Types of Companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local legislation allows foreign entrepreneurs to register various legal forms of business entities.
Company Registration Procedure
Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities — the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. The Brčko District is a separate unit of local self-government under the state’s sovereignty, with its own institutions and laws. Key legislative acts include the Framework Law on Registration of Business Entities and the Law on Commercial Companies. In practice, the Federation and Republika Srpska each have their own company law, court registers and secondary regulations, so the set of documents is prepared under the rules of the entity where the company is registered.
To establish a company in Bosnia and Herzegovina, founders go through the following steps:
Company name
Founders choose a unique name for the company.
Incorporation documents
Founders prepare the founding protocol and articles of association, collect documents from directors and shareholders, appoint a general director and determine the share capital amount. One founder signs a decision on establishment, several founders sign a contract. In the Federation, the founders’ signatures on the founding agreement are certified in the manner established by law. In Republika Srpska, the founding act is as a general rule notarised; certification of the signature is enough only for a single-member d.o.o. that pays in the minimum cash portion of the capital.
Filing with the registration court
In the Federation, the prepared set of documents is submitted to the registration court, with payment of registration and state fees; the competent court is determined by the company’s registered office. The client pays these fees separately, on top of COREDO’s fee. In Republika Srpska, the application is received by the APIF agency, which forwards it to the registration court and the tax authority. Before filing, the share capital — to the extent the law requires it to be paid before registration — is paid into a temporary bank account, and after registration becomes the company’s own working capital.
Entry in the court register
The court issues a decision on registration, and the company’s data is entered into the court register of business entities. In the Federation, the decision, once it takes effect, is published without delay on the court’s notice board and on the register’s website.
Bank account
The next step is opening a bank account.
Tax registration
The company must be registered with the tax authorities. The Tax Administration assigns the company its tax identification number (JIB), and the statistics authority records its activity classification. VAT registration is made with the Indirect Taxation Authority.
Start of activity
In the Federation, the company starts its activity once it is entered in the register. The court itself sends the registration decision to the municipal service, the cantonal economy authority, the statistics authority and the pension fund. An activity for which the law requires a permit or licence is started once that permit or licence is obtained.
The law requires certified signatures for the founding act and for the signature of the person authorised to represent the company.
Tax System
The corporate income tax (CIT) rate is 10% in both the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska. The Brčko District applies the same 10% rate.
The standard value-added tax (VAT) rate is 17%. Mandatory VAT registration is required when annual turnover reaches BAM 100,000. Indirect taxes, including VAT, are administered at the state level, while direct taxes are administered at the entity level.
Tax incentives are available for businesses. In the Federation, a company that invests its own funds in production equipment for an amount exceeding 50% of its profit for the current period reduces its assessed corporate income tax by 30% in the year of the investment. The incentive is retained subject to conditions — for example, dividends may not be paid out of the tax-exempt profit until the third year after the last year the incentive was applied. Bosnia and Herzegovina has DTA agreements with 38 countries.
In the Federation, as of 1 July 2025 employer contributions are 2.5% for pension insurance, 2.0% for health insurance and 0.5% for unemployment insurance. Employee contributions in the Federation are significantly higher (31%), which should be considered when planning labour costs.
Companies resident in the Federation and Republika Srpska pay corporate income tax on income earned both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad, and tax paid abroad is credited. Professional advice is therefore recommended when structuring a group of companies.
Our Experts
The COREDO team has been operating since 2016 and possesses deep expertise in company registration across various European jurisdictions.
Frequently Asked Questions
COREDO specialists provide full support for company registration in Bosnia and Herzegovina — from document preparation to tax registration. We have been operating since 2016 and help entrepreneurs build successful businesses in Europe.
