In Central Europe, Slovakia is a landlocked nation. Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, and the Czech Republic and Austria to the west are Slovakia’s borders. In the spring of 2004, Slovakia acceded to both NATO and the EU. Slovakia joined the Eurozone in January 2009, bringing in additional foreign investment. Slovakia is a relatively attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly in the automotive and technological industries. Slovakia’s key benefits for foreign investors include its affordable and skilled labor, cheap taxes, a 19% flat tax for people and corporations, no dividend taxes, a relatively tolerant labor code, and a favorable geographic position.
Investors from home and abroad who establish businesses in Slovakia can do so in a variety of booming industries. The trading industry is one of these that contributes the most to Slovakia’s economy, however, when participating in import-export transactions with firms from other EU members, local enterprises are required to follow the Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) system.
The primary requirements for forming a Slovak limited company
A limited company requires a minimum share capital of €6,000. One or more, but no more than 50 shareholders. Each stakeholder must provide at least €750. Each individual donation must have at least 30% paid upfront before registering with the Commercial Register. The following is the whole procedure:
Establish a registered office address
In Slovakia, limited liability companies are required to establish a registered office address and keep all official company records there.
A clean criminal history must be presented
You can use this in your own country. The process takes around two weeks, and after it is received, it must be notarized and apostilled, which takes an additional week.
Selecting a trading name
Pick a trading name for your business. Verify that the company’s trade name is not already in use in the commercial register database. Rejecting a registration is justified by the selection of a trading name for a legal business that is already registered.
The selection of a registered office
A registered office must be provided for registration (i.e. the address of a real estate or its part, to which the company has a right to property or another right of use that does not prevent using the real estate or its part as a registered office). An apartment, a house, or a non-residential structure might serve as the registered office. If the property is rented, a property title, the real estate owners’ approval (with certified signatures), or a lease agreement are required in order to create a registered address.
Deciding on a business line
Establishing the line of business (and the associated process of getting the relevant business authorization) and appointing the statutory executive directors of the company, who run the business, are crucial steps.
Establishing a firm
Currently, there are two methods for submitting an application to register a firm in the Commercial Register:
Electronic means
Through the service application for the registration, alteration, or deletion of information in the commercial register, which calls for downloading the form (form 7: only accessible in Slovak) from the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic website signing it using an authorized electronic signature. Each and every one of the filing’s attachments must be qualified electronically signed as well. In this instance, a 50% discount is in effect, making the charge EUR 150.
Through the PSC or point of single contact
You can apply for company registration at the tax office if you apply for registration in the Commercial Register at the PSC. Neither tax nor Social Insurance Agency premium arrears is permitted for the company’s founders (members). If a company’s founder is on the list of debtors, the registration court must refuse to register the business.
Notification obligations
Within 30 days of the start of the operation, a company must register with the local tax department after being entered into the Commercial Register. The corporation will receive a tax identification number (DI) from the tax office. Additionally, you must designate an administrator of contributions, who is typically a company member, and the total amount of capital contributions made by each member. When a business has many members, the minimum contribution for each member is EUR 750, and the minimum registered capital for the company is EUR 5,000 (the sum of all members’ contributions). In the event that the contribution is a non-capital contribution, an expert opinion verifying that the value of the non-capital contribution matches the value of the pledged contribution to the assets of the company is required. An example of a non-capital contribution might be a real estate, claim, piece of knowledge, or patent.
Alerting a trade
You must get a trade authorization from the Department of Trade Licensing of the District Office in order to conduct the company’s line of business (Trade Licensing Office). Based on the registered address of your business, get in touch with the relevant office. The functions of sites of single contact are also carried out by trade licensing offices (PSCs).
Deadlines
A commercial company must register in the commercial register within two working days. As of the date of registration in the commercial register, corporations may begin conducting business.
