Agricultural holdings

In terms of the Law on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, nos. 10/2013, 142/2014, 103/2015, 101/2016, 35/2023, 92/2023, and 94/2024), an agricultural holding is a production unit where a business company, agricultural cooperative, institution or other legal entity, sole trader, or farmer carries out agricultural production, processes agricultural products, or engages in other non-agricultural activities (such as rural tourism, traditional crafts, etc.).

A family agricultural holding is an agricultural holding where a natural person, a farmer, together with members of their household (regardless of kinship), carries out agricultural production, processes agricultural products, or engages in other non-agricultural activities (such as rural tourism, traditional crafts, etc.).

A family agricultural holding may be:

a commercial family agricultural holding;
a non-commercial family agricultural holding.

A commercial family agricultural holding is market-oriented and, under the conditions defined by the Law on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, nos. 10/2013, 142/2014, 103/2015, 101/2016, 35/2023, 92/2023, and 94/2024), is eligible to receive incentives.

A non-commercial family agricultural holding is not market-oriented. The status of a non-commercial family agricultural holding is determined at the time of registration or renewal of registration in the Register of Agricultural Holdings.

The Minister responsible for agriculture shall prescribe in more detail the types of incentives available to non-commercial family agricultural holdings, in accordance with the Law on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, nos. 10/2013, 142/2014, 103/2015, 101/2016, 35/2023, 92/2023, and 94/2024).

Register of Agricultural Holdings

The Rulebook on the Registration in the Register of Agricultural Holdings, Changes to Data and Renewal of Registration, Electronic Procedures, and Conditions for Passive Status of an Agricultural Holding (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, nos. 25/2023, 110/2023, 3/2024, and 34/2024) (hereinafter referred to as: the Rulebook) prescribes the method and conditions for the registration and management of the Register of Agricultural Holdings (hereinafter referred to as: the Register), the conditions and procedures for changes to the data in the Register and renewal of registration, the method of storing the data recorded in the Register, the electronic format for the submission of applications and attachments, and the delivery of decisions in proceedings regarding registration in the Register, renewal of registration, data changes, and deletion from the Register. It also defines the manner of providing support to registration subjects in connection with electronic procedures, including the application form for registering an agricultural holding, the application form for renewing registration, forms for attachments and accompanying documentation, as well as the conditions for an agricultural holding to be assigned passive status.

The registration of an agricultural holding or a family agricultural holding in the Register is voluntary.

The Register is maintained by the Directorate for Agrarian Payments as a unified, centralised, electronic database of agricultural holdings and family agricultural holdings, using the eAgrar software solution, in accordance with the law governing agriculture and rural development. In the process of registration, renewal of registration, changes to registered data, deletion from the Register, and determination of passive status in the Register, the Directorate for Agrarian Payments carries out administrative procedures and communicates electronically, in line with the law governing electronic administration and regulations adopted based on that law.

The tasks of receiving applications for registration, renewal of registration, and changes to data in the Register; entering, renewing, and updating data of agricultural holdings in the Register; issuing certificates on registration or on active or passive status in the Register; assigning passive status in the Register; deleting an agricultural holding from the Register, either at the request of the holding’s representative or ex officio; forming and permanently storing the files of agricultural holdings; obtaining data from other bodies and organisations; as well as other tasks related to maintaining the Register in accordance with the law on agriculture and rural development, are carried out electronically using the eAgrar software system.

Conditions for Registration in the Register

The following may be registered in the Register:

An agricultural holding on which a sole trader, business company, agricultural cooperative, institution, or other legal entity based in the Republic of Serbia carries out
a. agricultural production,
b. processing of agricultural products,
c. other non-agricultural activities (such as rural tourism, traditional crafts, etc.);
A family agricultural holding on which a natural person – a farmer – with permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia, either independently or together with household members, carries out:
a. agricultural production,
b. other non-agricultural activities (such as rural tourism, traditional crafts, etc.).

Agricultural production by the registered entity must take place on the territory of the Republic of Serbia and includes:

the cultivation of crops in accordance with the Crop Production Classification Code and the Land Use Classification Code;
animal husbandry in accordance with the Livestock Classification Code used for agricultural holdings.

Crop production must be registered on a minimum of 0.5 hectares of agricultural land.

Exceptions allow registration even if the land is less than 0.5 hectares, in the following cases:

crop production of:
a. cultivated mushrooms,
b. vegetables grown in protected areas (e.g. greenhouses),
c. table grapes,
d. wine grape varieties;
use of uncultivated land for fishponds, provided that fish farming is also registered in the Register.

Crop production on land classified as forest land in the real estate cadastre may also be registered, provided the following plant species are grown:

forest planting material,
mother plants of ornamental species,
seedlings of ornamental trees and shrubs,
forest trees.

Animal husbandry may be registered in the Register only if the animals are tagged and recorded in the Central Animal Identification Database, in accordance with the Veterinary Law (“Official Gazette of the RS”, nos. 91/2005, 30/2010, 93/2012, and 17/2019 – other law).

Processing of agricultural products may be registered if the agricultural holding is engaged in such processing and is registered in the relevant register managed by the Business Registers Agency, in accordance with the Law on the Registration Procedure with the Business Registers Agency (“Official Gazette of the RS”, nos. 99/2011, 83/2014, 31/2019, and 105/2021), and has a registered principal activity in line with the Classification Code for the Processing of Agricultural Products.

Other non-agricultural activities (such as rural tourism, traditional crafts, etc.) may be registered if the agricultural holding or family agricultural holding carries out such activities in accordance with the Classification Code for Other Non-Agricultural Activities.

Basis for Land Use

Crop production and the performance of other non-agricultural activities (such as rural tourism, traditional crafts, etc.) are registered in the Register on agricultural land used by an agricultural holding or family agricultural holding based on:

ownership rights;
a decision/extract on the allocation of land through land consolidation (land consolidation);
a lease agreement or land use agreement, provided that the validity period of such agreements does not expire before 31 October of the year for which the registration or renewal in the Register applies;
the right of use of socially owned agricultural land acquired through a legal transaction involving obligations.

A lease agreement for socially owned land constitutes a valid legal basis for registration in the Register only if the lessor is registered as the user of the land in the real estate cadastre.

A lease or land use agreement for privately or cooperatively owned land, concluded with a legal entity as lessor or grantor, is a valid legal basis for registration in the Register only if the lessee or user is not:

a person with special duties towards the lessor/grantor legal entity, in accordance with the law governing companies and the founding act/statute;
a related party to the legal entity acting as lessor/grantor, in accordance with the law governing companies;
an employee of the lessor/grantor legal entity.

Special Conditions for Registering a Family Agricultural Holding

When registering a family agricultural holding, the natural person (farmer) who is the head of the family agricultural holding is registered in the Register. Members of the family agricultural holding may also be registered.

A member of a family agricultural household is an adult person from the same household, i.e., an individual who:

has permanent residence at the same address as the head of the family agricultural holding;
works on the holding regularly or occasionally, and is registered in the Register as a member based on a statement declaring that they are a member of the family agricultural holding, or, in the case of a minor, based on a statement by a parent or legal guardian.

A natural person (farmer) may be registered in the Register as either a head or a member of only one family agricultural holding.

A member of a family agricultural holding who is the owner, lessee, or user of land as defined in Articles 3(2–4) and Article 4 of the Rulebook may, through a statement, designate the head of the family agricultural holding as the user of that land, in accordance with the Rulebook.

If a family agricultural holding has two or more registered members, and the head of the holding dies, the remaining registered members shall mutually agree to appoint a temporary head from among themselves until the inheritance procedure is completed and the change is recorded in the real estate cadastre. The Ministry of Agriculture – Directorate for Agrarian Payments must be notified within 30 days.

If a family agricultural holding has only one registered member, that member becomes the temporary head in the event of the death of the head of the holding, until the inheritance procedure is completed and the change is made in the real estate Register.

If a family agricultural holding has no registered members, it shall be deleted from the Register upon the death of the head of the holding.

Renewal of Registration in the Register

A family agricultural holding or an agricultural holding registered in the Register may renew its registration annually. The process of renewing registration is initiated by selecting and completing the appropriate electronic application form online, directly within the eAgrar software platform.

If there is a change in status-related data, or in data concerning the landholding (e.g. type of agricultural crops and areas under cultivation), changes in land possession or the basis for land use (such as cadastral area and classification, ownership, lease, etc.), the applicant must submit the appropriate supporting documentation in accordance with Article 18 of the Rulebook.

Changes to Registered Data

To exercise the right to agricultural and rural development incentives, IPARD incentives, and market regulation measures for agricultural products, agricultural holdings and family agricultural holdings registered in the Register must notify the Directorate for Agrarian Payments of any change in data within 30 days from the date the change occurred.

The procedure for changing registered data is initiated by selecting and completing the relevant electronic application form, in online format, directly through the eAgrar software solution.

Continuation of Business Activity and Status Change through Company Merger

A legally competent heir who continues the business activity of a sole trader in accordance with the law governing business companies, after filing the continuation of activity in the register of business entities in accordance with the law regulating the registration procedure with the Business Registers Agency, as well as a sole trader who continues the activity in the form of a business company after the simultaneous deletion of the sole trader from the register of business entities and registration of the establishment of the business company, which assumes all rights and obligations of the sole trader arising from business operations until the moment of the establishment of that business company, in accordance with the law governing business companies, through an authorised person in the agricultural holding, and via a user account in accordance with the Rulebook on access to the eAgrar software portal, reviews the data recorded in the Register, and electronically, directly in the system, performs the update of registered data that have changed in relation to the state in the Register and attaches the appropriate documentation in accordance with Article 18 of the Rulebook.

If two or more agricultural holdings undergo a status change by merging one company with another in accordance with the law governing business companies, the data of the agricultural holding of the transferring company are entered into the agricultural holding of the acquiring company, and the agricultural holding of the transferring company is deleted from the Register, provided that the agricultural holding of the transferring company is in active status in the Register, in accordance with the Rulebook.

The agricultural holding of the acquiring company assumes the assets, rights, and obligations of the transferring company as the registration subject in the Register in accordance with the Rulebook.

Conditions for Passive Status of an Agricultural Holding

An agricultural holding registered in the Register may be in active or passive status.

An agricultural holding is recorded in the Register in active status, unless the conditions for passive status prescribed in Article 26 of the Rulebook are met.

An agricultural holding in passive status cannot implement measures to encourage the development of agricultural production to which it would otherwise be entitled under special regulations, nor can the landholding be subject to registration by another agricultural holding. A submitted request from an agricultural holding in passive status for the use of incentives shall be rejected by a decision.

In the event of the termination of some conditions for registration or non-fulfilment of assumed obligations, passive status is determined automatically, upon the termination of one of the conditions for registration in the Register, or on the due date of the assumed obligations, of which the agricultural holding is notified.

In other cases prescribed by Article 26 of the Rulebook, passive status, as well as the renewal of active status of the agricultural holding, is determined by a decision of the Director of the Directorate for Agrarian Payments.

An appeal may be lodged against the automatically determined passive status and the decision of the Director of the Directorate for Agrarian Payments to the Minister responsible for agriculture, via the Directorate for Agrarian Payments. The decision of the Minister responsible for agriculture is final.

Last update: 27. 9. 2025.