Setting up companies and branch offices (permanent establishments)

The limited liability company/company limited by shares is the most frequently incorporated entity in Slovakia (known as the s.r.o.); it is also the most common corporate form. The primary characteristic of this type of company is that the members are liable up to the amount of their contributions; these contributions constitute the company’s capital that must be paid up before the company can be incorporated.

1. The client fills in a short, simple form.
2. The documents required to incorporate the company are drawn up for signature.
3. When all is done, the client takes away a company that is registered in the trade register, the commercial register, and with the tax office—which means the company will have a tax identification number.

We submit everything electronically, which means the standard administrative fee of €300 is discounted by fifty per cent—the client only pays €150 for registration in the commercial register, and there is no fee for the trade register (unregulated trades).

The advantage to setting up a branch office of a foreign entity is that no capital is required.

• The branch office of a foreign entity does not have a legal personality and everything is conducted in the name of the (foreign) parent company.
• Branches are managed by a manager (of the foreign entity), who must be an individual who is an EU citizen or a citizen of an OECD country or an individual holding a residence permit in the Slovak Republic.
• The branch office of a foreign entity must have a trade licence and a tax identification number, meaning it must be registered with the tax office.