Navigating the rough waters of corporate digitalisation in Montenegro

Corporate digital development is underway in Montenegro. The new draft of the Business Registration Act is expected to further facilitate and lay the groundwork for the next phase of corporate digitalisation.

Enabling a smoother corporate registration procedure is a prerequisite for any future development of corporate digitalisation. The foundation for a digitalised corporate procedure in Montenegro has been laid by the extensive legislation regarding electronic documents, signatures and identification, electronic governance and communication. Even though establishing a unified system connecting state institutions is a work in progress, it has already greatly improved information flow between the Business Registry, Tax Administration and other administrative bodies.

Cutting through the red tape

In practice, the burdensome company incorporation procedure requires in-person communication with the Business Registry when submitting an application or changing company information. Although rarely used in practice, the only exception is the corporate registration procedure for a single-member limited liability company with share capital of EUR 1, which can be conducted electronically. Additionally, recent changes to the applicable administrative rules have made it possible to obtain excerpts from the Business Registry online.

The overly bureaucratic registration procedure is expected to become more digitalised and investor-friendly thanks to the new Business Registration Act. The current draft of the Act extends the digital corporate registration procedure to all types of business entities. This Act is supposed to bridge the gap between the current legal framework and practice, facilitating online publication of articles of incorporation and articles of association. This will provide the basis for overcoming initial administrative obstacles, enabling practice to catch up with the law and facilitating further corporate digitalisation in Montenegro.

authors: Vasilije Grgurević, Marija Marinović