DOING BUSINESS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC FOR UKRAINIANS

It is common knowledge that every country has its own nuances in doing business. It depends on many factors, in particular local legislation. For potential entrepreneurs abroad, it is necessary to take into account many nuances, starting from the organizational and legal forms of doing business and ending with the introduction of reporting and taxation. This article provides general information about the peculiarities of doing business for Ukrainians in the Czech Republic.

One of the advantages of starting a business in the Czech Republic is that this country does not impose any restrictions on foreigners doing business in the country. That is, foreign citizens have the same rights and obligations as Czech citizens when opening and conducting their own business.

In what economic form can you register a business?

Ukrainians who want to start a business in the Czech Republic can choose any form of business, starting from a private entrepreneur, ending with the creation of a company (LLC or JSC) or a cooperative. It is also important that one person is enough to create a limited liability company under Czech law, which greatly simplifies the registration procedure. The requirement for the size of the authorized capital is quite low, but the information must be constantly checked, so we will not dwell on specific indicators.

Business registration in the Czech Republic takes up to 20 working days. The total cost of business registration, including all registration fees, starts at 1,000 euros. Each specific situation should be considered separately.

Tax system

Taxation of business in the Czech Republic is based on the European model.

• The main type of taxation is the profit tax, which is 19%. If this is an investment activity, then the tax rate can be significantly reduced and in some cases even up to 5%.
• The standard VAT rate in the Czech Republic is 21%, but it can also be reduced to 15%, and in some cases to 10%.
• The reduced rate of VAT applies to the business sector that deals with medical equipment, books or pharmaceutical products.

In addition, Ukrainians conducting business in the Czech Republic must pay environmental, transport and real estate taxes. If the business concerns taxable goods, the corresponding excise tax should be taken into account.

From our experience, we can note that the fastest paying business in the Czech Republic is, in particular, but not exclusively, the service sector, tourism, beauty and leisure.

Tax reporting

In the Czech Republic, tax reporting is submitted annually to the Tax Office. The report submission deadline is March 31 of the current/next year.

Advantages

As a general rule, if a citizen of Ukraine has a business in the Czech Republic, he can apply for a business visa, which allows him to stay in the country legally for more than 90 days. However, given the current realities, we immediately draw attention to the fact that Ukrainians coming to the Czech Republic can legally stay there only on the basis of temporary protection.

At the same time, we note that the corresponding status of temporary protection in no way restricts Ukrainians from working or conducting their own business.