Establishing a subsidiary in a new country is usually the first step in a company’s expansion journey. If you’re planning to grow your business in Serbia, you’ll need to learn Serbia’s subsidiary laws, set up your payroll, hire employees, and give out the right level of compensation and benefits. All this on top of running a new company location in an unfamiliar country.
G-P makes the expansion process easier with industry-leading Employer of Record (EOR) solutions. You don’t have to set up a Serbia subsidiary when you partner with us. We enable you to begin operations starting in just minutes and in full compliance with local labor laws.
How to set up a Serbia subsidiary
If you decide to go through the Serbia subsidiary setup process alone, you should research where you would like to incorporate and what entity is best for your business. Serbia’s subsidiary laws can change by location and region, occasionally making it difficult to incorporate in certain areas. It’s always advisable to research the physical office space you have lined up to see what the subsidiary setup process is like in that area.
Serbia has several different business structures available for incorporation, including a limited liability company (LLC), joint stock company, and branch office.
Wiele firm decyduje się na założenie spółki LLC, ponieważ może ona przynieść korzyści spółce macierzystej i spółce zależnej. Etapy zakładania spółki zależnej w Serbii jako LLC obejmują:
- Assigning an address/office service provider
- Obtaining local legal representative to be appointed as director of the new company. International team members can be appointed as directors. However, they must apply and personally collect a Qualified Electronic Signature (Token) to file the financial statements and other tax forms for the company every year.
- Obtaining notarized and apostilled documents from the new company’s shareholders. These include certificates of registration, articles of association, tax registrations, and powers of attorneys, among others. Some of these documents need to be locally notarized and translated prior to filing for the incorporation of the new company.
- Drafting and executing incorporation documents and completing an incorporation application.
- Receiving official registration data.
- Registering with the Pension, Employment, and Health Fund in Serbia.
- Completing the required capital and paperwork.
- Opening a Serbian bank account.
- Registering with tax authorities.
- Obtaining additional permits and licenses required for certain regulated activities.
The entire Serbia subsidiary setup process can be time-consuming, as opening a bank account alone takes about 4-5 weeks and the information requested by most banks can be extensive. If no one from your company is a native Serbian speaker, you might need to hire one or partner with a global employment expert.
Serbia subsidiary laws
Serbijskie przepisy dotyczące podmiotów zależnych różnią się w zależności od wybranej struktury. LLCs require at least 1 director and 1 shareholder who can be of any nationality. You will need a country-specific minimum paid-up share capital to set up your Serbia subsidiary, and you may also need to appoint a local legal representative.
In addition to appointing a natural-born Serbian representative, you should have a registered auditor who will carry out an annual audit. Another mandatory requirement is to have a registered or even a physical office space before incorporation. Your LLC’s statutory and accounting records may need to be available at that physical location in Serbia to stay compliant with Serbia subsidiary laws.
Benefits of setting up a Serbia subsidiary
The biggest benefit of going through the Serbia subsidiary setup process is legally hiring in the country. Spółki z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością są najpopularniejszą strukturą biznesową, ponieważ oferują ograniczoną odpowiedzialność zarówno dla spółek zależnych, jak i macierzystych. Plus, it allows the subsidiary to create its own structure that fits Serbia’s culture and workplace practices.
However, an incorporated company won’t start to gain from these benefits until months after undertaking the Serbian subsidiary setup process. Furthermore, failing to comply with Serbia’s subsidiary laws could lead to penalties. Fortunately, G-P can help you expand with ease. We manage compliance matters as the Employer of Record so you can start your business operations quickly without having to set up an entity in Serbia.
Inne ważne kwestie
It’s important to develop a plan and an actionable strategy with other company leaders before starting the expansion process. You might need to set aside time to travel back and forth to Serbia in order to complete the incorporation process. Since certain steps require fee payments, it’s also critical to establish a budget so you’re not caught off guard by any unanticipated costs.
Wejście na nowe rynki z G-P — nie są wymagane żadne nowe podmioty.
Pokonaj konkurencję i wejdź na nowe rynki w ciągu kilku minut, a nie miesięcy, dzięki G-P . We’ve paired our industry-leading team of in-region HR and legal experts with our #1 global employment platform to help you hire compliantly in 180+ countries, eliminating the need to set up local entities or subsidiaries.
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