European Union
One market for customs and certification, twenty-seven for company law and tax
The European Union is a customs union and a single market: goods cleared in any member state then move across the whole Union without further duty or customs formalities, and a CE-marked product may be placed on the market in every member state. What stays national is company law and direct tax — and that is exactly where member states differ. So the common part is set out once below, and the member states with their own forms, capital and rates separately.
Loading the indicators…
Member states
| Member states | Income tax | VAT | Capital | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 24 % / 21 % / 10 % | 23 % | s.r.o. 5 000 € · a.s. 25 000 € | 1–5 |
| Czechia | 21 % | 21 % | s.r.o. 1 Kč · a.s. 2 000 000 Kč | 3–10 |
| Poland | 19 % / 9 % | 23 % | sp. z o.o. 5 000 zł · S.A. 100 000 zł | 1–3 |
| Hungary | 9 % | 27 % | Kft. 3 000 000 Ft · Zrt. 5 000 000 Ft | 1–5 |
| Austria | 23 % | 20 % | GmbH 10 000 € · AG 70 000 € | 5–14 |
| Germany | ≈ 30 % | 19 % | GmbH 25 000 € · UG 1 € · AG 50 000 € | 7–21 |
| Romania | 16 % | 21 % | SRL 500 lei · SA 90 000 lei | 3–10 |
| Croatia | 18 % / 10 % | 25 % | d.o.o. 2 500 € · j.d.o.o. 1 € · d.d. 25 000 € | 3–10 |
| Slovenia | 22 % | 22 % | d.o.o. 7 500 € · d.d. 25 000 € | 3–10 |
| Bulgaria | 10 % | 20 % | ООД 1 € · АД 25 000 € | 3–7 |
| Malta | 35 % | 18 % | Ltd 1 165 € · plc 46 588 € | 2–5 |
| Cyprus | 15 % | 19 % | Ltd no statutory minimum | 5–10 |
| France | 25 % | 20 % | SAS/SARL 1 € · SA 37 000 € | 1–7 |
| Italy | 27.8 % | 22 % | S.r.l. 10 000 € · S.r.l.s. 1 € · S.p.A. 50 000 € | 7–15 |
| Spain | 25 % | 21 % | S.L. 1 € · S.A. 60 000 € | 7–14 |
| Portugal | up to 29.5 % | 23 % | Lda 1 € per partner · S.A. 50 000 € | 1–5 |
| Netherlands | 25.8 % / 19 % | 21 % | B.V. 0.01 € · N.V. 45 000 € | 3–10 |
| Belgium | 25 % / 20 % | 21 % | SRL/BV no minimum · SA/NV 61 500 € | 5–15 |
| Luxembourg | 23.9 % | 17 % | SARL 12 000 € · SARL-S 1 € · SA 30 000 € | 14–30 |
| Ireland | 12.5 % | 23 % | LTD no minimum · PLC 25 000 € | 5–10 |
| Denmark | 22 % | 25 % | ApS 20 000 DKK · A/S 400 000 DKK | 1–3 |
| Sweden | 20.6 % | 25 % | AB 25 000 SEK · AB (publ) 500 000 SEK | 7–15 |
| Finland | 20 % | 25.5 % | Oy no minimum · Oyj 80 000 € | 5–15 |
| Estonia | 22 % | 24 % | OÜ 0.01 € · AS 25 000 € | 1–3 |
| Latvia | 20 % | 21 % | SIA 2 800 € (or 1–2 799 €) · AS 35 000 € | 1–5 |
| Lithuania | 17 % | 21 % | UAB 1 000 € · AB 25 000 € | 1–3 |
| Greece | 22 % | 24 % | IKE 1 € · AE 25 000 € | 1–5 |
Setting up a company
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Legal forms
- ·Foreign ownership
- ·Documents to incorporate
- ·What to watch for
Taxes
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Corporate income tax
- ·VAT
- ·VAT registration
- ·Withholding tax — dividends
What it makes and needs
Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and drink.
Energy, electronics and components, raw materials and critical minerals, textiles, agricultural produce.
For a third-country supplier the most accessible lines are raw materials and semi-finished goods, food and drink with evidenced origin, textiles and clothing, and industrial components and subcontracting.
Money and payments
Twenty-one member states use the euro (Bulgaria since 1 January 2026); the rest keep their own currencies (koruna, złoty, forint, leu and others). The contract currency is a matter of agreement, not of regulation.
The Single Euro Payments Area means a euro transfer between member states carries the same terms as a domestic one; IBAN is the common format.
The late payment directive sets the rules on payment periods and default interest in commercial transactions; in practice 30 to 60 days is normal.
Importing into their market
A customs union: one tariff, one customs code and one clearance at the external border. Goods released for free circulation in any state then move across the whole Union with no further formalities.
The CE mark is the manufacturer's declaration that the product meets every harmonised rule applying to it. For some categories a notified body must carry out the assessment; for others self-assessment and a technical file suffice.
The label language is set by the member state where the product is sold, not by the Union. For food, the mandatory particulars come from the food information regulation.
- ·Customs declaration
- ·invoice
- ·transport document
- ·packing list
- ·proof of origin where a preference is claimed
- ·declaration of conformity and technical file for regulated products
- ·sanitary or phytosanitary certificate for food and plants.
Bringing their goods into the EU
The obligations sit with the importer established in the Union: they lodge the declaration, pay duty and import VAT, and answer for the product meeting Union rules. A third-country supplier must have an importer or an authorised representative in the Union — the commonest misunderstanding among exporters into the EU.
Food of animal origin may enter only from Commission-approved establishments and through an approved border control post, with a certificate in TRACES; plant products face phytosanitary control.
On entry into the Union, beyond duty there is CBAM on selected goods, the deforestation regulation, REACH for chemicals, dual-use control and sanctions measures — which of them apply depends on the goods and the country of origin.
Practical matters
The Union has twenty-four official languages and none of them outranks the others. Business between firms is usually conducted in English, but official filings and labels go in the language of the member state concerned.
Inside the Union goods move without customs formalities; entering from a third country, clearance happens once, either at the point of entry or at destination under transit.
- ·A European standard is not the same thing as a national labelling or language requirement.
- ·CE is not a certificate issued by an authority but a declaration the manufacturer is answerable for.
- ·A free-trade agreement does not mean zero duty automatically — a proof of origin is always needed.
Write to us. Our representative for this market or our team receives it.
Tell us what you came to this page for and did not find. We will add it — with a source.
A visa, legalising a document, an invitation letter, the commercial attaché before a trade fair — these only go through a mission. Below are the official registers rather than transcribed addresses: missions move and consular hours change several times a year, so a link to the register stays current where a transcript would not.
The Union has its own delegations in third countries. Their trade sections are what matters to an exporter — market access, trade barriers and complaints about third-country measures.
Where a country has no mission in Bratislava or Prague it is usually accredited from Vienna, Berlin or Warsaw — the register says which.
Every figure names the authority that published it and the date the line was last worked on. This is not legal or tax advice — verify a figure with the named source before you act on it.