Business entities in Serbia in 2023

Healy Consultants will assist our Clients with Serbia company setup after advising the optimal corporate structure. There are several ways of doing business in Serbia, the most common being the setting up of an LLC. Alternatively, foreign companies can also setup a PLC, a branch office or a representative office.

The Serbia limited liability company (društvo sa ograničenom odgovornošću)

• The LLC is the most common business entity in Serbia. This entity must appoint at least one director and one shareholder, who can be of any nationality. The minimum paid-up share capital required to setup a Serbian LLC is only €1. A company secretary must also be appointed. Healy Consultants will provide these services for our Client;
• This entity must also appoint a company representative who should be a natural person. The Serbian LLC should also appoint a registered auditor as the company is legally obliged to carry out an annual audit. A local registered office address is also mandatory for Serbia business setup. This address must maintain statutory and accounting records of the company.

The Serbia public limited company (akcionarsko društvo)

• A Serbian PLC must appoint a minimum of three directors and one shareholder of any nationality. The minimum paid-up share capital required is €25,000 of which 25% must be paid-up before registration of the company. The PLC must appoint a company secretary and Healy Consultants will provide these services if required;
• The PLC must also appoint a corporate representative who should be a natural person and if listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange, there is also a mandatory requirement for a supervisory board comprising of a minimum of 3 members and the total number must be odd;
• A Serbian PLC must submit audited financial statements annually and therefore must appoint a registered auditor. All registration documents must be translated into Serbian.

The Serbia branch office (podružnica)

Foreign companies may also establish branch offices in Serbia which requires a legal representative of the company and a registered office in Serbia.

The Serbia representative office

Clients who are not interested in Serbia company setup but are still looking to market their products in Serbia should register a representative office of their international company. Representative offices may engage in i) market research and ii) promoting the business of the parent company.

Table of comparison between Serbia entities