Bearing in mind that e-commerce business is constantly increasing, both in terms of the number of market participants and in the regulations governing this area, especially now that due to the problem of spreading the COVID-19 virus infection, certain regulations have been adopted to restrict / prohibit the movement of persons in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, which is why many companies have decided to organize their business remotely – through the Internet. We herewith introduce you the opportunities and legal framework that should be followed if planning to market products / services through the Internet.
The first important thing while selling online is that customers must be provided the same rights and opportunities as when the goods are sold in the premises of the merchant, so there is an obligation to make available to the buyers all the necessary information about e-shop, products and the manner of exercising the rights of customers and consumers.
Therefore, in order to properly inform buyers about their rights and obligations (i.e. how to buy a product, file reclamation or replace a purchased product, whether VAT is included, how transportation costs are charged, etc.), it is necessary to clearly point out the general terms of business on the basis of which each customer will be able to inform himself about his rights and obligations.
In addition, during e-commerce, buyers, whether registered or not, leave their contact information necessary for the conclusion of the contract and the delivery of goods, which are considered to be personal data within the meaning of the Law on Personal Data Protection (“Off. Gazette of RS”, no 87/2018), which is why the seller of a product / service is obliged to provide potential buyers a notice with the prescribed content, which he should read, understand and finally accept.
In addition to the Law on Personal Data Protection (“Off Gazette of RS”, no 87/2018), the Law on Electronic Commerce (“Off Gazeette of RS”, no 41/2009, 95/2013 and 52/2019), the Law on Commerce (“Off Gazette of RS”, no 52/2019), the Law on Advertising (“Off Gazette of RS”, no 6/2016 i 52/2019 – other law), the Law on Fiscal Cash registers (“Off Gazette of RS”, no 135/2004 and 93/2012) and other by-laws are also applicable to the activity of e-commerce, but the numerous opinions of the Ministries that elaborate certain issues that are not adequately defined by the applicable regulation should also not be ignored.
Importantly, for a certain company to start selling online, it is necessary to make an adequate decision on starting the activity and to implement such decision into the Articles of Association, which is then registered before the Agency for Business Registers. Thus, it is not necessary to register an activity from group 47.91 – Retail sales via post and internet as a predominant activity, but only to add this activity to the activity already registered as predominant.
According to the Law on Fiscal Cash Registers (“Off Gazette of RS”, no 135/2004 and 93/2012), a person who is registered for retail sale of goods, i.e. for providing services to natural persons, is obliged to record each individual turnover through the fiscal cash register. The obligation to record the turnover through the fiscal cash register also exists in case when the service is provided to an individual and the fee for the services provided is carried out by a legal entity, i.e. an entrepreneur, regardless of the method of payment (cash, check, card and cashless payment). However, for the activity in group 47.91 – Retail sales via post and internet, there is no obligation to record the traffic through the fiscal cash register, but it is necessary to fulfill certain conditions, which are determined by the opinions of the Ministry of Finance.
E-commerce has been growing significantly in the last few years and this trend will certainly continue due to the current situation, and if you plan to expand your business by adding online sales, for any additional questions and explanations, please contact the Tasic & Partners team by email at [email protected].