OFFSHORE COMPANY IN SERBIA

If you haven’t read our article on Bank account in Serbia for foreigners, feel free to do so by clicking here. The mentioned article covers the general story about bank account opening in Serbia for foreign individuals or companies, while this one will focus a bit deeper on the company part of the equation.

Let’s make this clear right away. If you consider any account owned by your company in some other country as offshore account then one in Serbia could slot under this term. Yet, if you view the term “offshore” with all usually affiliated attributes, such as tax havens and less invasive business regulations, then Serbia do not fit that picture perfectly (and it also misses on sandy beaches part, often offered by those kind of places). Serbia has dedicated tax number for companies operating here and they do have to pay corporate tax. Still, it would be worthy of mentioning that same corporate tax rate of 15% is among lower side of the spectrum, especially compared to some European countries circling around a double figure of the mentioned one (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy…).

Despite not being classic offshore heaven, an offshore bank account in Serbia can seem as attracting proposition to some foreign companies. If the same foreign company is placing its products and services on Serbian ground, Serbian bank account could come as a natural thing to be sorted out, while the similar story could be also viable in the case when a foreign company works with Serbian supplier companies making account located here possible instrument of easying payment process and saving costs. Cost saving just itself could also be a motivator of account opening here, accompanying any other possible situation from those explained above, if foreign company’s domestic bank’s fees for account maintenance, transactions, currency exchange, and other things, simply hurts that company’s vision for maximizing its profit.

If the desire for an offshore bank account in Serbia is clear, you would be interested to know that online banking is offered by a significant number of banks and that a significant number of banks allows you to open your company’s account without a director of it actually being present in Serbia. Precise documentation needed for the process varies by each bank, but some general rules are always the same, and they would include documents as Certificates from Business Registry of your company and all other companies owning it, passport copy of the company’s director as well as passport copy for all individuals present in company’s ownership structure, signature card of the company’s director and power of attorney allowing law office to conduct a process on your behalf. Do note that all documentation when presented to the bank must not be older than 3 months and naturally it has to be verified (legalized or apostilled depending from where your company is coming from), unless there is a special bilateral agreement between Serbia and country in question allowing avoidance of verification.

So, if you wish as a representative or owner of the foreign company to open a bank account in Serbia, while you are not so interested in traveling here and doing it yourself, or you are here already but you would rather prefer a professional assistance for the matter, feel free to check our website, our Homepage, especially our Contact page, while with our law office in Belgrade, law office in Novi Sad or other law offices, as we are glad to be at your service.