Slovenia: Business Environment

Accounting Rules

Tax Year: January 1st to December 31st.
Accounting Standards: The accounting in Slovenia should be in line with the law (Accountancy Act - in Slovenian only) and the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) as valid for the EU member states.
Accounting Regulation Bodies: Slovenian Institute of Auditors
Court of Audit
Government Budget Supervision Office
Accounting Reports: The New Slovenian accounting system was finalized in accordance with international accounting standards and general accounting principles accepted in the EU. Business books are kept on a double-entry bookkeeping bases except for small entrepreneurs.

Annual reports of entrepreneurs and personal companies should comprise at least the balance sheet and income statement.

Annual reports of small share capital companies whose shares are not listed on the stock exchange should as a minimum containt balance sheet, income statement and annexes with an explanation of the reports stipulated by law.

Annual reports produced by large and medium-sized capital companies, dual companies and small companies whose shares are listed on the stock exchange should contain balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statements, statement on changes in equity and explanatory annexes as stipulated by law.
Publication Requirements: Companies should publish an annual financial report which must be disclosed within a period of 3 months after the end of the fiscal year to the agency called AJPES. Audit reports are compulsory for large and medium-sized companies and small companies with securities traded on an organized market. Audits must be carried out within 6 months. Annual reports accompanied with the auditor's report shall be submitted to the AJPES agency within 8 months.
Professional Accountancy Bodies: Association of Accountant Services , in Slovenian.
Section of accountants
Certification and Auditing: The standards of accounting, auditing and assesment are set by the Slovenian Institute of Auditors (in Slovenian only). An auditor's report on financial statements shall be prepared and signed by a certified auditor. For more information consult the Auditing Act.
You can contact an external auditor: Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte.
Accounting News: Accountancy web portal (in Slovene only)
Government agency gathering annual reports of all companies, offering also financial analyses, and credit ratings
International accountancy publishing house website (in Slovene only)
IAS Plus

Tax Rates

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax: Value added tax or (in Slovene): davek na dodano vrednost (DDV).
Tax Rate: 20%
Reduced Tax Rate: Slovenia applies a reduced VAT rate of 8.5% on certain categories of goods and services, including water supplies, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment for disabled persons, books, newspapers, hotel accommodation, foodstuffs, agricultural inputs…
Other Consumption Taxes: Products for which excise duty is paid are alcohol and alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, mineral oils and natural gas, electricity, coal and coke. More detailed information on excise duties is available on the European Commission website.

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Corporate Taxes

Company Tax: 20%
Capital Gains Taxation: Capital gains are treated as ordinary income, although gains arising from a transaction subject to the EC merger directive are exempt.
Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: Apart from depreciation allowance and company loss that can be carried forward for the following seven years, several tax reliefs are in place for: investment in development; employing disabled persons; carrying out traineeship; donations; voluntary supplementary pension insurance; hiring of unemployed people; investment funds, pension funds, insurance companies and other venture capital companies.
Other Corporate Taxes: Social security contributions, transfer tax.

Country Comparison For Corporate Taxation

	Slovenia	Eastern Europe & Central Asia	الولايات المتحدة	Germany
Number of Payments of Taxes per Year	22.0	41.7	11.0	16.0
Time Taken For Administrative Formalities (Hours)	260.0	313.9	187.0	215.0
Total Share of Taxes (% of Profit)	35.4	41.2	46.8	48.2

Source: Doing Business - Last Available Data.

Individual Taxes

Tax Rate

Personal Income Tax	Rate varies between 16 and 41% according to the amount of the income
From EUR 0 to 7,410	16%
From EUR 7,410 to 14,820	27%
Above EUR 14,820	41%

Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: General individual tax deduction valid for every taxpayer is based on the amount of the yearly income. For more details consult the Guide on Slovenian Taxation. There are also some further individual tax deductions for disabled persons, for seniors, for students and for dependent children or other dependent family member.
Special Expatriate Tax Regime: There is no special tax regime for expatriates.

Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed: See the list of the conventions signed.
Withholding Taxes: Dividends: 0/15%, Interest: 0/15%, Royalties: 15%
Bilateral Agreement: Slovenia and Egypt are not bound by a double taxation treaty.

Sources of Fiscal Information

Tax Authorities: Tax Administration office website
Ministry of Finance website
Other Domestic Resources: Customs Administration office website
Guide to Slovene Tax legislation
Consult Taxation trends in the European Union.

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Intellectual Property

National Organizations: The body responsible for industrial property is the SIPO, Slovenian Intellectual Property Office.
Regional Organizations: Member of European Patent Organisation (EPO) and member of Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market of the EU (OHIM).

National Regulation and International Agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Industrial Property Act	20 years
Trademark Industrial Property Act	10 years (renewable indefinitely)	Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Industrial Property Act	5 years (renewable, for a maximum of total 25 years)
Copyright Copyright and related rights Act	70 years after author's death	WIPO Copyright Treaty

Legal Framework

Independence of Justice: Judiciary in Slovenia is largely independent, though it is overburdened with cases which may take long time to close.
Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Yes, the discrimation based on nationality, race, sex, language, religion, political or other beliefs, financial wealth, social status, education or any other personal characteristic is prohibited by the constitution.
The Language of Justice: The judicial language used in the country is Slovenian.
Recourse to an Interpreter: Having an interpreter is possible.
Sources of the Law and Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1991 and - being a member of the EU - the conditions of the Community legislation.
Checking National Laws Online: Official Slovenian Gazzette website where all the laws are published (in Slovene only)
National Assembly website on legislation
English translation of legislation on data protection
French, German and English translation of the Constitution of Slovenia
English translation of the constitution and law on courts

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Standards

National Standards Organizations: Slovenian Institute for Standardisation
Slovenian Metrology Institute
Integration in the International Standards Network: The rules of accreditation, testing, certification and quality control are in line with European standards SIST EN 45000 and international standards ISO 17000 according to the rules and guidelines of EA, ILAC and IAF of which Slovenian accreditation agency is a member. Slovenian institute for standardization is a full member of CEN, ISO, IEC, CENELEC and ETSI.
Classification of Standards: SIST + 4-digit number. When an international, European or other national standard is transposed as a Slovenian standard, the SIST acronym shall be prefixed to the designation of the source standard, for example: SIST ISO 710-6, SIST EN 1080, SIST DIN 1995-1.
Online Consultation of Standards: Catalogue of Slovenian Standards (SIST)
Certification Organizations: Slovenian Institute for Standardisation
Slovenian accreditation agency (in Slovene only)

Business Practices

General Information: Kwintessential , A brief overview on culture, customs and etiquette
Opening Hours and Days: Bank branches have a very varied working hours but majority do have a lunch break. They are mostly open Monday to Friday from around 8 AM to around noon and from around 2 PM to around 5 PM.
Public administrations are opened Monday to Friday from 8 AM to noon and from 1 PM to 3 PM. On the other hand, private and international offices are open from 8 AM to 4 PM and especially in bigger cities also from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Most shops are open Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM, on Saturdays from 8 AM to noon. Some big hypermarkets in major cities are open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 9 PM and on Sundays from 9 AM to 3 PM.

Public Holidays

New Year	1st and 2nd January
Slovene Cultural Day	8th February
Easter (Sunday and Monday)	Movable feast
Day of Uprising against (WW-II) Occupation	27th April
International Labour Day	1st and 2nd May
Statehood Day	25th June
Assumption Day	15th August
Reformation Day	31st October
All Saints Day	1st November
Christmas	25th December
Independence and Unity Day	26th December

Periods When Companies Usually Close

New Year	1 week between Christmas and New Year
1st May	1 week from 27th April to 2nd May

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