Company Formation in Greece: Registering an IKE Through GEMI

Which Company Form to Register in Greece

For a foreign founder, company formation in Greece usually means an Ι.Κ.Ε. (IKE), the ιδιωτική κεφαλαιουχική εταιρεία created by Law 4072/2012. In English the law calls it a Private Company, abbreviated P.C., and a company with one partner is a Single Member P.C. The older EPE and the société anonyme (AE) are still available, but they bring a notary or a capital floor that most people starting a business in Greece do not need.

Form	Capital	How it is founded	How shares change hands
IKE (Law 4072/2012)	Set freely by the partners and may even be zero; any capital contribution is paid in full at formation	One-stop shop on the model articles, online or at a chamber’s GEMI office; a notarial deed only where the law or a contributed asset requires it	In writing, notified to the company and entered in its book of partners
EPE (Law 3190/1955)	Set freely; each share has a nominal value of at least EUR 1	Notarial deed or the model articles	Only by notarial deed
AE (Law 4548/2018)	Share capital of at least EUR 25,000, paid in full at formation	One-stop shop or notary	Entry in the shareholders’ book

An IKE partner can contribute in three ways (Articles 77 to 79): capital in cash or in kind, a non-capital contribution such as an undertaking to work for the company, or a guarantee contribution, which is personal liability towards the company’s creditors up to an amount fixed in the articles. Only the guarantee contribution creates personal liability, so it is a deliberate choice rather than a default. Within a month of formation the administrator must certify, by an act registered in GEMI, that the capital has been paid in full.

What Greek Law Asks of IKE Founders and Administrators

• Founders. One or more natural or legal persons, with no nationality or residence condition in Law 4072/2012. A founder from outside the EU who lives in Greece or intends to settle there needs a residence permit that allows independent economic activity; a founder who stays abroad does not.
• Administrator (διαχειριστής). The person who manages and represents the IKE. It can be a partner or an outsider but must be a natural person (Article 58). If the articles appoint nobody, all partners manage the company jointly.
• Tax numbers. On the online route every founder, person or company, needs an active Greek AFM and TAXISnet codes. A foreign company that joins through a staffed one-stop shop without an AFM is given one through the link between the one-stop shop and TAXIS.
• Seat and premises. The statutory seat is the Greek municipality named in the articles, but the IKE has no obligation to keep its real seat in Greece (Article 45). The address passed to the tax authority at formation comes from an electronic declaration of a lease or of a gratuitous-use agreement, so the company needs premises it can declare.
• Language. Articles drawn up as a private document, partners’ decisions and minutes may also be written in another official EU language; towards third parties the Greek text prevails.
• Website. Within a month of formation an IKE must have a website showing its partners with their contribution category and its administrator, and until it has one it must give that information to anyone who asks (Article 47).

Company Registration in Greece Through the One-Stop Shop

Registration runs through a one-stop shop (Υπηρεσία Μίας Στάσης) under Law 4919/2022. For an IKE that is usually the electronic one, the e-OSS on businessportal.gr, where a founder or an authorised person signs in with TAXISnet credentials; the law also accepts eIDAS electronic identification. The GEMI office of a chamber of commerce, in Athens or any other city, can take a formation on the model articles whatever the company’s seat, and a certified notary acts as the one-stop shop where a notarial deed is used.

Step	What happens	Basis
Name	The name and distinctive title are checked against the GEMI register of names; a name reserved in advance must be used within two months	Law 4919/2022 Art. 55
Activity codes	The KAD codes are chosen; the e-OSS shows which codes can be formed online, and some, such as insurance intermediation and real estate agency, need a legality check by GEMI first	e-OSS guidance
Articles	The model articles, published in Greek and English on the GEMI site, are completed; extra clauses are allowed if they leave the model intact and respect mandatory law	Art. 13
Acceptance	Every founder confirms the submitted data and signs the articles electronically, with TAXISnet codes or a qualified electronic signature	e-OSS guidance
Checks	The one-stop shop checks the applicant’s authority, the file and the name on the same or at the latest the next working day; a defective file gets five working days for corrections	Art. 9(4), (5)
Formation	The system issues the GEMI number, the EUID and the registration code, gives the company its AFM and TAXIS key, registers it with e-EFKA as an employer where required and with the chamber, and issues the certificate of incorporation	Art. 9(6), (7)

The online route is closed where real estate is contributed, where a notarial form is required, for credit, financial and insurance companies, and for companies formed by conversion or merger; those files go to a notary or a GEMI office. The processing times above are the statute’s, not a promise of ours, and they start only once the file is complete. For a foreign founder the tax numbers come first. Once formed, the company can also ask for a bank account through the one-stop shop system.

Greek Tax Numbers (AFM) for Foreign Founders and Administrators

The Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου (AFM) is the Greek tax identification number, and in Greece it comes before the company. AADE, the tax authority, takes applications from tax residents abroad only online, through the TIN and Authentication Key application in myAADE. The person, a legal representative, a tax representative or an authorised third party may file it. The competent tax office follows the tax representative’s postal code, and the applicant is identified either at an appointment at a tax office or by a video call through myAADElive.

The supporting documents AADE lists are an identity document, a power of attorney or solemn declaration appointing the tax representative, and the tax representative’s own declaration accepting the role. With the AFM comes an authentication key that leads to TAXISnet codes, which both the e-OSS and the beneficial owner register use. Plan for one AFM per founder who is a natural person and one for the administrator.

The Greek Company Register: GEMI Numbers and Company Search

Every company in the Greek company register receives a 12-digit GEMI number. The first seven digits are a serial number, the next two identify the GEMI office and the rest count branches. The number never changes, even after a conversion or a deletion and revival, and it must appear on the company’s documents, website and online shop, together with its legal form, name and seat (Law 4919/2022, Article 22). The AFM is a separate number used for tax.

The register is open to anyone at publicity.businessportal.gr. It can be searched by GEMI number, AFM, name or distinctive title, with filters such as legal form, status and location. The law makes the name, legal form, seat, GEMI number and EUID, status, objects and the people managing the company public, and anyone may order certificates and copies of filed documents electronically. A Good Standing certificate is issued only to a company that is not deleted or in liquidation, has no insolvency application pending and has met its publication duties, and it is valid for two months.

Tax and Filings After Company Incorporation in Greece

Item	Rule
Corporate income tax	22% of taxable profit
Tax residence	A company incorporated under Greek law is Greek tax resident, as is one with its registered seat or its place of effective management in Greece
Corporate tax return	Filed electronically by the last day of the sixth month after the tax year; a prepayment of 80% of the year’s tax is added, reduced by half for newly established companies in their first three years
Dividends	5% withholding tax, with an exemption for a qualifying parent holding at least 10% for 24 months
VAT	24% standard, 13% and 6% reduced; a small enterprise with annual turnover up to the EUR 10,000 threshold may opt for the SME exemption, which ends as soon as the threshold is passed
Annual accounts	Approved by the partners by the 10th day of the ninth month after the year end and published in GEMI; one twentieth of net profit goes to the ordinary reserve before any distribution (Law 4072/2012 Art. 69, 100)
Beneficial owners	An internal register kept at the seat, filed in the Central Register of Beneficial Owners with TAXISnet codes; changes within 60 days (Law 4557/2018 Art. 20)

The beneficial owner register records the natural persons holding more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or controlling the company otherwise. It is not public: Greece suspended general access in December 2022, and the register is open to the authorities and to obliged entities such as banks doing customer checks. For accounting, a new company starts as a very small entity under Law 4308/2014 until it passes two of three thresholds: total assets of EUR 450,000, net turnover of EUR 900,000 and 10 employees.

When a Ready-Made Greek Company Makes More Sense

Because the one-stop shop decides on a complete file on the same or the next working day, buying a shelf company does not shorten registration in Greece. What a ready-made IKE offers is age: a company that has been in GEMI for some years, with its AFM, activity codes and published statements already in place, which matters where a counterparty, a tender or a bank looks at how long the company has existed. The incoming partners and administrator still need their own AFMs, and the share transfer and the change of administrator are GEMI filings too. How that works is set out on ready-made shelf companies in Greece.

How We Help With a Greek Formation

We can form a new IKE or supply a ready-made one, prepare the articles or the transfer documents and the GEMI filings, help prepare the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, make an introduction, while the bank alone decides. What Greek banks ask of a new company is on bank accounts for Greek companies, the wider picture on the Greece overview, and the general case for buying instead of forming on off-the-shelf companies.

Frequently Asked Questions About Company Formation in Greece

Do I need a lawyer to set up a company in Greece?

No statute requires one for an IKE on the model articles: founders can file through the e-OSS themselves. A notary is needed only where real estate is contributed, where a notarial form is required or where the founders choose a notarial deed. Foreign founders often appoint a representative anyway, because the AFM procedure for tax residents abroad works through a tax representative and the e-OSS needs TAXISnet codes.

How can a foreigner start a business in Greece?

Usually by registering an IKE. Law 4072/2012 sets no nationality or residence condition for its partners or administrator, so the company can be wholly foreign owned. Each natural-person founder needs a Greek AFM and TAXISnet codes, the administrator must be a natural person, and a founder from outside the EU who lives in Greece or plans to settle there also needs a residence permit allowing independent economic activity.

What is an IKE company in Greece?

The ιδιωτική κεφαλαιουχική εταιρεία, a Private Company or P.C. in English, is the limited company Greece introduced with Law 4072/2012. Only the company answers for its debts, except that a partner who gave a guarantee contribution is liable up to the amount in the articles. Its capital is set freely, contributions can be capital, work or guarantees, and its shares transfer in writing without a notary.

How long does company registration in Greece take?

Law 4919/2022 gives the one-stop shop the same or at the latest the next working day after it receives a complete file, and allows five working days to correct a defective one. Those are the statute’s times. Preparation comes first and depends on the founders: a tax number for each founder and the administrator, TAXISnet codes, premises the company can declare and agreed articles.

What is the minimum capital for a Greek IKE?

There is no minimum. The consolidated Article 43 of Law 4072/2012 lets the partners set the capital without limit, and it may even be zero where they contribute work or guarantees instead. Whatever capital the articles state must be paid in full at formation, and the administrator confirms the payment within a month by an act registered in GEMI.

Can I register a Greek company without travelling to Greece?

In most cases, yes. AADE issues the AFM to tax residents abroad online and can identify the applicant by a myAADElive video call instead of a visit, and the e-OSS lets founders sign the model articles electronically with TAXISnet codes or a qualified electronic signature. A file that needs a notarial deed, or an activity that needs a GEMI legality check, adds steps outside the online route.