Company formation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction

The procedure for company incorporation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is conducted in front of the Municipal Court of Sarajevo.  The court requires you to submit a form for the registration of the company. This form can be downloaded electronically on the following link.

Once the court procedure is finalized, the companies are automatically registered for membership in the chambers of the economy at the state, entity, canton, and regional levels.  The documents in the procedure are submitted in hard copy since no electronic procedure is established in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 Find out if Bosnia and Herzegovina is the right place for you to do business. Check the Business Climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some basic info in relation to the company registration process in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Steps in the process of company registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Establishment Contract (by a notary)

After the Decision of the Constitutional court in 2016, there are different approaches and understandings of this obligation. But, in practice, the notarization of the establishment act is still common and understood as compliance with the Law on Registration of Business Entities.

The fees for the notarization depend on the basic capital of the company that is to be formed.

• Payment of initial capital

– The founders pay the basic capital on a temporary bank account. Once the company is registered, this amount is automatically transferred to the company account.

• Obtaining the no tax debt certificate

This document will confirm that the founder have no debt-based on tax and fines. By the latest regulation, this document is not required since it is obtained Ex Officio electronically, but yet, it is still used in practice.

• Registration at the competent court (municipality/district commercial court)

The relevant form is submitted to the Municipality/District commercial court. According to the Law, the court registration procedure of establishing a business takes 5 days.

Once the company is established, there are further steps before starting the business activity:

• Making a company stamp
• Obtain a certificate of the business premises
• Apply for company tax identification number and register main activities
• Opening a bank account in a commercial bank
• Notify the commencement of the business activities to the Cantonal Inspection Authority
• Acquire fiscal device