Your partner for the DACH region

Foreign investors can set up a company in Croatia on essentially the same terms as domestic investors. The usual form is a limited liability company (d.o.o.), with minimum share capital of EUR 2,500. The process covers the name and registered office, founding documents, payment of the capital and entry in the court register. EU/EEA nationals can also form a d.o.o. electronically through e-Sudski registar. We help German, Austrian and Swiss investors structure the formation from the start, including corporate, tax, employment and regulatory points, and coordinate notaries, banks and other institutions.

Both are possible, and they have different legal, organisational and tax consequences. A Croatian d.o.o. is a separate legal person. A branch is not: it is part of the foreign company. The Croatian Tax Administration emphasises that distinction in its practice concerning companies from the DACH region. The choice depends on the planned scale of business, the corporate structure, liability, financing and tax.

A Croatian company’s management can include international managers. Corporate appointment of a director is separate from the tax, social-security (form A1), residence and employment consequences of that person working in Croatia. This matters when a director also holds roles in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, or regularly works in more than one country.

For a Croatian company, a bank account is part of setting the business up in practice. The official d.o.o. formation process provides for opening an account after registration, with the relevant registration documents. For cross-border structures it is worth coordinating corporate, banking, KYC and tax requirements in advance, especially when the founder is a legal person from the DACH region.

Yes, but cross-border work needs a prior look at employment, social-security, tax and, depending on nationality and the circumstances, immigration rules. We treat global-mobility questions together: the contract and the posting, tax residence, social security and the employer’s duties in Croatia.

Not necessarily. Choosing the law of a DACH country can govern many cross-border commercial relationships, but it does not mean that Croatian mandatory rules and regulatory requirements are excluded in every case. Before a contract is used on the Croatian market we review it and, where needed, adapt it to the Croatian legal and regulatory framework.

The tax treatment depends on how the Croatian business is structured, for example through a Croatian company, a branch, or on a cross-border basis. Alongside Croatian tax rules, the double tax treaty (Double Tax Treaty - DTT) between Croatia and the relevant DACH country matters. We recommend looking at the tax structure of an investment before the company is formed or the transaction is signed, together with the corporate structure and the financing.

The German Desk is a single point of contact for German, Austrian and Swiss clients who do business in Croatia or plan to invest. We advise in German and with an understanding of the DACH legal and business environment, combining local Croatian knowledge with experience in cross-border transactions, corporate and M&A, tax, real estate, employment and global mobility, commercial contracts, regulatory matters and disputes.

Yes. Cross-border tax is an important part of the German Desk practice, especially where business or private structures reach both Croatia and the DACH region. Croatia and Germany have a double tax treaty (Double Tax Treaty - DTT) in force, and it is a central part of the analysis of cross-border income and investment.