According to recent media reports, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications in Serbia's newly formed government, Rasim Ljajic, stated that a free trade agreement between Serbia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) should be signed come November, while outlining that at this stage, the matter is out of Serbia's hands and fully dependent on the EEU ...
The Serbian Parliament has recently adopted amendments to the Criminal Code. The amendments include a significant overhaul of the legal framework for white collar crimes, touching upon the rules relevant for antitrust enforcement as well. While the Serbian Criminal Code previously penalized antitrust infringements spearheaded by the responsible managers, the relevant provision was relatively vague and targeted chiefly dominance abuse ...
To the untrained eye, technology and the judiciary sector may seem rather far apart. IT is ever changing and dynamic, while courts are by design deliberate and slow. However, even the most resistant institutions are not immune to change; Serbian courts now appear to be further steps towards incorporating new technology for the ultimate goal of greater efficiency ...
According to the recent amendments of the Labour Law (“Official Gazette of RS” no. 75/2014) (the “Law”) payslips are now an enforceable document. The Law has authorised the relevant Minister to further prescribe content to be contained on a payslip, by adopting the Rulebook on Payslip content (“Official Gazette of RS” no. 90/2014) ...
As of 31 December 2018, the Central Registry of Ultimate Beneficial Owners was established within the Serbian Business Registers Agency (the “Registry”), in line with the Law on Ultimate Beneficial Owners (“Official Gazette of the RoS no. 41/2018). In addition, the Ministry of Economy issued guidelines which provide more information on the implementation of certain aspects of this Law (the “Guidelines”) ...
After two long years of analysing and debating, the Serbian Parliament adopted changes to the Bankruptcy Law and they have entered into force. The idea was to improve the position of secured creditors and to provide clarity to certain provisions that caused conflicting interpretations in practice. Changes will apply only to bankruptcies initiated after the changes entered into force ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently fined four undertakings for bid rigging in the public procurement for the maintenance of train wagons. The contracting authority, the "Nikola Tesla" power plant, which represents the largest electricity-producing complex in Serbia, informed the Commission about possible collusion in public procurement for repair services for the train wagons it uses in coal transportation ...
As we are slowly nearing the mid-point of 2016, it is a good time to look back on the export values of companies in Serbia during the previous year, as it is made possible by a set of Serbian Ministry of Finance's recently published data in this regard. According to the Ministry, the total value of the top 15 exporters in the first seven months of 2015 had totalled at approximately EUR 2.2 billion, asFiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) led the way with an export value of EUR 814 million ...
At the end of 2016 the Serbian Parliament adopted changes to Serbian tax laws, introducing a number of important changes in the area of VAT, excise duties and general tax procedures. Amendments to the laws governing these areas were adopted at the very end of 2016 – on the 28th of December 2016 ...
Media reports are letting us know that the "Serbia - A Strategic Crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe," conference was held in Paris on 15 September, where the French companies were presented with the political and economic environment in Serbia, as well as with the ensuing investment opportunities and the possibility of financing economic projects ...
Over the last 10 years, considerable legislative efforts have been made towards creating a favourable framework for financing agribusiness and agricultural production in Serbia. The latest piece of legislation in that sector is a law on secured pre-harvest financing. Looking back, in 2005 Serbia introduced the national strategy on agricultural development (the Strategy), which outlined obstacles and set goals with regard to financing agribusiness and agricultural production ...
European Court of Human Rights Considers an Employer's Right to Monitor EmployeesIn its recent judgment Bărbulescu v. Romania, the European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") considered an employer's right to monitor an employee's work computer and an employee's right to privacy ...
The Slovenian National Assembly adopted the Class Action Law, which will implement an important institute to the Slovenian legal system, i.e. mechanism of class action. This mechanism is already applied in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden, but is yet to be implemented in numerous EU member states. The new mechanism of class action will provide for the injured parties, both natural and legal persons, to file a compensation claim in case of mass harm situations ...
Slovenia has amended the Financial Operations, Insolvency Proceedings and Compulsory Dissolution Act (ZFPPIPP or the Insolvency Act) again, following amendments in 2013, amending preventive restructuring, simplified compulsory settlement and personal bankruptcy proceedings. Amendments to the Insolvency Act, which were adopted by the National Assembly on 31 March 2016, will come into force on 26 April 2016 ...
Judging by industry reports, it seems that another rich tourist season is in the making for Slovenia. The spas are working at full capacity during Easter and May holidays, and both international and domestic guests are pouring in ...
The new Slovenian Public Procurement Act, the ZJN-3 ("Procurement Act"), enters into force on 1 April 2016. After a long period of dual regulation of the general and utility areas of public procurement, the new Procurement Act unifies both areas in a single act, thus invalidating the existing Public Procurement Act - ZJN-2, and the Act Regulating Public Procurement in Water, Energy, Transport and Postal Services - ZJNVETPS ...
The new Slovenian Public Procurement Act, the ZJN-3 ("Procurement Act"), enters into force on 1 April 2016. After a long period of dual regulation of the general and utility areas of public procurement, the new Procurement Act unifies both areas in a single act, thus invalidating the existing Public Procurement Act - ZJN-2, and the Act Regulating Public Procurement in Water, Energy, Transport and Postal Services - ZJNVETPS ...
On 12 March 2015, the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency ("Agency") initiated proceedings against Hyundai Avto Trade d.o.o. ("HAT"), the national distributor of Hyundai vehicles, together with a network of authorised repair shops for Hyundai motor vehicles ...
According to latest news reports, Plinovodi – the company managing Slovenian gas pipelines, will be brought under majority state control, while the energy company, Petrol, is due to secure a majority stake in the gas wholesaler Geoplin under a contract signed this month. It should be noted that the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) and Petrol are currently the largest Geoplin shareholders. Geoplin, in turn, is the sole shareholder of Plinovodi ...
Last week's news reports from Slovenia are letting us know that the Slovenian state holding company (SDH) decided to privatise Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), the country's biggest bank, through initial public offering (IPO) ...
In a recent statement to the press, the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, labelled the Serbian spas as great tourism potentials and 'undiscovered gems', before continuing to declare Slovenian interest for investing in them ...
There is encouraging news for those with plans of getting involved in a start-up project in Slovenia, as theSlovenian Enterprise Fundhas announced almost EUR 5 million to support innovative start-ups this year ...
Serbia – Executive Summary of Qualification of a Director's Mandate (in a local or foreign company) This article, authored by Jelena Danilović, was originally published in the 2016 'Social Security for Directors Working in Multiple Jurisdictions', published by World Services Group.Domestic Rules1. Social security regimeRegistered legal representatives i.e ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") continues its diligent examination of the Serbian competitive landscape in specific industries, this time with inquiries in two more industries – sportswear (including footwear and sporting equipment) and oil (petroleum products). Once again, the aim behind the market test was to identify potential issues on the relevant markets and provide broader insight into the functioning of the relevant markets ...
Following the announcement of economic measures aimed towards responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Serbian Government issued two regulations on 10 April 2020 that determine the conditions and criteria for compliance of the state aid (i) for remedying the negative effects caused byCOVID-19 and (ii) for remedying a serious disturbance in the economy caused byCOVID-19, whereas both regulations will be valid until 1 July 2021 ...
