Serbia: Law on deadlines for settling financial debts

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Serbia: Law on deadlines for settling financial debts

vucenovic.jpg

Gordana Vucenovic

The Parliament of Serbia has adopted the new law on deadlines for settling financial debts in commercial transactions. The law came into force on December 25 2012 and will be applicable from March 31 2013.

The main provisions of the law refer to the deadlines of settling the existing debts between companies, and debts between companies on one side and the public sector on the other side:

The legal deadline of settling the existing debts between companies is limited to 60 days. This provision is applicable even in the following cases:

  • When the deadline of settling of debts is not determined by the agreement between parties;

  • When there is no agreement between parties; and

  • When the deadline determined by the agreement is longer than 60 days.

In the following cases, the debtor is exempted from the above described provisions:

  • Payments by instalments;

  • Payments by bills of exchange; and

  • Payments in the agricultural sector.

The legal deadline of settling the existing debts between companies and the public sector:

  • In the event when the debtor is a public institution, the deadline for settlement can not be longer than 45 days;

  • In the event when the debtor is the fund for health insurance of the Republic of Serbia, the deadline can not be longer than 90 days; and

  • In the event the debtor is a company, the deadline can not be longer than 60 days.

In all events, the deadline for settlement of debts starts running with the first day from the date of the receipt of invoice.

Gordana Vucenovic (gordana.vucenovic@eurofast.eu)

Eurofast Global, Belgrade Office/Serbia

Tel: +381 11 3241 484

Website: www.eurofast.eu

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Lindsay Clayton’s arrival at Baker McKenzie continues the firm’s storied pursuit of ex-US government lawyers, a strategy reinforced by robust World Tax rankings
Shared transaction semantics, governed data and reusable ERP design may prove the most significant benefits of the UK's move to Peppol
As pillar two reshapes global tax competition, the UK faces a crucial challenge: how to remain attractive to multinationals without sacrificing tax revenues
Pillar two may be raising less than expected, but professor René Matteotti says the regime is still changing multinational tax behaviour
Multinationals importing goods into Brazil may need to align TP files and customs documentation more closely as authorities gain new tools to challenge related-party transactions
The private equity-backed deal hands Grant Thornton immediate and impressive US scale, but World Tax data suggests the firm still has work to do to gain recognition
From Instagram content to £100m transactions, the founder of Thomas & Co International discusses building a modern tax and accounting firm for business founders
Growing GAAR scrutiny is driving taxpayers to look beyond legal form and demonstrate the commercial rationale underpinning tax-efficient structures
Pillar two has been clients’ ‘biggest headache’ but also a driver of growth for MHA, which believes it has the edge over its big four rivals
Public country-by-country reporting is exposing multinational tax data to investors, journalists and competitors, creating fresh risks for businesses
Gift this article