How to establish a branch or branch office / subsidiary in Greece
Our team, and partner accountants and lawyers, here at Tsaks Consulting is experienced in assisting companies from across the globe to open a branch office and company in Greece. The respective law is Article 50 Law 2190/20 Article 57-58 Law 3190/55 and the Presidential Decree 360/93 of the respective Greek legislation.
We specialise in company formation and establishment in Greece for foreign companies can file all the documentation you require to register a branch in Greece. There are also tax advantages that can be derived from adopting a branch structure and through optimising the activities of your branch.
The process
The first key step in the process is applying for and receiving a permit from the Industry Commerce and Natural Resources Department. This involves providing a number of documents with the application which we will coordinate / manage for you, including:
- The certificate of registration of the foreign company-
- A certificate which details the share capital of the foreign company
- A criminal extract report
- A shareholders resolution or similar document outlining and detailing the decision to open the branch.
- A document or certificate detailing the address of the foreign company
- A resident and potentially work permit of your proposed branch representative.
- Proof of the required fee payments.
- The notary act of appointment of the branch representative. We sometimes recommend appointing a local representative as it can make the process of operating your branch more cost effective. From time to time, our team here at Tsaks Consulting Greece have acted as the local representative for our clients in the initial period of establishing their operations.
Other certificates which are generally required include:
- A certificate that confirms the foreign company isn’t in liquidation.
- Proof that all taxes have been paid for the foreign entity as well as identification (passports, identification cards etc) for the Directors and other key personnel.
- A registered address of the branch office. Our team can assist with this requirement it you are yet to establish an office here in Greece.
As part of the document submission, our team, and partner accountants and lawyers, will work with you to ensure certification by a public notary, and also to arrange for certified translations of the relevant documents into Greek.
Yearly requirements and obligations of having a branch office or subsidiary in Greece
There are a number of obligations for having a branch office in Greece which you will need to comply with. Our team can help ensure you adhere to these requirements. For example, you need to:
- Submit a copy of the financials of the foreign company on a yearly basis to the Greek authorities.
- Pay VAT and taxes on your profits in Greece. Upon registering your branch office you will need to register with the tax authorities. This will enable you to open a bank account and the company will have a tax file number.
Tax requirements and obligations for branch and subsidiary offices in Greece
Corporate taxes apply to the branch office and its operations for profits which are made in Greece. This will be the case regardless of the tax residence of the company (i.e. tax residency in the country where you head office or where the foreign company is located).
The corporate tax rate is applied to the income obtained in Greece and not the global income of the company. As a specialised accounting and legal consultancy servicing expats, foreigners and foreign companies, our team here at Tsaks Consulting has a comprehensive knowledge of the Double Tax Treaties which Greece is a party to and how these treaties will help ensure no double tax is payable. These can be of benefit from a tax perspective as well as they provide insight into potential deductions, the treatment of different profits and tax liabilities, limitation of transfer pricing and the treatment of taxes such as withholding tax.
With regard to withholding taxes, this is generally charged to local businesses in Greece who remit profits to parent companies who are based abroad. This is essentially a subsidiary. However, where have registered a branch office, withholding tax may not be applicable. For clients in the shipping industry, there are specific tax regimes, incentives and regulations which make it attractive to based your offices in Greece and/or to open a branch office in Greece. We have a specialised accounting expert who understands the shipping industry and the tax incentives for shipping and is able to advise you on this process. You will also need to understand the application of Law 27/75 as it related to the shipping industry.
Many of our clients who decide to open branch offices in Greece are banking and other financial institutions. A branch office is often an optimal legal structure for their operations in Greece. Where a foreign commercial bank is operating in Greece using a branch office structure, their books and financials need to be certified by an auditor certified in Greece.
The implications of a Branch Office in Greece being a permanent establishment
A branch office is considered a Permanent Establishment (PE) under Greek Law. This is recognised under the Greek Corporate Income Tax Code – and it stipulates that the Branch Office is a place of business for a foreign company. There are a broad range of different types of business or activities that the Branch Office company can be involved in from marketing to operations. When our team assists you to open your company, we will also assist you to list the most relevant company activities for you.
Helping foreign companies from France open a branch office / company in Greece and expand to Greece
Over the years, our team of consultants and our partner accountants and lawyer, have helped many businesses and individuals from France to open a branch office in Greece and complete other works. France and Greece have strong relations and many French companies invest in and establish operations in Greece.
In addition to helping French companies open branch offices and subsidiaries in Greece, we have assisted them to open bank accounts, establish operations and apply for government contracts and funding through bids and tenders. From a legal perspective, our legal team has also assisted our French clients in the development of contract documentation in line with their business needs.
French companies take a direct, no-fuss approach to business and our team (some of whom speak conversational French) understand the French culture and provide a responsive service to help French companies establish branch offices and expand into Greece. We also have a working knowledge of the French-Greek Double Tax Treaty.
How we help foreign companies from Germany open a branch office / company in Greece and expand to Greece
Similar to assisting French companies, we have experience helping companies from Germany establish operations in Greece. Our team and our partner accountants and lawyers have opened branch offices and subsidiaries, as well as IKE companies for expats and foreigners from Germany as well as German companies.
We have strong knowledge of the Germany and Greece double tax treaty and are able to assist German businesses to expand into and operate in Greece.
How we help foreign companies from the EU open a branch office / company in Greece and expand to and operate in Greece
Many companies establish branch offices, operations and subsidiaries in Greece from across the EU. We have helped companies from countries such as Estonia, Italy, Spain and Denmark to expand to the EU and more often or not this involves establishing operations here from a tax perspective.
With the structure of the EU, establishing operations is generally a seamless process and companies may be interested in the development potential of Greece and growth in sectors such as shipping, tourism, IT and innovation.
How we help foreign companies from the Middle East open a branch office / company in Greece and expand to and operate in Greece
Greece has a great relationship with many countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Lebanon and Israel. There is significant investment in major projects from Middle Eastern companies into Greece, and very often, some Middle East based companies go unaware of major contracting opportunities in Greece.
Firstly, with our tender notification service, we let all of our clients know of government projects and contracts they may be interested in tendering for. Secondly, we help companies form the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and other countries in the Middle East establish branch offices here in Greece, open companies and business entities here in Greece, and arrange for their respective staff to migrate.
We have also helped companies from Egypt manage their affairs here in Greece and some of our accounts personnel have working knowledge in Arabic. We can help you open bank accounts and complete other tasks associated with your business.
Other assistance our team from Tsaks Consulting can provide whilst we are establishing your branch office or foreign subsidiary in Greece
Our team of consultants, as well as our partner accountants and lawyers, are experts win helping companies and individuals expand to Greece. More often than not, if you are opening a branch office in Greece, you will also need to arrange visas, citizenship applications, work visas and other immigration services for your team members as well as employ locals. Our team of consultants are also able to assist with all our needs here in Greece.
Client testimonials
We contact the team at Tsaks Consulting to help us open a foreign subsidiary in Greece. This was part of our larger plan to expand into the European market. They discussed with us the advantages and disadvantages of opening a branch office and suggested a few other ways we could achieve the outcome we wanted. Overall, we were very satisfied with their service as they provided us with another optimal structure that served our process and was less costly.
Javier H | Regional Manager | Asian Conglomerate
Thank you Tsaks Consulting. Your partner accountants were great. You efficiently helped us with the establishment of our subsidiary in Greece. You communicated well with our head office team which was critical to us and we were happy with how everything progressed. Great work and we look forward to working with you in the future.
Timothy P | Head of Accounts | International Organisation