For more than ten years, Croatian companies, sole traders, associations and rental hosts have been receiving payment slips of €80–200 for entry into "Business Registers" that look like a legal obligation — but are in fact a misleading commercial offer. It's time to put a stop to it.
When you register a company, a trade, an association, or become a tourist rental host in Croatia, official-looking letters soon start arriving at your business address — notices for entry into a "Business Register". Enclosed is a pre-filled payment slip, usually for €80–130, sometimes up to €200.
The letters use an official tone, cite deadlines, and threaten price increases if payment is not made on time. Only in fine print at the bottom does it say the payment is not mandatory and has nothing to do with any official state register — it is a commercial offer of highly questionable value.
The letters arrive at the worst possible moment: while new entrepreneurs are buried in incorporation paperwork. Fearing penalties, many pay, convinced they are settling a state obligation. The companies behind these letters often have a single employee and substantial revenue — and when the media starts writing about them, they shut down and reopen under a new name.
Data on newly registered companies, trades and associations is public. The senders systematically monitor it, targeting exactly those who don't yet know their real obligations.
The letter's form, tone and references to deadlines imitate an official decision. A ready-to-pay slip is enclosed, while the "non-mandatory" nature is hidden in fine print.
A deadline is stated after which the price increases, creating urgency and fear of sanctions — a classic manipulation technique.
Those who pay get an "entry" in a register nobody uses, with no official or business value whatsoever.
This business model is known worldwide as "directory fraud" and "misleading invoices", and in many countries it is treated as a criminal offence. European institutions have been documenting and prosecuting it for over 15 years. The paper trail is long:
The European Parliament, after receiving more than 400 petitions from small businesses across Europe, adopts a Resolution on misleading directory companies, demanding stricter laws, sanctions and effective protection of entrepreneurs from member states.
European Parliament resolution →Croatia adopts the Act on Prohibited Advertising, which explicitly bans misleading business-to-business advertising and prescribes fines. The legal tool exists — it is simply not being applied to these cases.
Act on Prohibited Advertising (Croatian) →The European Commission announces a tightening of Directive 2006/114/EC specifically because of misleading directory company scams. In the public consultation, 84% of respondents supported stronger EU-wide protection.
Commission Communication COM(2012) 702 →Swedish courts rule that sending misleading payment requests constitutes fraud — an important legal precedent in the European Union.
More at EUIPO →Two Croatian nationals are arrested in Serbia over an identical fraud scheme worth €50,000.
Article in Jutarnji list (Croatian) →Business weekly Lider publicly names three companies sending entrepreneurs payment slips of 390–480 kuna for "register" entries. None responded to the journalist's questions about client numbers or the actual value of the service.
Column in Lider (Croatian) →The Munich court finds three defendants guilty of commercial gang fraud for sending misleading invoices: prison sentences and confiscation of around €200,000 in unlawful gains.
EUIPO announcement of the ruling →Residential building representatives become targets too: payment slips of €80 arrive, with the amount doubling after eight days. Experts and institutions repeat — registration is not mandatory, do not pay.
Article on tportal (Croatian) →The Croatian Chamber of Economy warns entrepreneurs about non-mandatory "registers" yet again. Warnings from chambers, banks and the media have been piling up for years while the practice continues undisturbed — warnings are clearly not enough.
HGK warning (Croatian) →per year — that is what misleading invoice and fake register scams bring to criminal groups across Europe, according to a joint Europol–EUIPO report.
Europol–EUIPO report →The European Parliament demanded action back in 2008. Germany and Sweden hand down convictions. Croatia has a law that bans this kind of advertising — but does not apply it. That is why we demand that the institutions finally act.
Verify the sender before paying anything — official registers (Court Register, Trades Register) do not send commercial offers with payment slips.
Don't pay anything that isn't legally required. If unsure, ask your accountant, FINA, or the competent register.
Follow warnings from the competent institutions and read the fine print — that's where the truth about the "non-mandatory offer" hides.
Share experiences with fellow entrepreneurs and report suspicious letters to the market inspectorate and the police.
Every entrepreneur, new or experienced, has at least once found a payment slip in their mailbox that looks like an official state document. Although the fine print states it is a "non-mandatory offer", the visual identity of these slips is designed to mislead you.
With this petition we want to gather a critical mass of voices to demand the following from the competent institutions — the Ministry of Economy, the State Attorney's Office and the market inspectorate:
A ban on using formats that imitate official payment slips and decisions for commercial purposes.
Penalties for companies using aggressive and deceptive marketing practices targeting entrepreneurs.
Systematic warnings to new entrepreneurs by the competent registers immediately upon incorporation.
Your signature means:
Your data is strictly confidential. It will be used solely for the purposes of this initiative (compiling an aggregate report and demonstrating the scale of the problem), your names will not be published, and all personal data will be permanently deleted once the initiative concludes.
We call on the media and the business and tech communities: write about this, share this page, and help the information reach every new entrepreneur before the first fake payment slip does.
This story has been running for over a decade and has it all: documented EU convictions, arrests in the region, and the silence of Croatian institutions. Write about it.
Share this page with your members, clients and colleagues — especially those just setting up a company or trade.
Share on social networks and in your communities. One share can save someone €200 — and send a message that we won't be scammed.