With the war in Ukraine affecting a number of business sectors, Serbia still manages to have a very vibrant market with a number of important projects being developed primarily in the infrastructure and energy sectors, according to Karanovic & Partners Managing Partner Darko Jovanovic.

Energy has been Jankovic Popovic Mitic’s busiest practice, according to Senior Partner Jelena Gazivoda, mainly driven by Serbia’s long-standing aspiration to achieve energy stability and security of supply and bolstered by recent legislative amendments and the expected energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

Jankovic Popovic Mitic has successfully represented FCC Kikinda before a Serbian court of first instance in a criminal case concerning environmental charges.

Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (“the Law”) from 2019, notably Article 11 thereof, have eradicated the practical issues that used to exist in relation to the mandatory social insurance of persons working for foreign employers in Serbia.

BDK Advokati has advised the sellers on the sale of Termoplast Grupa to Greiner Packaging. Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka and Selih & Partnerji reportedly advised the sellers as well.

Usage of corporate cards issued by goods and services providers to their corporate clients, have been recognized and regulated by the latest amendments of relevant Serbian regulations related to fiscalization and to VAT.

On April 11, 2022, CEE Legal Matters reported that Jankovic Popovic Mitic had advised Gomex and the Seaf South Balkan Fund on the sale of Gomex to Ceecat Capital. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Goran Kovacevic, General Director at Gomex, to learn more about the sale.

With the acceleration of the process of transition to a market economy, since 2001, Serbia has carried out a fundamental reform of its tax system, which has undergone several further changes in the past two decades. Last year brought numerous changes to the tax system in Serbia, and the introduction of the taxation regime for digital assets and tax control were a particular focus.

Legal framework of the digital assets market.

Starting from March 23, 2022, Serbian Business Registers Agency (“the SBRA”) has allowed the use of electronic signature in cloud in the Special Information System for drafting and submission of financial statements.

Electronic measurement of working hours based on processing of location data is permitted under data protection and labour regulations under the following conditions:

CEE Legal Matters readers will likely be familiar with Patricia Gannon as one of the founders of Karanovic & Partners. Since her withdrawal from the firm (reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 21, 2020), Gannon ran her own "holistic strategic advisory business" (as reported on October 12, 2020) and, recently, she announced she is working on a new social media app for lawyers – Platforum 9. We caught up with her to learn more about her new project.

NKO has advised CTP on an acquisition of land in Novi Banovci from 40 different individuals. Reportedly, Mrakovic and Partners, as well as solo practitioners Vojin Susa and Mirjana Vijatovic, advised the sellers.

On 4 April 2022, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia published the Explanation on Annual Citizens’ Income Tax for 2021.

The major challenge faced by Serbia’s recently elected parliament is dealing with the war-related crisis, in particular, in the field of energy, according to Vulic Law Managing Partner Milos Vulic.

On March 10, five leading lawyers in Serbia sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the current state and outlook of the renewables market in Serbia, with topics covered including the goals set and the country's National Renewable Energy Action Plan, the challenges presented by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the "conservative wave" in the country, the main players and the deals pipeline in the sector, the availability of green financing for renewable projects in the country, as well as the biggest regulatory hurdles currently still affecting renewables in Serbia and the participants' wishlist of what could be done to remove some of these obstacles.

Dentons has advised Minit and its shareholders on its sale to Microsoft. Reed Smith advised the buyer.

Dentons has advised lead arrangers UniCredit, UniCredit Bank Serbia, Erste Group Bank, Erste Bank, and Raiffeisen Bank International, on the EUR 673.7 million term and revolving loan facility to Telekom Srbija. Morgan Lewis reportedly advised Telekom Srbija.