[ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS ENTITY IN GREECE] 220
ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS ENTITY IN GREECE 1. Types of Business Entities The main business entities in Greece are the following: i) the Société Anonyme (S.A.); ii) the Private Company (P.C.); iii) the Limited Liability Company (Ltd); iv) the General Partnership and the Limited Partnership and v) the Branch. There are also several types of business entities that are used for specific purposes such as the very popular branches/offices of foreign shipping companies of art. 25 of law 27/1975 and the branches and companies of law 89/1967 (for the purposes of the present presentation, the branch and the business entities of laws 27/1975 and 89/1967 are presented only briefly). Furthermore, there are also specific types of companies that are used for specific types of undertakings such as the Maritime Company or the Maritime Company for Leisure Ships. The basic distinctions between the companies are: i) the commercial character; ii) the legal personality and iii) the capital or personal character. The commercial companies are treated as merchants (e.g., they have the obligation to have commercial/accounting books, they can go bankrupt etc.). Some companies are considered commercial depending on their purpose (i.e., if their purpose is commercial) whether other companies are considered commercial by law (i.e., regardless of their purpose). All the above-mentioned companies have a legal personality, meaning that they are independent subjects, separate from the partners, having their own rights and obligations. Furthermore, they have their own property/assets, and they are not liable for the liabilities of the partners. Conversely, the
companies do not have any right over the personal property of the partners. The legal personality is granted after the conclusion of the articles of association and the compliance with the publicity/registration obligations that are designated to each type of legal entity/company. The personal companies are focused on the personal, active participation of the partners, meaning that any accumulation of capital is also accompanied by continuous labour/services and cooperation of the partners. On the other hand, at the capital companies, the persons of the partners are irrelevant, the participation in the company is in principle transferable and the company is not affected by any changes of the partners. However, in Greece, some types of capital companies have also more or less personal elements. The Société Anonyme is the archetypical capital company. The Private Company and the Limited Liability Company are also capital but with several personal elements, the latter more than the former. The Partnerships are personal companies. 1.1 Description 1.1.1 The Société Anonyme (S.A.) The S.A. is a capital company, it has a legal personality, and it is by law commercial. It can be private or listed. It is governed mainly by the law 4548/2018, which entered into force on 01.01.2019. The S.A. can be established by one or more persons, natural or legal entities. The capital is divided in shares, which are, in principle, transferable. The shares are attributed to the shareholder rights such as participating and voting at the General Assembly and receiving dividends.
ILN Corporate Group – Establishing a Business Entity Series
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