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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Lower import duty on vehicles from EU

Belgrade, 26 January 2009

Serbian Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic said today that the customs duty on the import of goods from the EU, including new and used cars, will be reduced from 20% to 10%.

Diana Dragutinovic

Speaking at a meeting on the fiscal decentralization of local self-government, Dragutinovic said that this will result from the implementation of the transitional trade agreement, according to which customs duties on goods import from the EU will be reduced.

She said that the implementation of the agreement was to begin from January 1 but was postponed because amendments to the law on customs duty had not been approved.

She said that the transitional trade agreement between Serbia and the EU envisages a gradual liberalization of agricultural and industrial goods trade.

She said that it is possible that the government will propose new amendments to the excise law regarding tobacco products, adding that an agreement was reached with the tobacco industry about a strategy for increasing excise duties, but it was not followed.

Responding to the question about whether the excise law already passed jeopardizes the Serbian tobacco industry, the Minister said that it is not disputable that cigarettes are cheap in Serbia and prices should be increased.

She confirmed that the Finance Ministry will approve the fuel price increase, recommended by the Ministry of Energy and Mining, by January 28.

She said that the new prices will be valid from the day of their publication in the Official Gazette, adding that data on budgetary revenues in January is not encouraging, but it is still too early to think of a budget revision.

She said that January is usually a month when revenues are lower because of fewer working days, adding that the budget deficit in January was within planned limits.

According to Dragutinovic, funds from the sale of the Serbian oil industry NIS will become available to the budget by the middle of the year.

Expenditures increased in the second half of the year, especially because of allocations for infrastructure projects, said Dragutinovic. She expressed her conviction that regular revenues will be adequate for current expenditure and that capital expenditure will be financed when privatisation revenues arrive.