Electronic stamps live on in 60 acts – NALED requiring enabling electronic authorization of documents in commercial sector

The National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) reported today that it advocated the enabling of the usage of electronic stamps in the commercial sector.

An electronic stamp would be an innovation in business activities in Serbia, as companies can’t have their own qualified electronic signatures at the moment. E-stamps would enable legal entities to authorize electronic documents, thereby providing a more quality protection compared to classic stamps, says the NALED report.

It was pointed out that the electronic stamp lived on in 60 laws and by-laws and that it needed to be used, even though the state had formally decided to relieve the commercial sector of the need to stamp documents.

A considerable number of acts which have kept using the stamp were adopted or amended following the adoption of the Company Law, contrary to the efforts to unburden businessmen of the unnecessary paperwork, NALED pointed out.

Stamping is obligatory in 10 laws, among which are the laws on trademarks, the State Audit Institution, public agricultural goods storage, protection of industrial design, international road transport, obligation relations, geographical indication, associations and foundations.

The remaining 60 decrees, regulations, decisions and guides also mention the stamp, but most of them, as NALED claims, are practically illegal (i.e. the parts related to obligatory stamping), as the stamp is not mentioned in the laws based on which they were adopted.

It costs 1,660 to 2,800 dinars to make a stamp, which is not a big expense, but the amount of paperwork the commercial sector needs to have stamped each day leads to considerable expenses. The action plan for improving Serbia’s position on the World Bank’s Doing Business list envisions the consideration of the possibility of abolishing stamps by equalizing them with an authorized person’s electronic signature, NALED says.

It was announced that the organization, with support by the Embassy of Great Britain and the British Good Governance Fund, will carry out an analysis of the current state, as well as expenses and benefits from the elimination of stamps, and propose amendments to the acts abrogating its use.

NALED Beograd

Svetska Banka-WB Beograd

National Alliance for Local Economic Development

NALED

electronic stamp

electronic signature

e stamp

electronic documents

stamping documents

Company Law

Law on Trademarks

Law on State Audit Institution

Law on Public Warehouses for Agricultural Products

Law on Protection of Industrial Design

Law on International Law Transport

Law on Contracts and Torts

Law on Indications of Geographical Origin

Law on Associations and Foundations

Doing Business list

World Bank