The amendment to Act No. 513/1991 Coll., the Commercial Code (the “Commercial Code”), brings changes which we look at in more detail below: a clean-up and the digitalisation of the Commercial Register.
From 2020, only electronic filings will be accepted, whether for an application to register, amend or delete a company’s details. The court will no longer consider paper filings.
In addition to improving efficiency, making the Commercial Register exclusively electronic will also increase transparency. This is to be achieved chiefly through a clean-up of the register, mainly removing inactive companies whose entries no longer serve any purpose.
The clean-up will also cover current forms of trading companies, but the focus will first be on so-called historical entities, such as state economic establishments and national committees.
Existing companies should take particular care if their registered capital and the amounts of contributions are still stated in Slovak crowns. Companies that entered liquidation before 1 October 2016 and are presumed insolvent will be struck off. Foreign entrepreneurs should also be careful – their branches, as well as the branches of Slovak entrepreneurs, will be affected if they fail to confirm the details recorded in the Commercial Register, or to propose changes to them, by 30 September 2021.
Interestingly, sole traders and other natural persons who are required to register in other registers (for example the Register of Public Sector Partners) will no longer appear in the Commercial Register, as their entry there has become redundant.
