Amendments to the Customs Law (Off. Gazette of RS no. 95/2018, 91/2019 – other law, 144/2020 and 118/2021, “the Law”) have been published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia no. 138/2022 of December 12, 2022. A brief overview of key novelties shall be presented in the upcoming text.

Import and export of goods through border crossings

According to the respective amendments, import of goods into customs area of the Republic of Serbia and export of goods from the said customs area is only allowed through border crossings:

• which are, under special regulations, designated as border crossings for commercial and passenger transport, according to customs and other regulations; and
• in periods when they are open for transport.

Import and export of goods that are subject to phytosanitary, veterinary and other prescribed controls are allowed only through border crossings designated by special regulations for import and export of such goods, and which have appropriate offices of relevant inspections.

Novelties regarding penalty provisions

Articles 265-270 of the Law stipulate new penalty provisions i.e., misdemeanour offences and fines for legal entities, entrepreneurs, responsible persons in legal entities and natural persons who violate provisions of this regulation.

In relation thereto, the Law prescribes that misdemeanour proceedings instituted until the day of entry into force of these amendments will be completed according to the regulations under which they were instituted. Exceptionally, if it is more favourable for the offender, such proceedings will be finalised according to the provisions of this Law.

Confiscation of goods

Provisions of Article 271 of the Law stipulate that the goods subject to offences established in Article 265 of the Law will be confiscated, whether they are owned by the offender or not. The confiscated goods will be temporarily retained and remain under customs surveillance until the completion of misdemeanour proceeding. In addition to the goods subject to the offence, the means of transport used for storage of such goods will also be confiscated (container, packaging or other objects).

If the goods subject to customs offence are not found or cannot be confiscated for any reason, the offender will be obliged to pay the value of such goods established according to the Law, along with institution of special procedure for collection of duties and fees that are imposed upon import or export of goods.

The goods subject to the customs offence, which are to be confiscated according to the prescribed protective measure, will be confiscated even if the misdemeanour proceeding has been suspended due to the fact that the offender was underage at the time of the offence, if the offender could not have been brought to trial due to absence or being unknown to customs authorities or due to any other legal obstacles, except in case of the absolute statute of limitations.

If there are several offenders, they will be jointly and severally responsible for payment of the value of goods and duties.

Confiscation of means of transport

In accordance with Article 272 of the Law, means of transport used for transportation of goods subject to the offence under Article 265 of this Law will be confiscated if the value of such goods exceeds 1/3 of the value of the means of transport, when the owner of such means of transport knew or could have known that it would be used to transport the goods subject to the offence.

Such means of transport will be confiscated regardless of their value and value of goods, provided that they were specifically designed, adapted, modified or otherwise adjusted to the purpose of concealing the goods.

Confiscation of the means of transport will not affect the rights of third parties to claim damage compensation from the offender.

Entry into force

These amendments have entered into force on the eighth day upon their publishing, i.e., on December 20, 2022.

This article is to be considered as exclusively informative, with no intention to provide legal advice. If you should need additional information, please contact us directly.