Obtaining PIN/OIB in Croatia

The personal identification number PIN (OIB in Republic of Croatia) is a permanent identification mark of each person used by public authorities in official records in their work and data exchange. The PIN is issued to Croatian citizens, legal entities with a registered office in the territory of the Republic of Croatia and foreign citizen and legal entities with whom there is a reason for monitoring in the territory of the Republic of Croatia.

The reason for monitoring foreign citizen and legal entities may come for several reasons: (i.) when a foreign person becomes a taxpayer under a special regulation, (ii.) when a foreign person becomes a taxpayer because he acquires taxable property tax and is entered in the official records in which the ownership of these assets is kept, (iii.) when a foreign person enters the acquisition of rights and obligations in the official records without becoming a taxpayer and (iv.) when required by a foreign citizen, due to obligations prescribed by special laws.

In practice PIN is required for doing business in Croatia, buying real estate, collection of claims against the debtor, for court or other proceedings, etc.

For the purpose of determining and assigning the PIN, the foreign person submits a request for determining and assigning the PIN to the local office of the Tax Administration according to the place where the reason for monitoring the foreign citizen or entity occurs, personally or through attorney.

For a foreign citizen, the valid documents that must be presented (in practice in enough in the copy) with the application are:(i) passport or (ii) European identity card or (iii) identification document from the country of citizenship with proof of the corresponding citizenship. The foreign legal entity must submit the founding act with the request for determining and awarding the PIN (decision or excerpt from the competent register which must be in Croatian or translated into Croatian by a certified court interpreter).

When the Request is submitted on behalf of a foreign person (citizen and entity) by an Attorney, the Power of Attorney must be submitted in addition to the aforementioned documentation. The Power of Attorney must be issued for the procedure of determining and assigning the PIN and must be drawn up in Croatian or translated into Croatian. The Power of Attorney is kept in the local office of the Tax Administration.

If the information is true and correct, the competent Tax Administration issues a certificate of the assigned personal identification number. According to the Croatian Law, the Tax Administration submits a certificate on the assigned PIN to the taxpayers of the number no later than 8 days from the moment of requesting. The PIN entered in the certificate of assigned personal identification number serves as the basis for entry in all official records.

If you need legal assistance and help in the Republic of Croatia during this process, feel free to contact us anytime.