E-Delivery Note: Public Debate Opened on the Draft Law on Electronic Delivery Notes

Following the announcement of the new system, as a result of the work of the Working Group within the Ministry of Finance, the Draft Law on Electronic Delivery Notes (“Draft Law“) was prepared, for which a public consultation is being conducted.

Below, we discuss the innovations that the adoption of the Draft Law would bring, as well as the potential benefits of its application to everyday commercial relations.

Law on Trade 

Although no regulation explicitly defines the term “delivery note,” it is undoubtedly a type of document of goods.

The provision of Article 29 of the Law on Trade (“Law“) defines the term “document of goods,” which implies documents related to the production, procurement, and sale of goods.

In addition, the Law stipulates that goods in transit must be accompanied by documents directly related to their transportation, as well as the mandatory content of these documents.

It is important to note that the mentioned documents may be in their original form or as copies, and they may also take the form of electronic documents.

What novelties would the Law on Electronic Delivery Notes bring

Considering that the E-Delivery note system will be an integral part of the new, integrated system alongside the existing E-Invoice system, the Draft Law has been drafted based on the Law on Electronic Invoicing. Moreover, some issues are regulated in the same way and adapted to the new E-Delivery note system.

• According to the Draft Law, the term electronic delivery note (“E-Delivery note“) refers to a document that accompanies goods being sent for the purpose of recording the movement of goods and is transmitted and received via a system in a structured format that allows for fully automated electronic data processing. Additionally, the law specifies the basic elements and content of the E-Delivery note.
• Furthermore, the law defines the term electronic receipt (“E-Receipt“) as a document on the qualitative and quantitative acceptance of goods, which is created based on the received electronic delivery note.

Who is obligated to send the E-Delivery note?

The obligation to send the E-Delivery note applies to both private and public sector entities for every movement of goods over which they have disposal rights. Depending on the circumstances, either entity may serve as the sender or recipient of the E-Delivery note.

In accordance with this obligation, entities are also required to use the system through which the sending, receiving, recording, processing, and storage of E-Delivery note and E-Receipts are carried out.

When is there no obligation to send an E-Delivery note?

Exceptions to the above include cases where there is no obligation to send an E-Delivery note for the movement of goods:

• which are delivered through transmission, transport, and distribution networks, including particularly water, electricity, natural gas, heating, cooling, and similar services;
• which are considered retail sales in accordance with the law regulating fiscalization;
• in the context of fulfilling contractual obligations directed towards users of funds from international framework agreements;
• in the context of procurement, modernization, and repair of military and/or security-sensitive goods, as well as related movements of goods;;
• which involves relocation from one place to another within a single public sector entity.

Procedure with the e-Delivery Note

• The sender is obligated to send the E-Delivery note no later than before the start of the movement of goods;
• The carrier must retrieve the E-Delivery note through the system for presentation during inspection supervision;
• The recipient of the E-Delivery note must confirm the physical receipt of the goods on the day of receipt or no later than two working days after the start of receiving the goods;
• The E-Delivery note for which physical receipt confirmation has not been made will expire three working days after the start of the movement of goods;
• The E-Delivery note is considered received at the moment it is sent to the recipient. The sender also has the option to cancel the sent E-Delivery note, providing a reason for such action;
• The recipient of the E-Delivery note then checks the received E-Delivery note and either accept or reject it, in whole or in part, within 8 days from the date of receipt, by sending an E-Receipt;
• If a private sector entity does not send the E-Receipt within the prescribed period, it will be considered as having rejected the delivery note in its entirety, whereas if a public sector entity does not send it, it will be considered as having accepted it in full;
• If the recipient partially accepts or partially rejects the E-Delivery note, the sender may agree to this within 30 days from the receipt of the receipt, otherwise, it will be considered as having fully rejected the E-Receipt.

Other matters concerning inspection supervision, voluntary users, central information intermediaries, as well as data protection and the storage of E-Delivery notes, are regulated in a similar or identical manner as in the Law on Electronic Invoicing.

Penalty provisions

In case of non-compliance with legal provisions, that is failure to adhere to prescribed obligations, the legislator provides for monetary fines ranging from 200,000 to 2,000,000 dinars.

Commencement of application

The obligation for a private sector entity to receive an E-Delivery note in the case of goods movement, as well as the obligation to send an E-Delivery note when both the sender and recipient are private sector entities, and the obligation for the carrier to present the E-Delivery note sent during goods movements for inspection supervision, according to the Draft Law, would apply from October 1, 2027.

Regarding the obligations for public sector entities to receive, send, and present the E-Delivery note, as well as the obligations for private sector entities dealing with goods that are excise products to receive on any basis, send, and present the E-Delivery note, and the obligations for private sector entities to send, receive, and present the E-Delivery note in business relationships with public sector entities, according to the Draft Law, would apply from January 1, 2026.

The adoption of the law could occur by the end of 2024, and it remains to be seen whether the Draft Law will be amended and/or supplemented during the parliamentary debate.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need further information, feel free to contact us.

By Minja Mucic, Junior Associate, PR Legal