Overview of Greek company law
Greek company law distinguishes – as do many continental European legal systems – in principle between partnerships (general partnership/OHG-OE and limited partnership/KG-EE) and capital companies (limited liability company/GmbH-EPE, public limited company/AG-AE, and the private capital company IKE).
The choice of company form is often influenced less by purely legal considerations than by tax considerations, so that the tax implications of the respective legal form should always be taken into account when choosing a company form.
In recent years, Greek company law has undergone several comprehensive reforms adapting it to practical needs. Time-consuming bureaucratic procedures have been reduced; a company can today be established via the electronic one-stop shop e-ΥΜΣ within a few working days and largely without paper. With the IKE, a particularly flexible form of capital company has also been created, which has proven highly successful in practice and is now the form chosen for the majority of all newly established companies. The former requirement to publish in the Government Gazette has also been replaced by central electronic registration with the General Commercial Registry (ΓΕΜΗ).
Overall, Greek company law today offers a considerably more modern and cost-effective basis for investment than it did just a few years ago. When choosing a company form, in addition to tax aspects, the company’s purpose and the individual needs of the shareholders/partners in each particular case should always be taken into account.
(As of: July 2026. All information is provided without guarantee and subject to change.)