Serbia: Changes to VAT law

The Serbian Parliament on 9 December 2022 adopted the following amendments—effective 1 January 2023—to the value added tax (VAT) law:

• The scope of foreign entities which do not have the obligation to register for VAT (i.e., to appoint a tax representative in Serbia) has been extended to include entities that sell goods that are in customs storage procedure in accordance with customs regulations.
• In the case of electricity supply or related services, the supply is considered completed or provided on the day of issuance of an invoice.
• In the case of supply of goods or services between related parties for consideration, if the consideration is lower than market value and if the acquirer does not have the right to deduct input VAT in full, the tax base is the market value of those goods or services, excluding VAT.
  • In accordance with the corporate income tax law, related parties include persons with whom there are family or other personal ties, management, ownership, membership, financial or legal ties, including the relationship between an employer and employee, and members of the employee's family household.
  • Market value represents the total amount that a buyer of goods or services would pay at the moment of supply of such goods or services to an independent supplier for supply in Serbia.
• The tax base for supply of goods or services in exchange for a multi-purpose voucher is the fee paid for the multi-purpose voucher (i.e., the monetary value stated on the voucher itself), without VAT.
• In the case of electricity supply from renewable energy sources, the tax base is the amount of compensation for consumed electricity determined in accordance with the law regulating the use of renewable energy sources, without VAT.
• The right to deduct input VAT can be exercised on the basis of an electronic invoice that has been accepted (or that is considered accepted in accordance with the law regulating electronic invoicing) and in the tax period in which the tax liability arose, regardless of whether the electronic invoice was issued on the day the tax liability arose or after that day.

Read a December 2022 report [PDF 206 KB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Serbia