Deadlines for settlement of monetary obligations

According to the provisions of the Law on deadlines for settling monetary obligations in commercial transactions (“Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 119/2012, 68/2015, 113/2017, 91/2019, 44/2021, 44/2021 – other Law, 130/ 2021, 129/2021 – other laws and 138/2022) are governed by:

deadlines for settling monetary obligations in commercial transactions between the public sector and business entities, between business entities, that is, between public sector entities, and to prevent non-payment of monetary obligations within the deadline and
recording electronic invoices and other requests for payment in electronic form in the central register of invoices issued by creditors in commercial transactions between the public sector and business entities, i.e. between public sector entities, in which the public sector entities are debtors, based on the data obtained from the system of electronic invoices.

In the Central Register of Invoices established and managed by the Ministry of Finance – Treasury Department, only electronic invoices issued by creditors in commercial transactions between the public sector and business entities, i.e. between public sector entities, in which the public sector entities are debtors, are recorded, upon establishment technical and technological conditions, and mandatory from May 1, 2022, based on data obtained from the electronic invoice system.

The minister responsible for financial affairs regulates the manner and procedure of recording electronic invoices in the central register of invoices and the way of leading and content of the central register of invoices.

Provisions of the Law on Deadlines for Settling Monetary Obligations in Commercial Transactions (“Official Gazette of RS”, No. 119/2012, 68/2015, 113/2017, 91/2019, 44/2021, 44/2021 – other Law, 130/ 2021, 129/2021 – other laws and 138/2022) do not apply to business entities against which bankruptcy proceedings have been opened, following the Law regulating bankruptcy, and in commercial transactions in which these business entities are debtors.

To all questions about the Law on Deadlines for Settling Monetary Obligations in Commercial Transactions (“Official Gazette of RS”, no. 119/2012, 68/2015, 113/2017, 91/2019, 44/2021, 44/2021 – other laws, 130/2021, 129/2021 – other laws and 138/2022), does not explicitly regulate the provisions of the Law regulating obligation relations are applied accordingly.

Deadlines for settlement of monetary obligations in commercial transactions between business entities

A contract between business entities cannot provide a deadline for settling financial obligations longer than 60 days. If the contract between business entities does not stipulate a deadline for settling monetary obligations or if there is no written contract, or if a longer term than 60 days is agreed upon, the debtor is obliged to settle the monetary obligation within 60 days at the latest without prior warning.

Exceptionally, a contract between business entities may provide for a longer term of 60 days:

if the contractual obligations require payment in instalments for the delivered goods, i.e. the services provided, that term can be up to 90 days
with the obligation that the debtor, i.e. the recipient of the delivered goods, i.e. the recipient of the services provided, ensure payment within the agreed term by handing over to the creditor a bank guarantee containing the clauses: “irrevocable”, “unconditional”, “collectable at the first call without objection” or a promissory note validated by banks as a form of security for debt collection and
in cases of procurement of raw materials for the performance of the primary activity, namely for seed and planting material, protective means and fertilizer, by contract between a registered agricultural holding or agricultural cooperative and another business entity, when the debtor is a registered agricultural holding or agricultural cooperative.

Deadlines for settlement of financial obligations in commercial transactions between public sector entities and public sector entities and business entities

The contract between the public sector and business entities cannot provide for a deadline for the settlement of monetary obligations longer than 45 days, in the case where the public sector is the debtor in that contractual relationship. Exceptionally, a contract between the public sector and business entities can provide for a deadline for the settlement of financial obligations of up to 90 days in the case when the debtor is the Republic Health Insurance Fund, i.e. the beneficiary of the funds of the Republic Health Insurance Fund in the sense of the Law governing the budget system.

The contract between the public sector and business entities cannot provide a deadline for settling monetary obligations longer than 60 days if the debtor in that contractual relationship is a business entity. If the contract does not stipulate a deadline for settling monetary obligations, the business entity as a debtor is obliged, without prior notice, to determine the financial debt within 60 days.

Calculation of deadlines for settling monetary obligations in commercial transactions

The deadline for settling monetary obligations in commercial transactions begins on the first following day:

from the day when the debtor received the invoice, that is, the second request for payment from the creditor who fulfilled his contractual obligation; or
from the day when the creditor fulfilled his obligation, if it is not possible to determine the day of receipt of the invoice or other appropriate request for payment, or if the debtor received the invoice or other reasonable request for payment before the creditor fulfilled his contractual obligation; or
from the date of expiry of the deadline for reviewing the subject of the obligation, if the contract or the Law provides for a specific deadline for such review, and the debtor has received an invoice or other appropriate request for payment before the expiry of that deadline, following the contract; the deadline for reviewing the subject of obligations cannot be longer than 30 days from the day of receipt of the goods or the performed service unless a more extended deadline is agreed upon in exceptionally justified cases; or
from the day the electronic invoice is issued through the electronic invoice system when the debtor is considered to have received the electronic invoice by the creditor who has fulfilled his contractual obligation. Suppose the electronic invoice is delivered on a day when the public sector entity is not working. In that case, the electronic invoice is considered delivered on the first following working day.