the changes in the company ownership and allow several days for the bank to process the information.
- Submit the documents to the Serbian Trade Registry to update the company ownership status. We can manage your company remotely for free for one month while this formality is being completed. However, if you fail to update the status within this period of time, we will require a fee to run your company further on.
- Finally, you are required to re-register the legal entity in your name with the local authorities to become a full-fledged company owner. You can travel to Serbia by yourself or give us a power of attorney to complete the formalities online. As a third option, you can entrust your company management to our local trustees or professional directors.
Ready to embark on a Serbian journey? Most people will say “No” as they have some questions and doubts – and this is the reason why we encourage you to follow the above link to share your doubts with our experts and ask them questions to make an informed decision!