Import Tariffs
The Customs Law, which has been in force since 1 January 2004, is modeled on current European standards and practice based on customs legislation of the European Union. Customs rates as provided in the Customs Tariff Law apply to goods originating in countries that trade with Serbia under the most-favored nation (MFN) principle. The latest amendments to the Serbian Customs Tariff Law were in December 2008. The goal of the annual amendments is to harmonize Serbian Customs Tariffs with the Combined Nomenclature of the EU.
As of January 1, 2009 Serbia is applying Customs Tariff Law harmonized with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1031/2008 of September 19, 2008 amending Annex to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature on the Common Customs Tariff (see Official Journal of the European Union” No. L 291, October 31, 2008).
By this measure, the Serbian Customs Tariff became more compatible with customs tariffs of WTO members and Free Trade Agreements became more achievable.
Trade Barriers
Serbia, as part of its efforts to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO), has already made major trade policy reforms to bring practices in full conformity with WTO requirements and eventual membership in the European Union (EU). Reforms have included the elimination of import quotas, reduction of import licensing and prohibitions, streamlining of customs procedures, and reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers.
A handful of laws establish the legal basis for governing the trade of goods in Serbia: Law on Foreign Trade Transactions (FTT) (adopted in November 2005), Law on Customs, Law on Customs Tariffs, and Decision on Classification of Goods on Regimes of Exports and Imports. The FTT law generally provides that foreign trade is liberal and without limitations. Once registered for performing business activities, a legal entity/entrepreneur may perform foreign as well as domestic operations. The Law deals with export/import of goods, national treatment, quantitative limitations and permits, special conditions for performing foreign trade operations, safeguard issues, temporary regimes and related measures. The Law is based on principles of competition and transparency, but also allows state intervention in cases that may harm the economy. It identifies several situations in which the state can investigate and respond to illegitimate and unfair competitive threats from a foreign state or business enterprise, including instances in which a foreign state provides subsidies, thus giving the entity privileged position against domestic companies. Goods under customs supervision and not imported may be the subject of sale. No special approval or administrative procedure is now required for re-export transactions.
Import Requirements and Documentation
Serbia uses a fairly standard import/export documentation process (generally requiring a bill-of-lading, etc.) With liberalization of the trade regime and reform of the trade/customs-related institutions, Serbia will continue to move in the direction of harmonizing their documentation with the EU.
For the most part, the import-licensing regimes were dismantled in Serbia. However, import licenses are required for narcotics (including psychotropic substances), medicines containing narcotics, precursors, vitamins, blood products, microorganisms, parts of human body etc, non-registered medicines and medical devices, endangered species of wild fauna and flora and protected plant and animal species, substances depleting the ozone layer and products containing such substances, poisonous substances, sources of ionizing radiation, waste, radioactive ores, radioactive elements, reactors, reactor parts, arms, military equipment and dual-use goods and asbestos, industrial explosive, hunting and sports arms and ammunition for such arms, precious metals, and banknotes.
U.S. Export Controls
On January 17, 2001, the U.S. Government issued an Executive Order discontinuing all business sanctions imposed on the then Federal Republic Yugoslavia. However, trade is still prohibited with 82 individuals, primarily indicted war criminals and former close associates of the Milosevic regime. To obtain a list of the 82 individuals, contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Treasury Department at (202) 622-2490.
Exporters from the U.S. must be aware that most technology can be exported from the United States to Serbia under general export licenses. Some equipment (e.g. dual-use technology) still requires validated export licenses from the Bureau of Industry and Security (formerly Bureau of Export Administration (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more information, contact BIS at (202) 482-4811.
Temporary Entry
Products may be brought into Serbia on a temporary basis and be exempted from customs duties in certain situations:
· Equipment temporarily sent by a foreign company to a Serbian company to produce goods or provide services for the foreign company;
· Equipment temporarily imported by a foreign contractor to perform construction, assembling, maintenance and similar works in Serbia;
· Raw materials temporarily imported for processing in Serbia and re-exported.
Serbia has renewed its membership to the Customs Convention on the Carnet ATA for Temporary Import of Goods.
Labeling and Marking Requirements
Labels must contain the following: title of the product, full address of the producer or full address of the importer, net quantity/weight/volume, ingredients, manner of storage (transport, use of maintenance), and pertinent consumer warnings. Technically complicated products must be accompanied by instructions on usage, the manufacturer’s specifications, and a list of authorized maintenance offices, warranty information, warranty period and other applicable data. All information must be in Serbian and affixed to (or accompanying) each product before customs clearance.
In accordance with the Law on Environment Protection, eco-labeling could be used on consumer goods – other than foodstuffs, beverages and pharmaceutical products – which produce less environmental pollution during their life cycle compared with other similar products, or were obtained from waste recycling. Ecological labels could be used under equal conditions on both domestically-produced and imported products. The regulation governing the use of the ecological label had been prepared in accordance with the EU eco-label scheme.
Prohibited and Restricted Imports
There is a limited list of prohibitions (temporary and/or permanent) against the importation of certain products based usually on technical conditions related to environmental protection. Products currently prohibited include:
- Second-hand motor vehicles, which do not have engines built according to at least Euro-3 standard referring to the maximum levels of allowed exhaust gas emission and noise (excludes products provided by humanitarian purposes);
- Hazardous waste;
- 19 poisonous substances (in accordance with the Law on Production and Circulation of Poisonous substances);
- wild species of plants and animals subject to protection
More information can be obtained from Serbia’s Customs Office at: www.fcs.yu.
Customs Regulations and Contact Information
Serbia Customs Administration
Address: Bulevar AVNOJ-a 155
11070 Novi Beograd
Web site: www.fcs.yu
Director: Mr. Predrag Petronijevic
Standards Overview
The Institute for Standardization of Serbia (ISS) is recognized by the Law on Standardization („Official Gazette of SCG” No. 44/05) as the only National Standards Body in Serbia. The Institute of Standardization is responsible for development of standards (which are considered voluntary under the law). However, there are a number of mandatory standards that are still applicable. The Action Plan is currently being prepared, which will provide for the schedule for either adopting particular mandatory standards as technical regulations or abolishing them as such. Serbian standards are being reviewed and overhauled to match WTO requirements, thereby eliminating potential technical barriers to trade. According to the Law on Standardization which entered into force on January 1, 2006, Serbian standards may also be published in the one of the official languages of the international organizations for standardization (ISO) and (IEC) and European committees for standardization CEN and CENELEC. ISS has chosen the English language.
By the end of 2007 the collection of Serbian standards and related documents comprised 14,254 documents.
The ISS is a full member of ISO and IEC, and has accepted the WTO TBT Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption, and Application of Standards (Annex 3 to the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade). Informing on standards and standards development is carried out in accordance with the above Code.
Information on particular standards can be obtained from the Information Centre of the Institute for Standardization of Serbia: Telephone: +381 11 254 72 93; E-mail:
infocentar@jus.org.yu, ljubica.petrovic@jus.org.yu.
The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development is responsible for standardization, technical regulations, and accreditation, as well as preparing of regulations in these areas. Also, each ministry is responsible for preparation of technical regulations within their scope of activities. In accordance with the draft law governing technical regulations, such regulations will be prepared and adopted by the ministries responsible for the subject matter in question.
The Law on Technical Requirements for Products and Conformity Assessment of Products with Prescribed Requirements („Official Gazette of SCG” No. 44/05) prescribes that products subject to technical regulations may not be placed on the market or used if they are not accompanied by the relevant certificates of conformity and marked in the prescribed manner. Technical regulations may refer to or incorporate standards. The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development keeps the register of technical regulations. The procedures for assessment of conformity with technical regulations are prescribed directly in technical regulations or indirectly in standards to which technical regulations refer or in technical specifications. Certificates of conformity are issued by conformity assessment bodies authorized by the Ministry. The Ministry maintains the Register of Authorized Conformity Assessment Bodies as a public record.
The importation of measuring instruments is unrestricted. They must fulfil the conditions prescribed by the Law on Metrology („Official Gazette of SCG” No. 44/05) and relevant regulations in order to be placed on the market or be used. The Directorate for Measures and Precious Metals, within the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development is responsible for implementation of this law.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management is responsible for quality control of agricultural and food products in foreign trade. The Law on Quality Control of Agricultural and Food Products in Foreign Trade („Official Gazette of FRY” No. 12/95, 28/96 and 59/98 and „Official Gazette of RS” No. 101/05) applies to imported and exported goods, to ensure compliance with quality requirements, including packaging, declaration, labeling and transportation requirements. According to the Decision on Designation of Food and Agricultural Products and their Manufactured Products Intended for Import and Export that are Subject to Quality Control („Official Gazette of FRY” No. 13/96 and 39/96), 53 groups of products are subject to import quality control and 8 groups of products are subject to export quality control. The certificates on quality are issued prior to the customs clearance of goods by the Sector for Inspectoral Supervision or Veterinary Inspectorate within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
Quality control on importation of certain agricultural and food products is performed for the purpose of determining conformity of such products with prescribed quality requirements, which qualify as technical regulations. However, where such quality requirements are not prescribed, quality control on importation is performed for the purpose of determining if such products, with respect to organoleptic characteristics and composition, comply with the characteristics inherent to such or similar products.
The purpose of quality control for products intended for export is to determine whether they comply with the prescribed export quality (which may be the quality contracted with a foreign buyer). If the export quality is not prescribed or contracted for a certain product, it must conform to quality regulations for the domestic market or to the quality to which, in accordance with requirements of foreign market or buyer, the products sold from consignment warehouses abroad must conform.
Standards Organizations
The Government of the Republic of Serbia issued the Decision on Establishing the Institute for Standardization of Serbia in February 2007 (originally, it was established on 1946). In accordance with the Law on Standardization and the above Decision the ISS shall be established as an independent non-profit organization. The bodies of the ISS shall be: the Assembly, the Managing Board, the Director, the Supervisory Board and the Expert Council.
The ISS has adopted the acronym SRPS as the designation of the Serbian standards and related documents. The majority of Serbian standards and related documents have been developed on the basis of international ISO and IEC and European standards and related documents, or on the basis of other developed country standards.
Activities of the Institute
The Institute shall:
- adopt, develop, review, amend and withdraw Serbian standards and related documents;
- ensure compliance of Serbian standards and related documents with European and international standards and related documents;
- maintain the register of Serbian standards and related documents in all stages of development thereof;
- participate in drafting and reviewing European and international standards and related documents that are adopted by European and international organizations for standardization in the areas of interest and needs of the Republic of Serbia, and for which the review or adoption of Serbian standards and related documents is to take place;
- cooperate with European and international organizations for standardization and national bodies for standardization of the countries signatories of relevant agreements in the area of standardization;
- carry out other tasks in accordance with the commitments from international agreements in the area of standardization that are binding on the Republic of Serbia;
- ensure accessibility to the general public of Serbian standards, related documents, publications, as well as of standards and publications of relevant European and international organizations and of other countries, and carry out the sale thereof;
- provide basis for preparation of technical regulations;
- prepare programs and annual plans for adoption of Serbian standards;
- act as the information center, in accordance with the requirements provided in relevant international agreements and commitments resulting from the membership in relevant European and international organizations for standardization;
- represent the interests of the Republic of Serbia in the field of standardization in European and international organizations for standardization, as well as in their bodies;
- approve the use of the mark of conformity with Serbian standards and related documents, in accordance with its rules;
- promote the application of Serbian standards and related documents;
- carry out other activities in the field of standardization in accordance with the law, the Decision on Establishing and the Statute.
Apart to the above mentioned activities the Institute is entrusted to carry out the activities prescribed by the relevant regulations of the Republic of Serbia by the time new regulations related to this kind of activities are passed.
In this regard the ISS still carries out activities related to the mandatory certification of products.
The Decision on Determining Goods Subject to Conditions for Exportation, Importation or Transit („Official Gazette of RS” No. 126/07) contains: the list of products subject to issuance of certificates of conformity on importation by the ISS or authorized conformity assessment body; the list of products subject to issuance of certificates on homologation on importation by the ISS; and the list of products (telecommunication equipment) subject to issuance of import consent by the Republic Agency for Telecommunications.
These documents are required prior to the customs clearance of goods.
·
ISS represents the interests of
Serbia in the international and European organizations for
standardization, such as:
- The International Organization for Standardization – ISO; status of a full member;
- The International Electro technical Commission – IEC; status of a full member; e
- IEC International System for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment – IECEE, with the Scheme for the recognition of test results – IECEE/CB Scheme; status of a full member;
- IEC Scheme for Certification to Standards for Electrical Equipment used in Explosive Atmospheres – IECEx; status of a full member;
- IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic Components – IECQ; status of a full member;
- European Committee for Standardization – CEN; Affiliate status;
- European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization – CENELEC; Affiliate status.
International agreements:
UN/ECE Agreement Concerning the Approval of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be fitted and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (temporary, i.e. it is expected that this activity will be transferred to the Ministry of Infrastructure soon).
The ISS conducts bilateral cooperation with the foreign organizations for standardization. The concluding of bilateral agreements is related to the work of joint commissions/committees for trade and economic cooperation between Serbia and other countries or it is anticipated by the appropriate international agreements and the free trade agreements.
Contact:
The Institute for Standardization of Serbia (ISS)
Stevana Brakusa 2
11030 Belgrade
Serbia
Telephone: +381.11. 35. 41.260
Fax: +381.11.35.41.257
E-mail: infocentar@jus.org.rs
Web: www.jus.org.rs
Post-office box: 2105
Zorica Mihajlovic, Senior Commercial Specialist
US Embassy Belgrade
Kneza Milosa 50
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
E-mail: zorica.mihajlovic@mail.doc.gov
NIST Notify U.S. Service
Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other Member countries. Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail subscription service that offers an opportunity to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations that can affect your access to international markets. Register online at Internet URL: http://www.nist.gov/notifyus/
Conformity Assessment
For the time being the ISS is performing conformity assessment in those cases where there are no authorized bodies for performing conformity assessment. The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development keeps the register of authorized conformity assessment bodies. The Government of Serbia has adopted the Regulation on Manner of Providing Information and Notification of Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment („Official Gazette of RS” No. 126/07), which prescribes that the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development is responsible for providing information on request with regard to technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and the ISS is acting as the enquiry point for standards. The group for performing these tasks within the Ministry is currently being established.
Product Certification
Every certified product must carry a certification marking. The certification marking indicates that the product has been the subject of appropriate testing and that it conforms to the provisions of the relevant regulations. There are no existing Mutual Recognition Agreements with any US organization or with any other countries.
Accreditation
Accreditation Body of Serbia (JUAT) administers the national accreditation service and is operating as an agency under the government of Serbia. In cooperation with its network of accredited calibration and testing laboratories, and bodies operating certification and inspection, it renders assistance to Serbian companies to enter the international market in accordance with the worldwide-recognized criteria. At the same time JUAT enables the national administrative bodies to entrust the implementation of the regulations within their competence to the bodies whose proficiency is being evaluated in accordance with the international criteria.
Following are duties and responsibilities of JUAT:
- assesses the level of training and competence of companies and other legal entities for the performance of duties of examination, establishment of weight and measure standards, control and certification of products, processes and services;
- performs certification of the management system and the certification of persons performing duties of compatibility assessment and performs other duties regarding the accreditation issues laid down by the law;
- adopts regulations defining accreditation criteria, rules and procedures in accordance with the requirements from the standard series EN 45000 and ISO 17000;
- maintains international cooperation in the field of accreditation and assessment of compatibility and representation of interests of Serbia in the field of accreditation;
- coordinates cooperation between the organizations on compatibility assessment in the field of multilateral and bilateral arrangements on mutual take-over of the accreditation system;
- maintains cooperation with the accreditation bodies of other countries as well as with international organizations in this field;
- keeps public registers of accredited organizations, authorized organizations for compatibility assessment and foreign organizations for compatibility assessment whose compatibility documents are recognized in Serbia;
- publishes the rules for the accreditation of organizations, public registers and information about the activities of the Accreditation Body by means of media, printed media and otherwise and carries out other duties laid down by the law.
Publication of Technical Regulations
The proposal for adopting a technical regulation may be submitted to the Ministry of Economy and Regional development by interested authorities, organizations, and other legal and natural persons, in the written form, and with the explanation containing the elements on the basis of which it is possible to assess the justifiability of the proposal. The Ministry assesses the proposal and notifies the party about the position taken within the prescribed period.
All interested authorities, organizations and other legal and natural persons may provide comments on draft technical regulations. For this purpose, the Ministry publishes on its website the title and abstract of the draft technical regulation, deadline for submitting comments and suggestions, as well as the information on how the draft may be obtained. The deadline for submitting comments may not be less than 60 days after the publication at the website, except in urgent circumstances.
The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development keeps records of the technical regulations under preparation, which includes information on the title of the draft technical regulation, its registration number, abstract, and designation of the Serbian standard or related document to which the regulation refers. Such records also contain information on the Serbian standards and related documents, European and international standards, EU technical regulations, and other regulations used in preparation of the technical regulation.
Adopted technical regulations are published in the Official Gazette of Serbia.
The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development keeps the Register of Technical Regulations. In addition, in accordance with the Regulation on Manner of Providing Information and Notification of Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment („Official Gazette of RS” No. 126/07), this Ministry is responsible for providing information and relevant documents to interested parties, upon their request, with regard to technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. The group for performing these tasks within the Ministry is currently being established. In addition, this Regulation provides for the procedure for notification of draft technical regulations to foreign countries, in accordance with provisions of relevant international agreements.
Labeling and Marking
The conformity mark, verifying conformity of the product with certain technical regulation, may be Serbian conformity mark or CE mark.
The Serbian conformity mark confirms that the product meets technical requirements and that the prescribed conformity assessment procedures have been observed. This mark is in the form of three capital letters ‘A’ connected in the shape of an equilateral triangle. The Serbian conformity mark is affixed to the product in such a manner as to be visible, and in case it cannot be affixed to the product, it must be affixed to the packaging and that fact noted in the accompanying documents. The detailed provisions for applying this mark are provided in the Decree on Manner and Procedures of Conformity Assessment („Official Gazette of SCG” No. 22/06).
The CE mark may be used only if the document on conformity with the EU regulations has been issued for the product in question, or if the document of conformity with the EU regulations is enclosed to each product.
Contacts
Accreditation Board of Serbia – JUAT
Mihaila Pupina 2, 11070 New Belgrade
Tel:(+381 11) 311 11 70
Fax:(+381 11) 313 03 74
E-mail: juat@drenik.net
Web: www.juat.gov.yu
Dr. Dejan Krnjajic, Director
Mihaila Pupina 2, 11070 New Belgrade
Tel:(+381 11) 313 03 73
Fax:(+381 11) 313 03 74
E-mail: dejan.krnjaic@ats.org.yu
Prof. dr. Slobodan Petrovic, President of the Board
Tel:(+381 11) 337 03 95
Fax:(+381 11) 337 03 87
E-mail: sloba@tmf.bg.ac.yu
Trade Agreements
On December 19, 2006, Serbia signed the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), which focuses on converting 31 existing bilateral deals into a multilateral document. Serbia has the largest net exports of all CEFTA signatory countries and therefore stands to benefit the most from CEFTA’s implementation. Apart from being a good signal to foreign investors, CEFTA will create a regional free trade area by December 31, 2010, with tariff-free trade in 100% of industrial products and 90% of agricultural products. CEFTA is a market of 30 million people. During 2007, Serbia and Croatia negotiated their differences over Serbia’s cigarette duties. Finally, in September 2007 the Serbian Parliament ratified the Agreement, and adopted changes to the law on tobacco, bringing Serbian legislature into line with the regulations of the EU, World Trade Organization and CEFTA. This law abolished the mandatory purchase of domestic tobacco and equals the excise tax on domestic and foreign cigarettes.
According to the Serbian Government report, Signatories to CEFTA posted USD 3.8 billion worth of trade in the first nine months of 2008, with Serbia accounting for 21.3% of the total. 90% of Serbia’s overall trade surplus comes from CEFTA deals. Almost 50% of all agriculture products imported by CEFTA countries in 2008 came from Serbia. CEFTA offers excellent prospects for economic development, and it is likely that new countries will seek to join the accord in the near future. The Ukraine could be the first to join CEFTA in 2009 or 2010, possibly followed by Belarus and Turkey.
After a lengthy period of negotiations, Serbia signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union. The signing of the SAA with the European Union in April 2008 opened the doors for Serbia to start systemic reforms and harmonize its legislation and implementation thereof with the EU standards. In January 2009, the Serbian parliament adopted a set of budget laws which include higher duties on some products and an amendment to the law on customs duties which will allow the unilateral implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement with the European Union. Under this agreement, Serbia will phase out and eventually abolish tariffs on most goods imported from the bloc’s 27 members. Import duties on all industrial products will have been fully scrapped by the end of a six-year transitional, while duties on some agriculture products will remain at between 20% and 80% of their 2008 levels even after six years. The United States restored Normal Trade Relations (Most-Favored Nation status) to Serbia in December 2003. This provides improved access to the U.S. market for goods exported from Serbia. In 2005, the U.S. Government designated Serbia as a beneficiary of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a program that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market in various eligible categories.
Serbia is also a beneficiary of Japan’s GSP (preferential duties on importation to Japan).
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