This law office is focused on providing legal services to international and local companies operating in Croatia. Our approach is to integrate legal services with key aspects of accounting and tax laws and regulations, as well as to apply international best practice to matters under our review. Our services entail company registration, mergers and acquisitions, tax and legal structuring of transactions, negotiation and drafting of contracts, localization of contracts, liquidation of companies, preparation of joint venture agreements, share purchase agreements and share transfer agreements, drafting of shareholders agreements, bankruptcy law consulting and pre-bankruptcy settlements, drafting of corporate resolutions, statutory changes, representation in civil proceedings.

In this area of law, our legal assistance includes tax and legal advisory, compliance with laws and regulations, as well as representation in litigation and other proceedings. In all of these activities, we are committed to applying best practices in corporate governance to ensure good long-term employer/employee relationships.

In regards to secondment of foreign employees to Croatia and vice-versa, our law office also provides legal assistance in all matters involving Croatian immigration law, legalization of documents, entry and/or work visas, comprehensive case management and representation before national institutions and agencies.

Family-owned enterprises face a multitude of issues, such as succession from one generation to the next, challenges in financing the business’s growth without undermining family influence, as well as implementing adequate corporate governance principles.

This law office provides advice to family-owned enterprises on matters such as corporate and tax law, as well as comprehensive advice on questions relating to remuneration policies and succession. We also assist such enterprises during reorganizations and restructurings, and in the creation of joint ventures.We represent the interests of family-owned businesses and their shareholders or members in negotiations, as well as in both court and out of court procedures.

Many foreign companies have established subsidiaries in Croatia for the distribution of products in Croatia and in neighbouring countries. This business model requires ongoing implementation and adjustments of group policies and the alignment of corporate and commercial legal documents to the Croatian legal framework. In this respect, this law office can provide legal assistance on a wide range of matters related to the preparation of distribution agreements, general contract terms, preparation of warranty, payment collaterals, license agreements, compliance with the competition law, consumer protection.

Digital media is developing at a rapid pace and new forms of digital distribution are creating even greater possibilities to reach new potential consumers. However this also opens a series of legal issues that constantly need to be aligned with the relevant legal framework, especially in the fields of intellectual property and privacy protection. In particular, assistance is important in relation to the data protection impact assesment, organization of personal data, set-up of the personal data registry, communication with data subjects when excercising their GDPR rights, compliance with „Scherms II“ decision, compliance with management of documentary and archive data with GDPR.

Croatia’s natural resources, the possibility to utilize European Union funds and a variety of incentives available for investments in energy production and harnessing renewable sources of energy have lead to increased interest from international and domestic companies for investing in this industry. The services offered by the law office in this field include, among others, investment structuring, representation in legal proceedings (especially public tendering proceedings), obtaining of tender documentation, assistance in obtaining tax and other relief, as well as solving immigration and property matters.

In the energy sector, projects related to geothermal energy, wind power plants, solar energy and biomass stand out. With our knowledge and experience, this law office guides and advises clients through a number of actions and procedures from the collection of tender documents to the commissioning of the power plant, which include:

• representation in proceedings before the Hydrocarbons Agency, the Croatian Energy Market Operator, the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency, the Ministry of the Economy;
• consulting within the tendering procedure for the issuance of a research permit (preparation of documentation, statements, warranties, etc.);
• advisory on the preparation of the development and exploitation project;
• advisory on resolving property relations for land plots within the exploitation field;
• advisory on the preparation of environmental impact assessments;
• advisory within the tendering procedure for the issuance of a permit for exploitation;
• legal representation when concluding exploitation contracts;
• advisory on the process of obtaining the preliminary design, construction permit, use permit, and other acts and permits related to oil and mining activities;
• advisory on the procedure for obtaining energy approval;
• advising on the procedure for obtaining the status of a privileged electricity manufacturer;
• consulting within the tender procedure for the selection of the most favorable bidder with whom a market premium contract is concluded when purchasing electricity with HROTE.

With our experience in major transactions in the local hospitality industry, particularly in hotel acquisitions and dispositions, our law office can provide comprehensive legal support to investors who are purchasing hotel facilities, as well as to management companies. Our services in this industry relate primarily to real estate ownership check, financial structuring of transactions, drafting or review of management contracts, business lease agreements, franchises, employment arrangements and systematization of personal data in accordance with the GDPR.

The law office provides advice and guidance on legal and regulatory issues, best practices and current trends related to the matters of corporate governance. This refers, among others, to defining the duties and responsibilities of directors, management and/or supervisory board composition and their effectiveness, general principles of management and/or supervisory board, public disclosure of information, structuring of management salaries, preparation of management contracts, preparation of annual reports and preparation of annual assemblies.

We work alongside senior level management and human resources managers to devise corporate governance policies and draft internal regulations and procedures that are in line with local and European laws and regulations, the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and widely accepted best practices.

Our clients rely on our assistance with drafting publications and reports, as well as periodic publication of documents, periodic review of internal acts related to corporate governance, preparation of recommendations to management and supervisory board regarding their reporting obligations, preparation of articles of incorporation for the company and coordination with local authorities and regulatory bodies regarding the harmonization of the company's operations with applicable laws and other regulations.

The law office provides legal support to companies in preparing employment contracts for company executives. Furthermore, we assist in structuring incentive plans for management personnel, such as equity-based compensation programs, annual and long-term incentive plans, and deferred compensation plans.

We additionally advise companies regarding fiduciary and governance concerns, reporting and disclosure requirements, and tax compliance and planning matters, making sure all decisions are in compliance with local laws and regulations and international best practices (recommendations by the EU and the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance).

When planning a transaction, we always recommend that our clients consider tax implications and we assist them in identifying their best possible options. The law office advises international and local clients on all aspects related to tax issues and has extensive experience in the areas of corporate structuring and tax litigation.

Tax and legal advice is extremely important when resolving the immigration status of individuals coming to Croatia. In this sense, when solving the basis of residence in Croatia, we offer our clients the opportunity to check the tax implications that this relocation implies.

Today, in international business, it is important to take into account international agreements on the avoidance of double taxation, and especially the situations that lead to the establishment of a permanent business unit of a foreign company in Croatia. When counseling, the law firm takes special care to warn clients in time of such situations and anticipate how they can structure it differently.
Equally, tax consulting is important when concluding various contracts (eg. distribution, contracts between affiliated companies, etc.) in order to warn the client in time about the material consequences arising from tax regulations such as thin cap rule, prescribed interest rates on loans between affiliated companies, calculation of value added tax, transfer prices, etc.

In addition to the above, the law office may also be a tax representative for foreign persons who, according to the Value Added Tax Act, must be registered in Croatia as taxpayers.

REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (GDPR) marks a new approach to data protection whereas formal compliance with the law requirements is no longer sufficient.
Namely, provisions of GDPR instead have introduced a concept of continuous systematization, control and transparency in collection, processing and use of data as one of the fundamental pillars for growth and development of digital society. It is necessary to implement efficient solutions for adjustment to GDPR in compliance with the best practice.
Our approach to GDPR adjustment can be described as follows:

One of the novelties introduced by GDPR is the possibility to appoint as a data protection of the company (DPO) a person that is not necessarily an employee of the company, including the possiblity to appoint an attorney. All of this will, at the same time, enable better data protection and will provide less risk for the company (dana collector) from claims for unlawful use of data to the appriate institutions such as Data Protection Agency.

Within this legal area, our law office usually performs the following: preparation of privacy notice and use of cookies policy, preparation of records of processing activities, data processing regulations, preparation of decisions on the appointment of a data protection officer and the contract governing this relationship, systematization of personal data in the company, data protection impact assesment procedures, advises on the handling of personal data with data subjects when excercising their rights, seeks opinions from the Data Protection Agency, prepares data protection agreements and questionnairs, and more.

Vanja Markovic is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and has a Certified Information Privacy Professional / Europe (CIPP/E) certificate in knowledge of European law, practice and standards related to data protection.

This law office offers a range of services related to residence and work of foreigners in Croatia and services for Croatian citizens in Croatia who are resident and/or working abroad (e.g. avoidance of double taxation, tax residency, submission of tax returns).

a) Work and residence permit for foreigners
Foreigners who plan to work in Croatia (regardless of the fact if they are assigned employees, seasonal workers, or other) they need to obtain a valid working permit (work and residence permit) issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) in the procedure upon submission of the request or application for a particular immigration procedure.

Our law office provides assistance to such individuals and members of their families, as well as to companies granting employment to foreign workers, to fulfil certain requirements prescribed by the law by offering the following:

• Assistance related to immigration and immigration procedures;
• Assistance to fill out designated applications for residence permit, working permit and/or visa or assistance related to legalization of foreign documents;
• Assistance to obtain residency for individuals and their families;
• Advisory for renewal or maintenance of the residence permit in Croatia;

b) Certificate on Notification of Work
In addition to the residence and work permit, a foreigner in Croatia has the possibility to work based on the certificate on notification of work („potvrda o prijavi rada“ or „work certificate“).
The work certificate is issued by Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) to certain categories of workers as defined according to the Law of Foreigners The work certificate is issued for a period of 90, 60 or 30 days.

c) Business Visa
Filing of the request for business visa (or any other type of visa) in diplomatic or consular offices requires collection of various excerpts, certificates, statements and other documents issued in the Republic of Croatia. As experienced service provider this law office is available to facilitate the process and to make it faster and more efficient.

d) Croatian Citizenship
Foreigners who intend to apply for the Croatian citizenship have the right to submit their application to the competent police office in Croatia or diplomatic or consular offices abroad if they fulfil the conditions prescribed by the Croatian citizenship Act.

Our law office shall assist the applicants by verifying if they comply with the requirements of the law, or will assist them filing the forms and questionnaires and collecting underlying documents as well as to represent them before the competent authorities.

e) Taxation of foreigners
For a foreigner working or sourcing income in Croatia (based on employment or service, from capital, insurance, property or other) it is necessary to determine if it qualifies as a Croatian tax resident or a tax resident of its home country.
Advice of the attorney is recommended in all matters of taxation in Croatia since it can identify certain tax implications upon change of domicile, residence, employment or earning of any kind of income in Croatia.

f) Tax returns for non-resident Croatian citizens
Croatian citizens who work or earn certain income abroad, in case when they have a domicile or habitual abode abroad (Non-resident Croatian citizens), are in principle obliged to pay personal income tax in a foreign country. However, in case when a Croatian citizen, who is considered to be a tax residence in a foreign country, earns certain income in Croatia and abroad, Croatia can tax the Croatian-sourced income (depending on the type of the income). In such situations, this law office provides advisory services regarding application of double taxation treaties and determining the obligations of such individuals in relation to their Croatian-sourced income (filing the appropriate reports and similar).

Upon termination of the company's operations, a good understanding of accounting and tax regulations is required in order for the liquidation to be carried out in the most efficient manner possible. In this sense, this law office prepares all decisions and advises business entities, taking into account primarily the accounting and tax aspects of the company's operations. In this way our office ensures complete control over the entire process, including negotiations with creditors and suppliers. In the event of liquidation of the company, a lawyer may be appointed as a liquidator or may participate as legal advisor to the company's liquidator.

Italian Desk is intended for companies and private individuals from Italy who need legal assistance in Italian, or those whose knowledge of the Italian language can in any way help protect their interests in Croatia. Therefore, in addition to experience and expertise this law office can provide communication in Italian since the holder of the office has graduated from the Faculty of Law in Trieste.

Over the years, the office has established cooperation with a network of law firms from the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as well as the countries from which most of today's foreign investments originate, including Italy, Austria, Germany and Hungary, which provides clients with an international perspective of the offered solutions.