New regulations on business entities to be implemented on October 1 – Problem with stamps?

In Serbia, it often happens that written rules don’t apply in practice. Businessmen are often asked “where’s the stamp?”, although stamps are supposed to be history. The new amendments to the Company Law, which should be implemented on October 1, as eKapija learns, will try to put a stop to that.

The director of the team for IT and enterprises at the cabinet of the prime minister of Serbia, Nenad Paunovic, explains that the problem so far has been down to the fact that other regulations proscribe the use of stamps.

– With the new amendments, these regulations will be moved from other acts. The draft lists the articles in other laws which are no longer in effect – he explained at the working breakfast at the Slovenian Business Club.

Paunovic reminded that the digitalization was the government’s first priority and that the state worked on it through education, as what’s lacking is workforce, financial incentives and amendments to regulations, that is, the framework for operations. According to him, the most important item are amendments to regulations.

– Our idea is for Serbia to become a good place for running global digital businesses, instead of local entrepreneurs opening companies in other state, as has been the case so far. Some things we’ve already done. Last year, a decision was reached on invoices no longer requiring signatures and stamps, the law on foreign exchange operations was amended, the import of prototypes and components with Wi-Fi and communications parts was loosened, innovative payment solutions were adopted... – our interviewee adds.

IT legal expert Zarko Pticek says for eKapija that the law doesn’t bring many new features and that he hasn’t noticed any provisions concerning penalties. Our interviewee reminds that the Company Law, which came into effect on February 1, 2012, proscribes the abolition of stamps.

– A company does not oblige to use stamps in business letters and other documents of the company, unless otherwise proscribed by law – says an article of this law.

– Citing this article, I registered my own company Pticek with the Business Registers Agency in 2014 without a stamp – our interviewee explains.

He adds that problems occur because it is not the law, but by-laws, that people comply with.

– They mostly cite Article 60 of the Rulebook on Postal Services, which proscribes the use of stamps. This is ridiculous, as there’s a law, and they are citing a by-law – Pticek adds.

Our interviewee says that the law is enforced inconsistently, because “when you get bills from public enterprises, they don’t feature stamps”.

– They then refer to being large companies, and the law should be the same for small and large companies – Pticek believes.

He also reminds that the NBS had adopted amendments to by-laws in the field of payment transactions, specifying provisions pertaining to non-compulsory use of stamps by companies. It was said at the time that banks can’t refuse to provide payment services merely because a client doesn’t want to use a stamp in their dealings with the bank. Our interviewee reminds that some banks opposed this decision.

Whether history repeats itself or stamps become history will be known on October 1.

S.S.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Slovenački poslovni klub Beograd

Pticek

Slovenian Business Club

Nenad Paunovic

Zarko Pticek

stamps

Company Law

amendments to the Company Law

abolition of stamps

law on foreign exchange operations

Rulebook on Postal Services