Before starting a business

Are you a foreign citizen in the Republic of Serbia and have you come up with an idea to start your own business? First, you need to develop your idea and get well informed about the state of the market. Data, analysis, general research on the Internet about the needs for services or products that you can provide and produce can help you with this.

Analyse the financial aspect of your business and find opportunities for additional financing. It is useful to inform yourself about all available types of financial and non-financial support on portals such as eGovernment and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.

If you need a visa to stay in the Republic of Serbia and want to regulate your stay based on starting a business as the purpose of your stay, it is important to keep in mind that foreign citizens can start their business by registering a company with the competent authority, but this does not guarantee obtaining a residence visa in the Republic of Serbia.

Read all available information about starting a business on this and other state administration portals and find out about the administration that starting and running a business entails. To narrow the field of research, start by choosing the appropriate type of business. You can read more about different forms of business organizations here.

Prepare for the registration procedure. You can read more about the registration procedure itself in the text Initiate the registration procedure.

In the continuation of this text, you can learn more about other relevant topics in the field of preparation for starting a business, such as - choosing a business name, choosing an activity, the founding capital when submitting the application for the establishment of a company and the necessity of making a stamp.

Choose an appropriate business name

The business name or title must not be similar to the name of another entrepreneur with the same business activity. Likewise, the name of the company must not be similar to the name of an already registered company. You can check the name on the website of the Business Registers Agency. See also the video instructions for registering a business name and reserving a name at the Business Registers Agency.

Choose a business activity

In the registration application, it is necessary to state the predominant activity. This is the activity in which the business entity will primarily engage, but it does not have to be the only one. Here you can see the list of activities and their descriptions.

For certain activities, it is necessary to fulfil the previous conditions, obtain certain approvals and licenses (see question no. 10). An entrepreneur can perform some other activities in addition to the primary one. If it is necessary to obtain prior approval or consent for those other activities, the entrepreneur will have to obtain them.

Founding capital when submitting the application for establishment of a company

The founders of the company are often asked whether they have to pay the founding capital when submitting the application for the establishment of a company.

The answer is - no. When establishing an entrepreneurial store, there is no obligation to pay the founding capital, and when establishing a company, it is only mandatory to state in the founding act how much will be the registered capital (monetary or non-monetary) that can be paid after the establishment within the period specified in the founding act. More information is available on the website of the Business Registers Agency.

Is it necessary to make a stamp?

No, the stamp is not mandatory for the business operations of entrepreneurs and companies. Without a stamp, you can file a tax return, open a bank account, collect mail, and more. No institution can deny you a service because you do not have a stamp.

In the event that a stamp is required from an entrepreneur or a company as a necessary condition for opening a bank account, the request should be reported to the Contact Centre of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

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