How to set up a company in Albania?

Albania Company Formation Processes and Documents

Document Submission

You send us the necessary documents of the future founders and directors for the purpose of establishing a company in Albania and opening a bank account in Albania.

Payment for Services

Payment for our services for company formation in Albania and/or assistance with opening a bank account in Albania.

Albania Company Formation

We register a new company in Albania for you. After the registration is complete, the corporate documents are either delivered to you or submitted to a bank for the subsequent opening of a bank account.

Opening an Albanian Bank Account

If you request assistance with a bank account, we arrange an appointment at the bank for you, inform you of the visit date, and accompany you to the bank. After the bank account is opened and activated, you receive the corporate documents of the established company and access to the bank account.

Key Considerations Before Establishing a Company in Albania

1. Founders wishing to register a company in Albania may be residents or non-residents in Albania. Founders can be individuals or legal entities.
   2. A resident or non-resident person in Albania can be a company director. It is not necessary to register a company where one of the shareholders or directors is a resident of Albania.
   3. A person can register a company in Albania and simultaneously be a shareholder and director in that company if it is registered as an Sh.p.k (limited liability company).
   4. There is no requirement for substance creation in Albania - there is no need to hire local employees or rent an office to establish a company or do business in Albania.
   
   5. The minimum capital required to register a company in Albania as an Sh.p.k (limited liability company) is only ALL 100.
   
   6. After the company registration in Albania is completed, information about the company's founders, shareholders, and directors is publicly available in the state corporate registry.
   
   7. On the basis of a power of attorney, we can help you register a company in Albania remotely. The director of the new company will need to travel to Tirana for 1 day for an Albanian corporate bank account to be opened.

Advantages of Establishing a Company in Albania

Attractive Business Environment

• Access to major EU markets
• Access to the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea allows for the establishment of maritime trade with EU countries, Turkey, the Middle East, and North African states.
• Highly qualified workforce
• Low inflation rate

Stability and Security

• Political stability
• Secure legal and justice systems
• Comprehensive protection of property rights
• Comprehensive personal security
• Investment protection

Tax Advantages in Albania

• Corporate tax is 0% if the annual turnover does not exceed ALL 14 million.
• The corporate tax rate is 5% for software production and development companies, automotive industry companies, agricultural cooperatives, and agrotourism businesses.
• Multiple double taxation treaties

No strict currency controls

Albanian state regulations do not impose currency controls. Individuals and business entities, whether resident or non-resident in Albania, can open bank accounts in any currency at local banks.

Ease of Establishing and Doing Business in Albania

The minimum capital required to register a company in Albania as an Sh.p.k (limited liability company) is only ALL 100.

100% foreign ownership of a company is available

Remote company setup is available in Albania

Albania General Information

The Republic of Albania is located in Southeast Europe and covers an area of 28,748 square kilometers. It borders Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Albania has access to the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. The capital of Albania is Tirana, which is the largest city and the location of major government institutions. Albania has a population of 2.8 million.

Albanian Economy

The official currency of Albania is the Albanian lek (ALL).
Albania has a free-market economy. The country's economy is based on natural resources, agriculture, food processing, timber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, base metals, hydroelectric power, tourism, the textile industry, and oil extraction. The strongest sectors are energy, mining, metallurgy, agriculture, and tourism. The primary industrial exports are clothing and chromium. Albania's economy is based on the service (54.1%), agriculture (21.7%), and industry (24.2%) sectors.
Albania's GDP grew by 8.5% in 2021, reaching 18.26 billion US dollars. The tertiary sector accounts for about 54.1% of the country's GDP, followed by the industrial sector at 24.2% and agriculture at 21.7%.

In terms of foreign trade, the country's largest exports are iron, cement, clothing, shoes, plants, vegetables, cartons, and boxes.
Albania's imports consist of energy, petroleum oils, natural gas, automobiles and vehicles, leather, wheat, meslin, surface-active agents, electrical equipment, and consumer goods.

Albania's main trading partners are Italy, Serbia, Spain, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia, France, Montenegro, China, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Poland, and Switzerland.

Types of Business Activities in Albania

International trade is expanding towards Albania, and companies are incorporating in Albania primarily for the following purposes:

• Agriculture
• Tourism
• Wholesale and retail trade
• Manufacturing
• Energy
• IT-BPO
• Transportation

Sectors that are restricted for foreign entrepreneurs in Albania include:

• National Security
• Television
• Telecommunications, Radio
• Air Transport
• Postal Services.

Albania Key Taxes and Tax Rates

• Corporate tax - 15%. A 5% corporate tax rate is applied to software production and development companies, automotive industry companies, agricultural cooperatives, and agrotourism businesses. A 0% corporate tax rate is applied to companies whose annual turnover does not exceed ALL 14 million. Tax returns are filed annually. Advance income tax payments are made monthly.
• Dividend withholding tax - 8%
• Interest withholding tax - 15%
• Royalty withholding tax - 15%
• Capital gains tax - 15%
• VAT - Standard tax rate is 20% or reduced rates from 0% to 6%, or tax-exempt. Tax returns are filed monthly
• Personal income tax - up to 23%.

Albania Key Types of Business Entities

• The Limited liability company (Sh.p.k.) and the public limited liability company (Sh.a.) are common forms. Albanian company law offers to establish a company in Albania as:
  
  1. General partnership (Shoqëri Kolektive - Sh.k.)
  2. Limited partnership (Shoqëri Komandite - Sh.km.)
  3. Branch (Degë)
  
  For a detailed explanation of the procedure for establishing a company in Albania and for information on the necessary documents to set up a company in Albania, please contact our experts.