Tax Rates in Albania - Accounting and Company Formation

Albanian Company Types

The rules for the registration of a commercial company apply to both Albanian citizens and foreign nationals. Legal entities acquire legal personality upon registration in the commercial register. The registration of natural persons, branches and representative offices of foreign companies, civil unions, and other entities without legal personality in the commercial register according to the current legislation is only for ascertainment purposes. The process of setting up a company in Albania is fast and effective. Under normal conditions, a company can be registered with the National Registration Center within 1-2 business days.

The National Registration Center (NRC), established in 2007, is the sole authority responsible for the establishment of companies that acquire legal personality in Albania and for maintaining the Commercial Registry. The commercial register (kept in electronic form) is defined in the Albanian Commercial Code as a unique database of subjects engaged in commercial activity.

Albanian Limited Liability Company

Establishing a limited liability company in Albania requires only 1 director and 1 shareholder of any nationality. Neither needs to travel to or normally reside in Albania for the business setup to be completed. The required minimum paid-up capital is €1 (ALL100). After the Albanian company is established, all locally incorporated companies must submit their financial statements to the Albanian commercial register. These statements must be audited if two of the following three thresholds are exceeded: annual sales of US$230,000, total assets over US$330,000, and more than thirty employees.

Albanian Joint-Stock Company

The Albanian joint-stock company is commonly used by investors who wish to trade shares on regulated commercial markets. The minimum paid-up capital required to complete the incorporation process is €75 (ALL10,000) if the company shares are to be publicly offered, or €30 otherwise. This type of entity consists of at least one shareholder and one director and must audit its financial statements annually.

Albanian Representative Office

Representative offices in Albania are not permitted to carry out any income-generating activities. Consequently, this entity can only engage in non-commercial and non-productive activities such as market research and promoting the parent company's business.

Get Information for Opening a Company and Bank Account in Albania

Comparison table between Albanian commercial entities

	LLC	JSC	Representative Office
How long does it take to set up a company?	2 weeks	2 weeks	4 weeks
How long to open a corporate bank account?	4 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks
Corporate bank account options?	Societe Generale	Raiffeisen	Intesa Sanpaolo
Is an Albanian bank account mandatory?	Yes	Yes	NO
Does our client need to travel?	NO	NO	NO
Legal liability?	Limited	Limited	Unlimited
Minimum shareholders?	1	1	1
Are corporate shareholders allowed?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Are individual shareholders allowed?	Yes	Yes	NO
Can it be 100% foreign-owned?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Minimum capital for foreigners?	€1	€30	None
Is a resident director/representative required?	NO	NO	Yes
Minimum directors/representatives allowed?	1	1	1
Are corporate directors allowed?	NO	NO	NO
Standard Albanian corporate tax rate?	15%	15%	None
Reduced corporate tax rates for foreigners?	Yes	Yes	None
Are annual financial statements required?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Allowed to issue sales invoices in Albania?	Yes	Yes	NO
Allowed to sign contracts with Albanian entities?	Yes	Yes	NO
Allowed to import and export goods?	Yes	Yes	NO
Can I rent an office in Albania?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Can I buy Albanian real estate?	NO	NO	NO
Can it hold equity in other local companies?	Yes	Yes	NO

Tax Rates in Albania - Accounting and Company Formation

World Company Setup Consultants will assist our clients in setting up their companies in Albania. There are several ways to do business in Albania, the most common being to set up an Albanian limited company. If they do not plan to carry out any commercial or productive activities, foreign companies are allowed to open a representative office.