Micro Company Romania set up

[Mr Magoo]

Hello,

I am researching the set up of a micro company in Romania since I have almost zero costs running my business. Having approached several law firms in Romania I am getting a clear idea of what is offered and at what cost and what is needed to keep the company running. Setting up a company with bank account runs around 800 Euro. For the bank account to be activated you need to go in person to the bank.

If anyone has gone through the set up already, please let me know:
- is a VAT registration needed if invoicing is B2B?
- yearly costs as of year 2 for a registered address?
- monthly/yearly costs for accounting & tax filing?
- other recurring costs (they told me there are none)?

Thanks

 

[myhand]

foreign or domestic ?
ask your agent, it varies from agent to⁠ agent or whom you are using!
same as above! + it depends on how much activity⁣ you have in the company, no one here will be able to give you a⁢ clear answer!
Get it in written by e-mail or letter so you can put︁ it up their face if the invoices are ticking in!

 

[JohnLocke]

These guys Company Formation Romania - Professional Services seems to know a lot about Romanian‌ company formation. You may have a look at their links on the right.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Thanks for the replies, I have found several lawyer practices that can set up the‌ company. Jut need to compare costs and check details. By Law, the registered address can‍ be held up to 1 year with the lawyers office. NOTE: for a bank account⁠ you need to be in Romania in person although they can prepare the account opening.⁤ For now I will just invoice a customer in the UK, 1 invoice / month,⁣ B2B, so no VAT invoicing needed.

 

[Limelight]

Hey @Mr Magoo how has your experience been with the Romanian company so far? I'm‌ looking into opening one as well.

Any reliable accountants/agents you can recommend from experience? Or‍ it doesn't matter which lawyer firm you use to register, because it's mostly hands-off from⁠ there on?

Any problems you encountered?

As I understand, the bank account is required for⁤ the initial share deposit? I'm 100% fine with Transferwise for payment processing, but without that⁣ initial payment the company won't be operational until I visit the country in person, right?⁢

 

[Mr Magoo]

hi, so far so good. You can go with one of the 2 lawyer that‌ advertise on the web: Cuc or Darie & Manea. They have similar prices and services.‍ Note that you need a physical office with rental agreement (ask lawyer if he can⁠ provide) if you want a EU VAT#. Also have the lawyer propose an accountant and⁤ check the costs of the accountant and what is included. You will need a local⁣ bank account for the sharedeposit, which the lawyer can faciliate. Afterwards you can set up⁢ a TW account. You need the local bank for the quarterly tax payments. You need︀ to visit Romania for the bank account anyways. All the rest can be via a︁ PoA

 

[Limelight]

Thanks a lot! Someone was fearmongering about corruption in another thread, so it's good to‌ know that everything is working out for you 😀

Just to clarify that last bit -‍ It's impossible to receive any payments until I visit the country in person to set⁠ up the bank account, right?

 

[Marzio]

What are the total monthly running costs for your setup? I mean the rent⁤ for the office space, the accountant, employees if any

 

[Mr Magoo]

well, second thought you can do the bank opening via PoA as well but double‌ check with the lawyer setting all up. I went in person though. Depending on the‍ bank you will need a local cel phone # to activate the banking app so⁠ I bought a prepaid SIM with Tmobile. I have no employees, pay my accountant around⁤ 150 usd a month. Office space is around 200 usd but can be a lot⁣ cheaper. Only thing is that it may be convenient to arrange all via your lawyer⁢ but it will cost more. If any problems you can just ask your lawyer to︀ solve it. Else you need to do all the solving yourself from wherever you are.︁

 

[Marzio]

Just out of curiosity, where you moved your tax residence?

 

[Mr Magoo]

yes there is corruption in‍ Romania. Maybe this is another reason to have all setup done via a lawyer instead⁠ of trying save a few bucks yourself

 

[Mr Magoo]

my tax residence isnt in Romania or the EU anymore. I moved to Asia (see‌ my nice Asian tiger).

 

[mintotaint]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Why not setting up the company in Hungary or Bulgaria‌ as they both have a lower corporate tax rate than Romania? Any advantages?

 

[Marzio]

If the turnover is‌ less than 1.000.000€ you pay 3% taxes

 

[mintotaint]

I actually had no idea about this. But thanks for the info!

 

[Marzio]

You can read‌ more here about this.

 

[mintotaint]

Do you know‌ if this applies to other European countries?

 

[Marzio]

If you mean a conditional tax rate there are a couple of other countries i‍ know use this:

- Lithuania: 5% till EUR 300.000
- Poland: 9% with revenues equal⁠ or less than EUR 1.200.000

 

[ilpablo]

Interesting options as well, but⁠ less discussed probably because is still better to go for Romania or Malta.

 

[here2learn]

Wonder if this would work‍ with a Portugese NHR set-up?