A major step forward in the digitalization of the business operations of the Serbian Business Registers Agency: In the future, the establishment of companies will only be possible electronically

As a result of the entry into force of the provisions of the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Procedure of Registration in the Serbian Business Registers Agency, whose application was postponed, starting from May 17, 2023, it will no longer be possible to submit documentation for the establishment of companies to the Serbian Business Registers Agency in paper form, but exclusively in electronic form. However, it will still be possible to submit the registration application for the establishment of a cooperative, public company, representative office, or branch of a foreign company in paper form. Namely, for the applicant to successfully complete the electronic registration application for the establishment of a company, he must first possess:

• a qualified electronic certificate (electronic signature) issued by a certification body in the Republic of Serbia – the electronic certificate is linked to one of the personal data, such as personal name , passport number and country of issue and/or personal number for a foreigner and/or ID card number and country of issue, and if any of the registered data changes, there is a possibility that the applicant will not be able to electronically sign a certain document;
• installed electronic card reader and installed NEXU application for electronic signature; and
• Visa, MasterCard or Dina payment cards for administrative fee payment.

It is necessary to keep in mind that in the electronic registration process, all attached documents must be in electronic form, which can create doubts about what should be done with documents that were initially created in paper form and exist only as such. The legislator resolved this issue by making available the possibility of digitization, i.e., converting a document from paper to electronic form, i.e., into an electronic document that produces the same legal force as a document in paper form, and this is possible if such an electronic document is authenticated (signed) with an electronic signature. This obligation stems from the provisions of the Law on Electronic Documents, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in Electronic Business („Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, Nos. 94/2017 and 52/2021) (hereinafter: the Law), according to which the digitized document is considered a copy, which is why it is necessary to be certified by an electronic signature or electronic sea of:

1. the person who issued the document (depending on which authority issued the specific act, e.g., authorized person in the bank, Tax Administration, etc.);
2. the person authorized by Law to certify the documents (notary public);
3. an attorney at law registered in the directory of the Bar Association of Serbia (however, in this case, an additional condition is set that the attorney at law during digitization and certification must also be a signatory of the registration application, via Power of Attorney).

Additional doubts may arise in connection with electronic documents issued by foreign authorities, because the Serbian Business Registers Agency has informed that for now it is not possible to submit electronic documents issued by foreign authorities, because in accordance with the provision of Article 40 of the Law, it is prescribed that foreign qualified services of trust can be recognized in Serbia only in case of existence of reciprocity regulated by confirmed international agreements. Therefore, for now, the only solution is to print the electronic document issued by a foreign authority in the country of origin and to have the printed copy certified by the competent authority in the issuing country. After that, such document can be digitized and certified by a notary/attorney at law of the Republic of Serbia and used as such in the registration process.

Although these novelties represent a significant step forward and are worthy of all praise, and the fact is that digitization transforms the way public administration works in the Republic of Serbia, thereby increasing the economy and quality of its work, and at the same time making it easier for citizens to carry out their daily bureaucratic duties, there is no doubt that there will be a period of adaptation for all actors of this procedure to the emerging developments.

For more detailed information regarding the submission of the mandatory electronic registration application for the establishment of legal entities, as well as for complete legal assistance in this regard, please feel free to contact our lawyers in the Corporate/M&A department, Partners Igor Živkovski and Sava Pavlović, or your regular contact person in  Živković Samardžić Law Office.

Veliki iskorak u digitalizaciji poslovanja Agencije za privredne registre: Osnivanje privrednih društava ubuduće će biti moguće samo elektronskim putem

Kao posledica stupanja na snagu odredaba Zakona o izmenama i dopunama Zakona o postupku registracije u Agencije za privredne registre, a čija primena je bila odložena, počevši od 17. maja 2023. godine, Agenciji za privredne registre više neće biti moguće podnositi dokumentaciju za osnivanje privrednih društava u papirnoj formi, već isključivo u elektronskom obliku. Međutim, registracionu prijavu osnivanja zadruge, javnog preduzeća, predstavništva ili ogranka stranog privrednog društva biće i dalje moguće podneti u papirnoj formi.

Naime, kako bi podnosilac elektronske registracione prijave osnivanja privrednog društva istu izvršio uspešno, potrebno je da prethodno poseduje:

• kvalifikovani elektronski sertifikat (elektronski potpis) izdat od sertifikacionog tela u Republici Srbiji – elektronski sertifikat se vezuje za jedan od ličnih podataka, kao što su lično ime, broj pasoša i država izdavanja i/ili lični broj za stranca i/ili broj lične karte i zemlja izdavanja, te ukoliko se neki od registrovanih podataka promeni, postoji mogućnost da podnosilac neće biti u mogućnosti da elektronski potpiše određeni dokument;
• instaliran čitač elektronskih kartica i instaliranu NEXU aplikaciju za elektronsko potpisivanje; i
• Visa, MasterCard ili Dina platne kartice za potrebe plaćanja administrativne takse.

Potrebno je imati u vidu da u postupku elektronske registracije svi priloženi dokumenti moraju biti u elektronskom obliku, što može stvoriti nedoumice oko toga šta bi trebalo uraditi sa dokumentima koji su inicijalno sačinjeni u papirnoj formi i isključivo kao takvi postoje. Zakonodavac je ovo pitanje rešio tako što je stavio na raspolaganje mogućnost digitalizacije, odnosno pretvaranje dokumenta iz papirne u elektronsku formu, tj. u elektronski dokument koji proizvodi istu pravnu snagu kao dokument u papirnoj formi, a to je moguće ukoliko je takav elektronski dokument overen (potpisan) elektronskim potpisom. Ova obaveza proizilazi iz odredaba Zakona o elektronskom dokumentu, elektronskoj identifikaciji i uslugama od poverenja u elektronskom poslovanju („Službeni glasnik Republike Srbije”, br. 94/2017 i 52/2021, u daljem tekstu: Zakon), prema kojem se digitalizovani dokument smatra kopijom, zbog čega je neophodno da ga svojim elektronskim potpisom ili elektronskim pečatom overi:

1. lice koje je dokument izdalo (u zavisnosti od toga koji je organ doneo određeni akt, npr. ovlašćeno lice u banci, Poreskoj upravi, itd.);
2. lice koje je zakonom ovlašćeno za overu prepisa (javni beležnik);
3. advokat upisan u imenik Advokatske komore Srbije (međutim u tom slučaju se postavlja dodatni uslov da kada advokat vrši digitalizaciju i overu, potrebno je da bude i potpisnik registracione prijave, odnosno punomoćnik).

Dodatne nedoumice mogu nastati u vezi sa elektronskim dokumentima koju su izdati od strane inostranih organa, jer je Agencija za privredne registre obavestila da za sada nije moguće podnositi elektronske dokumente koji su izdati od strane inostranih organa, jer je u skladu sa odredbom člana 40. Zakona propisano da se inostrane kvalifikovane usluge od poverenja u Srbiji mogu priznavati samo u slučaju postojanja reciprociteta regulisanog potvrđenim međunarodnim sporazumima. Dakle, za sada je jedino rešenje da se elektronski dokument izdat od strane inostranog organa odštampa u zemlji porekla i da se tako odštampana kopija overi od strane nadležnog organa u državi izdavanja. Nakon toga se takav dokument može digitalizovati i overiti od strane notara/advokata Republike Srbije i kao takav koristiti u postupku registracije.

Iako ove novine predstavljaju značajan korak napred i vredne su svake pohvale, te je činjenica da se digitalizacijom transformiše način rada javne uprave u Republici Srbiji i time podiže ekonomičnost i kvalitet njenog rada, a građanima istovremeno olakšava izvršavanje svakodnevnih birokratskih obaveza, nesumnjivo je da svim akterima ovog postupka sledi period adaptiranja na nastupele novine.

Za detaljnije informacije u vezi sa podnošenjem obavezne elektronske registracione prijave osnivanja privrednog društva, kao i za kompletnu pravnu pomoć u vezi sa tim, budite slobodni da kontaktirate naše partnere u Corporate/M&A odeljenju, Igora Živkovskog i Savu Pavlovića, ili Vašu redovnu kontakt osobu u advokatskoj kancelariji Živković Samardžić.