The Law on Endowments and Foundations (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 88/2010, 99/2011 – other law and 44/2018 – other law) (hereinafter: the Law on Endowments and Foundations) regulates the establishment and legal status of endowments and foundations, their assets, internal organisation, registration and deletion from the register, activities, status changes, supervision of the work of endowments and foundations, termination, other issues of relevance to their work, as well as the legal status and operation of representative offices of foreign endowments and foundations.
An endowment, within the meaning of the Law on Endowments and Foundations, is a legal entity without members to which the founder has allocated specific assets (initial assets) for the charitable pursuit of a public benefit objective or a private interest, i.e. an objective not prohibited by the Constitution or by law.
A foundation, within the meaning of the Law on Endowments and Foundations, is a legal entity without members and without initial assets, established for the charitable pursuit of a public benefit objective that is not prohibited by the Constitution or by law.
Endowments and foundations, within the meaning of the Law on Endowments and Foundations, are non-profit non-governmental organisations established voluntarily and autonomous in determining their objectives.
Establishment of an Endowment and a Foundation
Founder and Founding Act
An endowment or a foundation may be established by one or more legally competent domestic or foreign natural or legal persons.
An endowment or a foundation shall be established by a founding act or agreement (hereinafter: the founding act), drawn up in written form. The founding act shall be adopted by the founder. The signatures of the founders on the founding act shall be certified in accordance with the law.
An endowment may also be established by testamentary disposition. If the testator has not appointed an executor of the will, the court competent for conducting probate proceedings shall appoint an executor. The provisions governing succession shall apply to the executor of the will who is responsible for registration in the Register of Endowments and Foundations.
Other natural and legal persons may join an established endowment or foundation in the capacity of co-founders, unless otherwise provided in the founding act, in the manner prescribed by the statute of the endowment or foundation.
Contents of the Founding Act
The founding act of an endowment or a foundation shall contain: the full name, i.e. the name and address, i.e. seat of the founder; the name and seat of the endowment and foundation; the objectives of its establishment; the full name and address of the person authorised to represent the endowment and foundation; the founder’s signature and their unique personal identification number, i.e. passport number and the country of issuance for founders who are foreign nationals; the registration number, seal and signature of the legal representative if the founders are legal entities; as well as the date of adoption of the founding act.
The founding act of an endowment shall also contain information on the endowment’s initial assets, including data on the assessed value of the initial assets provided by an authorised court expert, if the initial assets consist of tangible property or rights.
The founding act may also contain other provisions of importance for the establishment and operation of the endowment and foundation.
Statute of an Endowment and a Foundation
The statute is the highest governing document of an endowment and foundation. Other general acts of an endowment and foundation must be consistent with the statute. Provisions of any other general act that are contrary to the statute shall be null and void.
Unless otherwise provided by the founding act, the board of directors shall adopt the statute of the endowment and foundation.
The statute of an endowment or foundation shall regulate: the name and seat; objectives and activities; bodies and their powers; the method of appointing the board of directors following the expiry of the term of office of the members of the first board of directors; the method of dismissing members of the board of directors; the method of appointing and dismissing the manager and other bodies of the endowment and foundation; the duration of mandates and the decision-making process of the bodies of the endowment and foundation; representation; the initial assets of the endowment; other assets of the endowment and foundation – if the foundation has assets; rules governing the use of the funds of the endowment and foundation and the category of beneficiaries; the procedure for amending the statute and adopting and amending other general acts; transparency of operations, except for endowments established for the pursuit of private interests; the method of adopting decisions on merger by acquisition, merger, division, change of legal form, or termination of the endowment and foundation; the method of distribution of assets in the event of termination of the endowment and foundation; the abbreviated name and name in a foreign language, if the endowment and foundation has an abbreviated name and a name in a foreign language; the form and content of the seal; the form and content of the logo, if the endowment and foundation has a logo.
The statute may also regulate other matters of importance for the activities and achievement of the endowment’s and foundation’s objectives.
Initial Assets of an Endowment
The initial assets of an endowment may consist of tangible property, rights, or money.
The minimum value of the initial assets required for the establishment of an endowment shall be 30,000 EUR in the dinar equivalent at the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of establishment. Exceptionally, an endowment whose initial assets are of a value lower than 30,000 EUR may be entered in the Register of Endowments and Foundations, subject to a prior opinion obtained from the ministry competent for culture, i.e., for endowments established in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, from the competent authority of that autonomous province responsible for cultural affairs, confirming that the initial assets are sufficient to achieve the objectives for which the endowment shall be established.
The provisions of the Law on Endowments and Foundations regulating the initial assets of an endowment shall not apply to endowments whose assets have been nationalised.
Rights held by the testator at the time of death, which were bequeathed for the benefit of an endowment established for the pursuit of a public benefit objective or a foundation, shall not form part of the inheritance and shall not be included in the value of the inheritance based on which the compulsory portion is calculated, unless the testator has provided otherwise.
Tax Exemptions
No taxes established by law shall be payable on funds acquired gratuitously (through voluntary contributions, gifts, donations, financial subsidies, legacies, etc.) by a foundation and by an endowment established for the pursuit of a public benefit objective.
Bodies of an Endowment and a Foundation
The bodies of an endowment and a foundation are the board of directors and the manager.
The statute may provide for other bodies of the endowment and foundation.
An endowment and a foundation may use different titles for their bodies.
Membership of the Board of Directors
An endowment and foundation shall be managed by a board of directors consisting of at least three members.
The founder may be a member of the board of directors or of other bodies of the endowment and foundation provided for in the statute.
Unless otherwise specified by the founding act and the statute, the chairperson and members of the board of directors of an endowment and foundation shall be appointed by the founder or the executor of the will.
A member of the board of directors of an endowment established for the pursuit of a public benefit objective and a member of the board of directors of a foundation may not be a minor or a person deprived of legal capacity, a person employed by the endowment and foundation, a person who is a member of another management or supervisory body of that endowment and foundation, a person supervising the work of the endowment and foundation, nor a person whose interests could conflict with the interests of the endowment or foundation.
A member of the board of directors of an endowment established for the pursuit of a private interest may not be a minor or a person deprived of legal capacity, a person who is a member of another management or supervisory body of the endowment, or a person supervising the work of the endowment.
Powers of the Board of Directors
The board of directors shall: appoint and dismiss the manager and adopt the statute – unless otherwise provided by the founding act; adopt the financial plan and annual financial statements; decide on the manner of use of the assets of the endowment and foundation; adopts rules of procedure for its work; and perform other duties in accordance with the law, the founding act and the statute.
The board of directors shall also decide on changes to the objectives and on status changes of the endowment and foundation, if so provided by the founding act, as well as on the termination of the endowment and foundation and the distribution of the remaining assets, unless the founding act stipulates that these matters shall be decided by the founder.
Term of Office and Method of Work of the Board of Directors
Unless otherwise provided by the statute:
- The term of office of members of the board of directors shall be four years, with the possibility of reappointment;
- The chairperson of the board of directors shall convene meetings, set the agenda and preside over meetings of the board of directors. In the event of the chairperson’s absence, the deputy chairperson or a member of the board of directors designated by the boardof directors shall convene meetings of the board of directors and exercise the other powers of the chairperson of the board of directors;
- The board of directors shall adopt valid decisions by a majority vote of the total number of its members.
Termination of Membership of the Board of Directors
Membership of the board of directors shall terminate upon expiry of the term of office, dismissal, resignation, loss of legal capacity, death, and in other cases determined by the statute.
Manager
The manager of an endowment and foundation shall: represent the endowment and foundation; be responsible for the legality of its operations; conduct its affairs in accordance with the decisions of the board of directors; submit to the board of directors a draft financial plan and annual financial statements; and perform other duties in accordance with the law and the statute.
Unless otherwise provided by the founding act and the statute, the manager of an endowment and foundation shall be appointed and dismissed by the board of directors.
Only a legally competent natural person who has permanent or temporary residence in the territory of the Republic of Serbia may be appointed as manager of an endowment and foundation.
Duration of Establishment
Endowments and foundations may be established for an indefinite or a definite period of time.
Registration in the Register of Endowments and Foundations
Registration in the Register of Endowments and Foundations shall be carried out by the Serbian Business Registers Agency as a delegated public function.
The detailed content and method of maintaining the Register of Endowments and Foundations are prescribed by the provisions of the Rulebook on the Detailed Content and Method of Maintaining the Register of Endowments and Foundations (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 16/2011).
The Decision on Fees for Registration Procedures and Other Services Provided by the Serbian Business Registers Agency (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 95/2025) determines the types, amounts and method of payment of fees for registration procedures and other services provided by the Serbian Business Registers Agency.
The Serbian Business Registers Agency maintains the Register of Endowments and Foundations through the Registrar of Endowments and Foundations.
An endowment or foundation shall acquire legal personality on the date of its entry in the Register of Endowments and Foundations and may not commence operations before such registration.
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