Greek Company Guide: Types of Companies in Greece, Tax and Ownership

Doing Business in Greece Through an IKE

For a foreign owner a Greek company almost always means an IKE, the ιδιωτική κεφαλαιουχική εταιρεία introduced by Law 4072/2012, which uses the name Private Company, or P.C., in international dealings. Foreign founders register it as a trading company or as the Greek subsidiary of a group, and Greek ready-made companies take the same form. Every company is entered in GEMI, the General Commercial Registry, which assigns a 12-digit GEMI number that never changes, and the company receives its own tax number (AFM) at formation.

Types of Companies in Greece at a Glance

For a business of ordinary size the IKE is the practical choice. Only a partner who has given a guarantee contribution answers personally for the company’s debts, and then only up to the amount the articles state. How an IKE is formed through the one-stop shop is explained under company formation in Greece.

Greek Corporate Tax and VAT at a Glance

Who May Own and Run a Greek Company

Law 4072/2012 imposes no nationality or residence requirement on the partners or the administrator (διαχειριστής) of an IKE, so foreign owners can hold all of it and run it from abroad. Partners may be individuals or companies; the administrator, who manages and represents the IKE, must be an individual and need not be a partner. Each individual founder and the administrator need a Greek tax number. AADE, the tax authority, accepts applications from people resident abroad only online, through myAADE; a tax representative in Greece forms part of the file, and the applicant is identified on a myAADElive video call or in person at a tax office. Living in Greece is a separate matter: a founder from a third country who settles there needs a residence permit allowing independent economic activity.

Every IKE keeps a website, from its first month, listing who the partners are, what kind of contribution each made and who the administrator is. Beneficial owners, the individuals with more than 25% of the shares or votes or with control by other means, are entered in a register kept at the company’s seat and reported through TAXISnet to the Central Register of Beneficial Owners, with changes due within 60 days.

The Yearly Cycle of a Greek Company

The partners’ ordinary meeting signs off the financial statements by 10 September for a company whose year ends on 31 December (the tenth day of the ninth month), and GEMI then publishes them. Before partners receive any profit, at least a twentieth of net profit is set aside as ordinary reserve. The corporate tax return is due electronically by the end of the sixth month following the tax year. Law 4308/2014 classes a company as a very small entity while it stays within two of three thresholds: total assets of €450,000, net turnover of €900,000 and ten employees. The KAD activity codes and the AFM are recorded in GEMI too, and are updated there when the business changes.

Banking a Greek Company

The bank requirements we checked start from the company’s AFM and GEMI number and its current articles, plus the tax numbers, identity details and holdings of the people involved. Each large bank’s digital sign-up we checked presupposes Greek credentials, for example personal internet-banking codes the bank has already issued or TAXISnet access together with a Greek identity card, and one bank’s business sight account is opened only in a branch. Company deposits are covered by the Hellenic Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund (TEKE) up to €100,000 per bank, and Greek IBANs begin with GR and run to 27 characters. Bank-by-bank requirements are on bank accounts for Greek companies.

A New IKE or an Off-the-Shelf Company in Greece

Under Law 4919/2022 a one-stop shop must check a complete formation file on the day it arrives or the next working day, so registration time is seldom a reason to buy, and a new IKE starts with articles drawn up for its business. A ready-made or off-the-shelf company in Greece is worth considering when a customer, a public tender or a lender wants to see a company with some years behind it, because its registration date and published statements are visible to anyone in GEMI. It has no trading record, it may already have used part of the halved advance payment meant for new companies, and incoming partners and a new administrator each still need an AFM. See company formation in Greece, shelf companies in Greece and our guide to off-the-shelf companies.

What We Do for Companies in Greece

We form new IKEs and supply ready-made ones, drafting the articles or the share transfer, the notice to the company and the appointment of an administrator, and preparing the GEMI and beneficial owner filings. We also help assemble the bank application and, if we know a suitable bank through a working contact, introduce the company to it; the bank alone decides whether to open an account.

Frequently Asked Questions on Companies in Greece

What is the Greek equivalent of an LLC?

Two forms fit. The IKE, or Private Company, is the modern one and the usual choice: limited liability, capital set by the partners, shares that change hands in writing without a notary and an administrator who must be an individual. The older EPE, εταιρεία περιορισμένης ευθύνης, translates literally as limited liability company and is still available, but every transfer of its shares needs a notarial deed. The AE, a société anonyme with at least €25,000 of capital, serves larger companies.

What is a single-member IKE?

A μονοπρόσωπη ΙΚΕ is an IKE with one partner, who may be an individual or a company. It works like any other IKE, but its name must include “Μονοπρόσωπη Ι.Κ.Ε.” or, in international dealings, “Single Member P.C.”, and the sole partner’s name is published through GEMI. When a second partner joins, or a two-partner IKE passes to one owner, the name changes accordingly. The sole partner can also be the administrator, provided the partner is an individual.

How can I find out who owns a Greek company?

Start with the public GEMI search at publicity.businessportal.gr, which shows each company’s legal form, seat, current status, objects and managers, and from which copies of filed documents and certificates can be ordered. GEMI also registers how many shares each IKE partner holds, and every IKE’s own website must name its partners. The beneficial owners behind them are recorded in a central register that only the authorities and obliged entities, banks among them, can consult, since Greece suspended general access in December 2022.

Is a Greek company an offshore company?

No. Greek tax law treats as resident any company formed under Greek law, wherever its owners live, as well as any company whose registered seat or effective management is in Greece. It pays the 22% corporate income tax, sits within the Greek VAT system and publishes its statements in GEMI. Company law lets an IKE keep its real seat outside Greece, but that does not change its tax residence, which follows from incorporation.

Can someone living in Greece run a company registered abroad?

Owning one is possible, but where it is run matters for tax. Greek tax law treats a legal entity as resident if its place of effective management is in Greece, so a foreign company whose decisions are in fact taken by a manager living in Greece may be taxable there as a Greek resident company. Anyone in Greece planning σύσταση εταιρείας στο εξωτερικό, a company abroad, should settle where management will sit before choosing the country.