Serbia and Montenegro have inked a deal allowing Montenegro to use Serbia’s centralized e-invoicing platform licence for transmitting, receiving, managing, and storing electronic invoices of businesses and entrepreneurs, as announced by the Serbian Government.
Under the agreement signed by Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Siniša Mali, and Montenegro’s Finance Minister, Aleksandar Damjanović, the Serbian government will offer Montenegro the software licence for this centralized e-invoicing platform free of charge for a duration of three years.
“In April of this year, Montenegro’s Ministry of Finance approached us regarding the adoption of the e-invoicing system, having recognized the significant benefits and effects its implementation has brought to our country,” stated Mali.
He further highlighted that following this, an agreement was reached for Serbia to assist Montenegro in rolling out the e-invoicing system, aimed at further enhancing the fiscal stability of the latter.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasised the convenience the e-invoicing system brings to the business sector, accelerating work processes, ensuring more considerable legal security for entities in terms of sending and receiving invoices, and facilitating better invoice storage.
Moreover, this new system is expected to expedite VAT refunds, a key demand of the business sector, Mali explained, noting that over 103 million e-invoices have been processed through Serbia’s system.
Mali underscored the system’s effectiveness, revealing it currently serves 10,786 public fund users and 211,445 business entities.
Damjanović expressed gratitude to Serbia’s Ministry of Finance for its support, emphasising that the introduction of this centralized platform would significantly boost economic activity in Montenegro. He believes this will also contribute to the acceleration of goods and money flows within Montenegro’s economy, combating the existing shadow economy and addressing challenges Montenegrin companies face regarding VAT refunds.
Photo: Tanjug/ Sava Radovanović