Albania is an independent country located (28 748 km²) on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. The state coast is along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
The capital is Tirana. The nearest state neighbors are: Greece, Serbia, Italy, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, and Kosovo.
Currency: Albanian Lek (ALL). The language of official documentation is Albanian. Albanians are multilingual (English, French, Greek languages), the most common is Italian.
According to 2017 data from the World Bank (Albania is a member of it) the population is 2,873 million people. Albania is also a candidate for EU membership and an active member of the WTO, OSCE, Council of Europe, CEFTA, Regional Cooperation Council, Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The country has 40 DTA agreements with the states of Europe and Asia.
Registering a company in Albania will be the right decision for those who are planning to open business in Balkans.
Business advantages
As of 2018, Albania ranks 75th out of 137 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index and 65th out of 180 in the Economic Freedom Index.
According to Doing Business, in 2019 Albania ranks 24th in trading across borders, 39th in resolving insolvency, 44th in getting credit, 63rd in terms of ease of doing business and 50th in starting a business.
Setting up a company in Albania is profitable because of the lowest taxes in Europe with cheap labor.
The economy of Albania is based on:
- Export of chromium, prepared food, fish, medicinal herbs, leather, cotton and textiles, crude oil and bitumen;
- Hydropower;
- Industry (production of chemicals, perfumes and cosmetics, extraction of minerals for export, metallurgy, tobacco, textile, clothing, cement, forestry),
- Agricultural complex (cultivation of vegetables and fruits),
- Tourism.
- Albania has the potential to exploitate deposits of nickel, copper, coal, alabaster, limestone, peat, basalt, sandstone and clay. Gas reserves are estimated at 3.014 billion m3, and oil reserves at 3 billion barrels.
- Albania is located in the Green Belt (protected natural resources) and the Blue heart of Europe (protected river biodiversity).
Benefits of registration
YB Case specialists will provide clients with support services in registering a company in Albania, which is beneficial for the following reasons:
- Registration procedure takes about 2 weeks;
- There are no requirements for a residency of directors and shareholders;
- 1 shareholder and 1 director can set up a company in Albania;
- No requirements as for a presence of secretary and registered office;
- The share capital is 1 EUR (for Free Zone LLC – 50 thousand EUR);
- There are 4 FEZ in the jurisdiction (Free Economic Zones) including Koplik, Spitalla with the port city of Durrës district in the west, and the port city of Vlore in the south.
Together with the capital of Tirana, Durrës forms the economic center of Albania.
There are ferries to Brindisi, Bari, Ancona, Trieste and Venice in Italy from Durrës or Vlora.
In fact, the requirements of the regulator are the following:
- To choose a unique company name;
- To specify the legal form;
- To open an account for a company in an Albanian bank;
- To prepare annual financial reporting.
Legal forms
Most often the beneficiaries choose to register an Albanian company in the form of SHPK (Tax Resident limited liability corporation in Albania), mainly for production and export.
Other options:
- AFC (Free Zone LLC);
- Shelf company (buying of an existing company);
- Representative Office (RO);
- Branch office of a foreign company (BO).
It is possible to register a company in Albania remotely by choosing any legal form.
Tax rates:
- Corporate tax. AFC and RO are not subject to corporate tax, the remaining legal forms are subject to 15%. For AFC working for more than 5 years, the corporate tax rate is 7%. For companies with an income of over 60 thousand EUR the tax rate is 5%;
- VAT. Shelf company and SHPK are subject to 20% VAT. AFC is not subject to VAT. This tax does not apply to imports.
- WHT on royalties, dividends and interest – 15%.
Our experts will provide advice on opening a corporate account in BKP, opening an account in Alpha Bank, 1st Investment Bank, Intesa Sanpolo Bank or Tirana Bank.
If you are interested in setting up a company in Albania remotely, YB Case specialists are ready to provide you with consulting assistance and support.
For more information, please call our office using the contacts listed on the site!
