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Liaison Office in Serbia

Liaison Office in Serbia

Establishing a business in Serbia and operating on the market as a foreign company may happen in different ways: as a branch, as a subsidiary, or as a representative office. The latter one is also known as a liaison office and it cat be set up in Serbia with in-depth assistance offered by our team of company formation agents in Serbia. The liaison office in Serbia can be your communication channel as a foreign enterprise with potential customers in Serbia.

 Quick Facts  
 The purpose of a liaison office in Serbia Foreign companies can be represented in the local business community and market in Serbia. 

What activities can you undertake with a liaison office in Serbia? 

 – specific marketing campaigns for business promotion,

– market, and competitor verification,

– being a constant contact point between the parent company and clients in Serbia.

Formalities for opening a representative office in Serbia 

– preparing  the Certificate of Incorporation of the parent company,

– appointing a liaison officer,

– opening a bank account in Serbia 

 Can a liaison office in Serbia have commercial activities? (YES/NO) NO 
 Contracting potential clients and partners (YES/NO)

YES 

 Local agent required (YES/NO)

YES 

 Attributes of a liaison officer

– promoting the activities through a liaison office in Serbia,

– sealing business contracts with future clients from the Serbian market,

– maintaining solid communication with the parent company.

 Bank account for a liaison office in Serbia

Necessary for the financial operations of the representative office in Serbia 

Minimum deposit 

EUR 1 

The institution that authorizes the liaison office in Serbia  Serbian Trade Register 
 The costs of opening a representative office in Serbia

The parent company sustains the costs of opening a liaison office in Serbia. 

 Other formalities for opening a liaison office in Serbia

Specific application forms should be completed with information about the business activities. 

 Licensing requirements

Not required 

 Time frame for opening a liaison office in Serbia

 A few days

 Why choose our company formation agents in Serbia?

We offer:

– support in registration with the local authorities,

– assistance with the paperwork,

– affordable costs. 

How a liaison office works in Serbia

A liaison office is a connection between the parent company and the business registered in Serbia but under particular conditions. As mentioned above, this is also known as a representative office which is subject to a business address and a local agent to deal with the aspects of your firm in Serbia. Among the actions and activities of a liaison office, we mention the following:

  •   it cannot operate financial transactions;
  •  it is subject to marketing activities;
  •  it is the method of promoting business activities in Serbia.

Your local representative in Serbia will deal with the operations above and will act on behalf of your company in front of potential clients. One must know that our company formation specialists in Serbia are at your disposal with support and information in this sense and can explain the importance of having a representative for your firm. Likewise, the company formation in Serbia is less bureaucratic in order to help foreign entrepreneurs set up their operations in a fast manner.

Here is an infographic about liaison offices in Serbia:

Registering the liaison office in Serbia

The registration of the liaison office starts with the Serbia Business Registers Agency and the documents submitted to this authority. Please observe the following documents for opening and registering your liaison office in Serbia:

  •   the Articles of Association of the parent company interested in opening a representative office in Serbia;
  •    the certificate mentioning that the parent company is a taxpayer in the home country;
  •   details about the business office in Serbia;
  •   information about your representative for the liaison office in Serbia;
  •    information about the business you want to promote in Serbia.

Knowing the business environment and discovering the opportunities in this field as a foreign entrepreneur or as a representative of a large company from abroad may start with a liaison office before placing the activities on the Serbia market as a subsidiary or a branch.

Do you want to start a company? You should also consider the services offered by our accountants in Serbia. Our specialists can deal with bookkeeping, payroll, audits, preparation, and submission of annual financial statements. There are a number of procedures that must be implemented for the smooth running of the business, from a financial point of view.

You can watch the following video presentation with information about liaison offices in Serbia:

Who can establish a liaison office in Serbia?

Company owners from overseas who want to test the business climate in Serbia before starting the operations have the possibility of opening a liaison office or a representative office. This is a great solution and an alternative for businesspersons who want to avoid the formalities of opening a company from scratch in Serbia. A liaison office helps an entrepreneur make an idea about the business and activities that are most successful on the market, and if their operations are doable. The business climate is in a continuous expansion, so investors need to be sure there are no risks when developing their activities. This is another reason to consider a liaison office in Serbia.

Suitability of a liaison office in Serbia

If you have any doubts about the advantages of a liaison office in Serbia, we would like to highlight the fact that the parent company can be well presented with the help of a liaison office. Many business contacts can be established with the help of this structure, and potential clients and collaborators can have a clear picture of the services and products you wish to introduce on the market. A series of promotional and marketing activities can be properly created and implemented with the help of a liaison office in Serbia before actually starting the activities. Most entrepreneurs rely on the results offered by a liaison office with marketing operations in Serbia because this is a suitable way to understand if future activities can be introduced or not. 

Limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, partnerships, branches, and subsidiaries can be rapidly registered in Serbia, tailored to the needs of foreign entrepreneurs. If you believe it is time to move on from a liaison office to another type of business structure, we suggest you discuss all the alternatives and formalities with one of our company formation agents in Serbia.

Application for opening a representative office in Serbia

It can be said that the representative office in Serbia is a suitable option for those who prefer to analyze the market and the type of consumer, before developing commercial activities. And even if it is relatively simple to open a liaison office in Serbia, there are important aspects that must be taken into account, among which we mention:

  • You must prove that the foreign company is legally registered.
  • Reliable and authentic documents are required for the registration of a representative office in Serbia.
  • Local procedures and formalities for opening a liaison office in Serbia will be respected.
  • Also, government approvals are necessary for this endeavor.

We recommend those interested in a liaison office in Serbia contact our specialists in company formation in Serbia. They know the legislation and can take care of all the formalities involved in the process of registering a representative office in Serbia.

The difference between a representative office in Serbia and a branch

From the very beginning, it is good to know that a representative office is not the same as a branch in Serbia. These are two totally different things and we explain below:

  • Distinct from branch offices, liaison offices in Serbia do not engage in commercial activities that generate income.
  • All the expenses of a liaison office in Serbia must be reported in foreign currency.
  • The economic structure of a representative office in Serbia is thoroughly supervised.
  • On the other hand, branches in Serbia are under the umbrella of the parent company, which also controls it from a financial point of view.
  • The activities of a representative office in Serbia are normally monitored by the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Therefore, when you want to open a company in Serbia, you must take into account the characteristics of each individual structure, also considering the business projects already outlined.

Hiring staff for a liaison office in Serbia

Once you open a representative office in Serbia, you can opt for local employees or from the country of origin of the company interested in this territory from a business point of view. Regardless of the choice, the liaison office must be registered with social security in Serbia, where the number of employees will be specified.

There are many liaison offices in Serbia that operate with only one employee, or his/her representative. However, there are representative offices with dedicated staff for a wide range of business aspects. Whatever your decision regarding employees, don’t forget that you can benefit from our support from the very beginning.

What is a liaison officer and how he/she can help you in Serbia?

A liaison officer will be in charge of the relationship and communication between the parent company and the representative office in Serbia. Moreover, the same liaison officer will get in touch with the potential customers and collaborators in Serbia, and then gather information before presenting in front of business owners.

In this direction, a correct and doable marketing and promotion plan will play a great role, if created by the liaison officer in charge of the business promotion in Serbia. Those interested in registering a liaison office in Serbia are invited to discuss all the details with our specialists in the field. We are here to help foreign investors implement their operations, in a suitable and reliable manner, on the Serbian market.

Benefits of a liaison office in Serbia

Even if the liaison office in Serbia does not have commercial activities, this does not mean that there are no advantages. With the help of this structure, you can perform a series of functions and take care of varied business tasks. Thus, you can make a concrete and complete analysis of the market where you carry out your activities, you can promote the business from the country of origin, and also understand the direction of the consumer. Also, you can get in touch with various business owners and establish collaboration contracts with them.

For example, if your company deals with import and export, it can be successfully represented on the Serbian market, with the help of a liaison office. The respective business promotion strategies are recommended from the very beginning.

Making investments in Serbia

Serbia is a country that offers many business opportunities in most sectors of interest. The Serbian government has focused heavily in recent years on simplifying the company registration formalities, but also on encouraging foreign investors to turn their attention to Serbia from a business perspective, introducing a number of advantageous incentives.

In addition to these significant aspects mentioned above, we can add that foreign investors can rely on an experienced, multilingual workforce ready to cover different sectors of the business environment. The production sector, textiles, tourism, agriculture, wood, and plastics production, food, and beverages are some of the most prolific sectors in which foreign investors can turn their attention to Serbia. Here are some interesting statistics about Serbia’s economy and business direction:

  1. The total FDI stock for Serbia in 2021 was around USD 52.772 million.
  2. The 2022 Global Innovation Index ranked Serbia 55th out of 132 countries, in terms of the business climate.
  3. Automotive is the main sector that attracts most of the foreign investments in Serbia, around 19% of the total FDI.

If you want to know more about how liaison offices run in Serbia, please feel free to contact our Serbian team of company incorporation consultants.