The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia has ratified the FATCA agreement executed earlier that year between the USA and Serbia at the end of 2019.
The agreement will enter into force as soon as Serbia notifies the USA that it finalized all required procedures for entering into the force of this agreement.
The agreement will serve as a legal basis for Serbian financial institutions to collect relevant information from its Clients and exchange of such information with US authorities. Prior to execution and entry into force of this agreement, there was no legal ground for transfer of such information to the United States and even collection thereof represented breach of the Serbian data protection legislation.
On the other side, it is still questionable whether FACTA Agreement provides for adequate safeguards for the transfer of personal data to the United States and serves as a valid legal ground for transfer of personal data to the United States as required by with new Serbian Law on Protection of Personal Data.
On the other hand, the fulfilment of the obligations undertaken by Serbia pursuant to this agreement shall result in treatment of relevant Serbian financial institutions as complied and shall not be subject to the section 1471 of the Internal Revenue Code of the USA nor to apply withholding tax pursuant to sections 1471 and 1472 of the said code.
You may address to JPM for the detailed information on the rights and obligations arising from the FACTA Agreement.
