Keeping investments in or out of line with the development of the IT sector.

If one takes into account the applicable Law on Companies of the Republic of Serbia, every branch office, including a branch office of a foreign legal person, represents a separate organizational unit of a company through which such company conducts its business activities in Serbia. A branch office does not hold the status of legal person, it only acts in the name and on behalf of the company that founded it, in the respective legal transactions of the company.

In Montenegro, the Law on protection of personal data is still in power, and was last amended on April 3, 2017 („LPPI“).

The Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning, and Urbanism of Montenegro („Ministry“) enacted a Rulebook on closer criteria for the assessment of requests for the issuance of urbanistic-technical conditions for the construction of facilities for the production of electricity from renewable sources of the sun and other renewable sources (“Rulebook”). The Rulebook entered into force on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro, i.e., on 12 October 2022.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Decision on the amount of the minimum wage for the period January-December 2023, by which the minimum wage in Serbia was increased from net 201.22 RSD per working hour to net 230 RSD in 2023.

The Fiscal Council of the Republic of Serbia published on 29 September 2022 the „Proposal of social and tax policy measures for reducing inequality and poverty risks in the Republic of Serbia“. One of the proposed measures of tax policy for reducing inequality is doubling the limit of non-taxable salary amount, from RSD 19,300 to RSD 40,000 and introduction of non-taxable census of RSD 20,000 per month, to be granted for each household member – dependent. In order to maintain the existing level of budgetary funds, should this proposed reform of individual income tax be adopted, i.e. in order to prevent decrease of budgetary funds due to the reform, it is necessary to increase the salary tax rate from 10% to 15% in parallel with increase of non-taxable census and introduction of non-taxable census for household members-dependents. 

To comply with the highest European standards and safety conditions – Law on amendments to the Law on payment transactions (“Law”) has been adopted in the Parliament of Montenegro on 29 September 2022. Free movement of capital and full compliance with the Payment Service Directive 2 (“PSD2”) were main reasons for adopting the Law which shall ensure that the provisions of payment services in Montenegro are regulated in the same way as in the member states of the European Union.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia rendered the new Ordinance on Conditions, Manner and Procedure for Awarding the State-owned Agricultural Land for Use for Non-agricultural Purpose, that came into force on 10 September 2022.

According to the latest Position published by the Serbian Commission for the Protection of Competition, it is prescribed whether and in which cases the scope of one concentration can be several undertakings that are not considered interrelated.

Research of major global agencies show that the realization of profit is proportional to the degree of trust that customers have in retailers, regarding the processing of their personal data. Retailers that consider themselves socially responsible should know that investing in the protection of customers' personal data is an added value for the company - this type of investment strengthens the trust of customers, contributes to strengthening the competitive position on the market and increases profit. Most importantly, retailers have to understand that the personal data they collect from citizens is not their property, and that the right to privacy is one of elementary rights of citizens, which they are obliged to process in accordance with legal regulations.

Despite being one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the mankind, 20th century represents one of the brightest spots in the evolution of technology. Except for the general enthusiasm in all branches over the industry, the second half of the century has been fertile when it comes to executing some revolutionary ideas.

Writing an editorial proved to be equally as challenging as operating in the CEE legal market. For the record, I will confine my experiences mostly to the region of the Western Balkans. In hindsight, the past year(s) were something of a specialty, even by our own criteria and relative to our extensive experience. But let’s start from the beginning…

CEELMDirect Profile Pick: A series of interviews with partners and firms with profiles on the new CEELMDirect online legal directory. Today’s interview: Djordje Novcic, Partner at JPM.

The long-awaited legal framework defining entrance and residence permits for digital nomads – Law on amendments to the Law on Foreigners (“Law”) has been adopted in the Parliament of Montenegro and it shall enter into force on 11 August 2022.

Despite being already recognized as one of the leading European countries regarding foreign investments, the Republic of Serbia continues its active policy of attracting foreign investors. The direct consequence of the substantial increasement in investments in a plethora of different fields is the fact that there are even more and more foreign natural and legal persons willing to invest in producing audiovisual works on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Serbia recognized this trend and took measures to improve the environment for investing in audiovisual works within the so-called creative industries (e.g. films, short films, TV shows, documentaries, animated films, etc. ‘’Industry’’).

The Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia (“AERS”) adopted three decisions on amendments of the following methodologies, on its session held on 7 July 2022:

Today, perhaps more than ever before, commercial use of Software is of great value and many Software developers design and develop Software for licensing or sale to end users, or those serving a commercial purpose in an ever-growing market.

Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Regulation on Criteria for Granting Incentives to the Employers who Employ Newly Inhabited Persons in the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulation”),  published in the Official Gazette of the RS no. 67/22 and entered into force on 18 June 2022.