The public debate on the draft Law on Electronic Delivery Notes (hereinafter referred to as the “Law“) concluded on September 30th. The adoption of the Law is expected in the upcoming period as part of the digitalization process, and its purpose, similar to the introduction of e-invoices, is to place the issuance of delivery notes under the control of the competent authorities.
The Law is set to be applied starting January 1, 2026, from which date all public and private sector entities will be required to issue delivery notes in electronic form through the E-OTPREMNICA system for every transaction involving the movement of their goods. A public sector entity refers to entities within the state sector, while a private sector entity refers to VAT taxpayers and persons trading in excise goods. On the other hand, the Law does not apply to natural persons who are not subject to income tax for self-employed activities, as defined by the Law on Personal Income Tax.
Exceptionally, the Law would apply starting from October 1, 2027, for the following obligations:
- The obligation of a public sector entity to send an electronic delivery note when goods are in transit;
- The obligation of the carrier to present the electronic delivery note in the case of an inspection;
- The obligation to send an electronic delivery note when both the sender and the recipient are private sector entities.
The procedure for issuing an electronic delivery note includes the obligation of the sender to send the electronic delivery note no later than before the goods start moving, while the recipient is required to confirm the physical receipt of the goods on the day of receipt or no later than two working days after the goods are received (otherwise, the electronic delivery note becomes invalid after three working days).
The recipient verifies the received electronic delivery note by accessing the system, accepting or rejecting it, either in full or partially, within eight days from the date of receipt, by sending an electronic acknowledgment of receipt. If a public sector entity recipient does not send an electronic acknowledgment within eight days, the electronic delivery note is considered fully accepted. If the recipient is a private sector entity and neither accepts nor rejects the electronic delivery note, it will be considered fully rejected.
The recipient can partially accept or reject the received electronic delivery note by sending an electronic acknowledgment through the system, indicating the discrepancies. The sender may agree to the discrepancies within 30 days from receipt; otherwise, it is considered that the electronic acknowledgment has been fully rejected.
In case of non-compliance with the Law, monetary penalties are prescribed, ranging from RSD 50,000 to RSD 2,000,000, depending on the obligation violated and the party responsible for the violation.