Company and Bank Account in Serbia: Get a Fully Operational Business Remotely!

Serbia is a very popular destination for entrepreneurs from across the globe. First of all, it offers excellent conditions, low taxes, a stable business, political, and economic environment, favorable laws, and affordable company maintenance costs. Second, this is a neutral European country where you can conduct operations with business partners from across the globe without restrictions and get European-quality banking at much lower prices than in Western and Northern Europe. Finally, the locals are very hospitable and don’t mind foreigners at all. As a result, Belgrade is little by little becoming an international business center. You can register a company without leaving your home and start your business operations in a matter of one to two months!

Reasons to Opt for Serbia

Financial Times once mentioned Serbia among the leaders in terms of foreign investments. That sounds surprising as the country is not very big. However, we are not talking about absolute figures, of course, but about the speed and “density” of foreign capital attracted to the country. Serbia is interested in foreign capital, and it has done a lot of work to attract major investors from Europe, America, and China. In fact, the small Balkan country has surpassed Poland, Hungary, the UAE, the UK, and Singapore by the amount of investments poured into its economy, which is astonishing!

Here are the opportunities to take advantage of if you are an international entrepreneur who wishes to set up a business here:

• A local company will encounter no difficulties whatsoever if it wishes to open a corporate account with a local bank.
• Foreigners are allowed to start business ventures in the country and can even complete all the formalities remotely.
• The maintenance costs will be a pleasant surprise to you as accounting services, office rent, electricity, and telecom bills are quite low.
• Serbia is about to become an EU member.
• If you are a Serbian company owner, you can apply for a local residence permit.
• The state is on friendly terms with the USA, Russia, China, and Europe.
• If you manufacture goods in Serbia, you can export them without customs duties to the markets with more than 1 billion potential buyers.

Sounds interesting? You can click on the above link to ask questions.

Let’s Establish a Company in Serbia

The most popular company legal form is limited liability company (or doo in Serbian) where the liability of members is limited to their contributions to the company capital.

The company can be established by a foreigner, and it can be done remotely on the basis of a power of attorney issued to a local representative who will take care of all the administrative tasks.

As for the registered capital, the minimum threshold is set at 100 Serbian dinars (or 85 euro cents). However, such a small amount is rarely used as it can make your foreign partners surprised and doubtful as to how serious your company is.

The company can be set up by one person only, and no more than one director is required (a non-resident will do, and it can be a resident, of course). You can appoint more directors if you want to.

Serbia is not a zero-tax jurisdiction, so you will still have to pay a corporate tax. However, it equals 15%, which is lower than in other European countries. 

The dividend tax is 15% as well, while the personal income tax is in the range between 0% and 15%, and you can halve it under certain conditions.

If you have a company in another country, you can easily establish a branch in Serbia. Many foreign entrepreneurs choose to do so because they have an offshore company, and Serbian banks are not willing to work with offshore companies. However, setting up a branch opens the door, and you can create a business account for the branch and conduct your offshore company’s operations using a European account. 

A company in Serbia is considered to be a center of vital interests in the country. According to the local laws, it means that you can acquire a residence permit for yourself and your family members to stay in the country as long as you want to. You can later obtain a permanent residence permit and, after 5 years of residence in Serbia, a local passport. And if the state becomes an EU member, you will get an EU passport. 

We strongly recommend our customers to obtain a local residence permit. Its possession does not oblige them to live in the country (unless they want to become Serbian fiscal residents). At the same time, the document allows an easier path to Serbian banks that will open an account for a resident on much more beneficial terms and subject him or her to much less stringent checks than in the case of a non-resident.

Opening a Local Bank Account

You can open an account by paying a personal visit to the country – or do so remotely via a representative by providing him or her with a power of attorney.

In general, Serbian banking is good: you will get an impressive range of high-quality services at moderate fees. However, there is one peculiarity of Serbian banks you should know about.

They want to know whether you are a reliable customer, and it means that every transaction you make will be carefully analyzed during the first month. This is the period of time when you have to be in touch with the bank to provide supporting documents and any additional information upon request. Failure to do so will raise a lot of questions on their part.

We know how inconvenient it is for customers, so we offer a service you will surely appreciate: you simply specify our office in Belgrade as a second point of contact, and they reach us in case they are unable to get in touch with you. We answer their questions and thus preserve your reputation. The service is free for the first transactions which turn out to be the most important ones, and then you can extend it for a small fee.