Company Registration in Serbia (2026): Process, Costs and the Tax Decisions That Follow

Registering a company in Serbia is the easy part. A lawyer files the application online, the Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA, "APR" in Serbian) decides within five working days, and the decision already contains the company's registration number and tax identification number (PIB).

The decisions that cost money come after that: whether to enter the VAT system before you have to, how the founder-director is paid, what happens when money moves to the parent company, and which deadlines start running the day the company exists. This guide covers both: the registration itself, and the first-year tax decisions I see foreign founders get wrong.

Which form: DOO, branch, entrepreneur or representative office

Most foreign founders register a limited liability company (DOO). It is a separate legal entity, liability is limited to the company's assets, and it can be 100% foreign-owned, with a foreign individual or a foreign company as the sole founder.

The alternatives fit narrower cases:

• Branch of a foreign company: not a separate legal entity, so the parent is liable for its obligations. For tax purposes it is a permanent establishment of the foreign company, and its transactions with the head office fall under transfer pricing rules.
• Representative office: research, promotion and marketing only, no commercial activity.
• Entrepreneur (preduzetnik): an individual running a business with unlimited personal liability. It suits founders who live in Serbia and work alone, and it comes with its own tax choices, including the RSD 6 million and 8 million thresholds and the independence test.

How registration works, step by step

1. Founding act. A single founder signs a founding decision; several founders sign a founding contract. It sets the name, seat, activity, share capital and director.

2. Signatures. Since 17 May 2023 a DOO can only be founded electronically, with the application signed using a qualified electronic certificate issued in Serbia. Founders who do not have one sign on paper before a notary, and a Serbian lawyer digitises the documents and files them. This is the standard route for founders based abroad.

3. Founder documents. A foreign individual provides a copy of their passport. A foreign company provides an extract from its commercial register, translated by a Serbian court interpreter. Documents signed or issued abroad usually also need an apostille or legalisation, depending on the country.

4. Seat and e-mail. The company needs an address in Serbia from which it is managed. No lease is filed with the application, and virtual office addresses are used in practice. The company must also register an e-mail address for official correspondence.

5. SBRA decision. SBRA decides within five working days of receiving a complete application and delivers the decision electronically. The registration number and PIB come with it, and VAT registration can be requested in the same filing.

6. Share capital. The minimum is RSD 100. It does not have to be paid before registration: the founding act sets the deadline, which can be up to five years.

With documents prepared abroad and a bank account opened, plan for two to four weeks in total.

What it costs

The official fees are small. The SBRA fee for founding a DOO is RSD 8,000 from 1 January 2026, and RSD 2,500 for an entrepreneur. Reserving the name in advance is optional.

The real costs are elsewhere:

• Documents abroad: notary certification, apostille and court interpreter translation. The amount depends on the country and the number of pages.
• Lawyer: filing for a founder based abroad, typically around EUR 800.
• Bookkeeping: a small DOO typically pays around EUR 300 a month. Bookkeeping can only be outsourced to a provider entered in the official register of accounting service providers.
• Bank account: fees vary by bank, and onboarding a foreign-owned company can take from a day to several weeks.

The first 30 days

• Beneficial owners. Register the company's beneficial owners in the Central Records of Beneficial Owners within 30 days of registration, and confirm the data every year. Fines for the company run from RSD 500,000 to RSD 2,000,000, and concealing the beneficial owner is a criminal offence.
• Bank account. There is no statutory deadline, but you need the account to pay in capital, receive revenue and pay taxes.
• Bookkeeping from day one, because monthly obligations start in the first month.
• E-invoicing (SEF). VAT payers must issue and receive invoices through Serbia's e-invoicing system. A company outside VAT has to register only before invoicing a public sector client.
• No company seal. A seal is not mandatory, and banks and authorities cannot require one.

Five tax decisions that follow registration

1. VAT now or later. Registration is mandatory once turnover exceeds RSD 8 million in the previous 12 months, or from the start if you expect to exceed it in the next 12 months. Voluntary registration makes sense when your clients are VAT-registered businesses and you carry significant input VAT, but it binds you for at least two years, and from 1 January 2027 for the current and the following calendar year. More in my VAT registration guide.

2. How the founder-director is paid. A founder registered as the company's director owes social security contributions even without a salary: 35.05% on at least the lowest monthly contribution base, paid by the company by the 15th of the following month. The alternatives, an employment contract or a contract on the director's rights and obligations, carry different tax and contribution costs. If you hire people who relocate to Serbia, check the newly-settled taxpayer relief before the first payroll.

3. Payments to the parent company. Dividends, interest, royalties, rent and fees for market research, accounting, audit and other legal and business consulting services paid to a foreign company are subject to 20% withholding tax, or 25% if the recipient is in a preferential tax jurisdiction. A treaty reduces the rate only if you hold the recipient's certificate of residence when you pay.

4. Transfer pricing from the first intercompany invoice. Transactions with related parties must be documented, and the documentation is filed with the corporate income tax return. If the total with one related party does not exceed RSD 8 million, a short-form report is enough. Interest on related-party loans is deductible only up to four times the company's equity. More in my transfer pricing guide.

5. The compliance calendar. Corporate income tax is 15%, paid in monthly advances by the 15th of the following month, with the annual return due within 180 days of year end. Annual financial statements go to SBRA by 31 March. Software companies should also look at the IP Box regime from the start, because the benefit depends on tracking qualifying development costs from day one.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner register a company in Serbia?

Yes. A DOO can be 100% foreign-owned, and the founder can be a foreign individual or a foreign company.

Do I need to come to Serbia to register a company?

Not for the registration itself. Documents can be signed before a notary abroad and filed by a Serbian lawyer. Bank onboarding requirements vary by bank.

How long does company registration in Serbia take?

SBRA decides within five working days of a complete application. With documents prepared abroad and a bank account, plan for two to four weeks.

How much does it cost to register a company in Serbia?

The SBRA fee for a DOO is RSD 8,000. Notary, apostille, translation and legal fees usually make up most of the total.

What is the minimum share capital for a DOO?

RSD 100, paid within the period set in the founding act, at most five years from registration.

Do I get a tax ID automatically?

Yes. The PIB comes with the registration decision. VAT registration is a separate decision and can be requested in the same filing.

Does a company in Serbia need a seal?

No. A seal is not mandatory, and banks and authorities cannot require one.

Setting up in Serbia? Before the founding act is signed, I prepare a short written country entry memo: the right form, the VAT decision, how the director is paid, withholding tax and transfer pricing on payments to the parent, and your first-year compliance calendar. Registration itself is handled by a lawyer from my network, so you have one point of contact for both. Fixed fee, reply within 24 hours. Get in touch.