Business entities in Albania in 2023
Healy Consultants will assist our Clients to incorporate their company in Albania. There are several ways of doing business in Albania, the most common being the setting up of an Albanian limited liability company. Foreign companies are allowed to register a representative office if they do not plan to conduct any commercial or productive operations.
The Albanian limited liability company
Setting up a limited liability company in Albania requires only 1 director and 1 shareholder of any nationality. None of them are required to travel or to be ordinarily residing in Albania for business setup to be completed. The minimum paid-up capital required is €1 (ALL100). After Albania company setup, all locally incorporated companies must submit financial statements to the Albanian commercial registry. Such statements must be audited if two of the three following thresholds are exceeded: i) annual sales of US$230,000 ii) total assets over US$330,000 and iii) over thirty employees.
The Albania joint stock company
The Albania joint stock company is commonly used by investors who would like to trade shares on regulated commercial markets. The minimum paid-up share capital required to complete the incorporation process is i) €75 (ALL10,000) if the company shares are to be offered to the general public or ii) €30 if otherwise. Such entity is formed by at least one shareholder and one director and must audited financial statements every year.
The Albania representative office
Representative offices in Albania are not allowed to carry out any income-generating activities. Consequently, this entity can only engage only in non-commercial and nonproductive activities such as i) market research and ii) promoting the business of the parent company.
Table of comparison between Albanian business entities
| LLC | JSC | Rep office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How long to set the company up? | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | 4 weeks |
| How long to open company bank account? | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Corporate bank account options? | Societe Generale | Raiffeissen | Intesa San Paolo |
| Albania bank account mandatory? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Does our Client need to travel? | No | No | No |
| Legal liability? | Limited | Limited | Unlimited |
| Minimum shareholders? | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Corporate shareholders allowed? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Individual shareholders allowed? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Wholly foreign owned? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum share capital for foreigners? | €1 | €30 | N/A |
| Resident director/representative required? | No | No | Yes |
| Minimum directors/representative allowed? | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Corporate directors allowed? | No | No | No |
| Albania standard corporate tax rate? | 15% | 15% | N/A |
| Reduced corporate tax rates for foreigners? | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Annual financial statements required? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Allowed to issue sales invoices in Albania? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Allowed to sign contracts with Albania entities? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Allowed to import and export goods? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Can rent an office in Albania? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can buy Albanian real estate? | No | No | No |
| Can own equity in other local companies? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Total Albania business setup costs in Yr. 1 | €10,555 | €9,955 | €10,955 |
| Subsequent annual costs (incl. accounting and tax fees) | €3,800 | €3,800 | €3,800 |
| Sample engagement fee invoice | View invoice PDF | View invoice PDF | View invoice PDF |
