Customs management has provided a new explanation of Simplified customs clearance procedures with express consignments. In the new explanation, express consignments are divided into 4 groups:

1. Consignments containing personal use objects
2. Marketing materials and samples obtained from abroad free of charge
3. Consignments for which a customs debt can be incurred and which are not liable to the measures of trade policy
4. Consignments containing goods liable to the measures of trade policy

The primary goal of this simplification is to conduct declaration of goods before it is checked in and to clear express consignments from groups 1 and 2 immediately upon consignation, if they had not previously been marked for control. This will enable clearing 80% of checked in goods within 1h.

This procedure will be simplified because of the benefits which operators get. This means that only those operators which meet the prescribed requirements given in the explanation will be able to work in this way.

With this explanation, Customs Management Act number 148-03-030-05/4/2012 is suspended

Foreign citizens’ involvement in customs procedures

Pursuant to the Customs Law, a person with residence or headquarters in the Republic of Serbia is:

• A citizen of the Republic of Serbia or a foreign citizen who has been granted permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia pursuant to the applicable law,
• A legal person with central headquarters, registered branch office, regional office or permanent business establishment in the Republic of Serbia.

Pursuant to the Customs Law, a customs declaration, with all documents required for application of the legislation regulating the customs procedure for which the goods have been declared, can be lodged by any person able to present the goods to the customs office, or a person authorized by the holder of goods, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 of this law. Restriction imposed by the Customs Law concerning the declarant means that the declarant must be a person with headquarters or residence in the Republic of Serbia. Moreover, provision of Article 6 of the Customs Law stipulates that a person who does not have headquarters or residence in the Republic of Serbia involved in a customs procedure shall authorize their indirect representative who shall act in their own name but on behalf of the person who does not have headquarters or residence in the Republic of Serbia.

Accordingly, having in mind the fact that a declarant is a person lodging a customs declaration in their own name or the person in whose name the declaration is made, as well as the fact that the declarant must be a person with headquarters or residence in the Republic of Serbia, it shall be concluded that a foreign citizen cannot act as a declarant in a customs procedure and that appointing a customs representative, an indirect customs representative in particular, is required. Concretely, should a release of goods for free circulation declaration be lodged, this means that personal data of the indirect customs representative, appointed by the foreign citizen shall be inserted in column 14 (Declarant/representative), while personal data of the foreign citizen as the holder of goods shall be inserted in column 8 (Recipient).

In the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia" no. 062 of 10 August 2018, the Regulation on amendments to the Regulation on customs-approved treatment of goods was published.

The legal basis for the adoption of the Regulaition on amendments to the customs-approved treatment of goods is contained in Article 59, paragraph 6 of the Customs Law, which stipulates that the Government, in certain exceptional cases for specific types of goods and transport trade, certain economic entities, also having regard to international agreements providing for special security procedures, shall prescribe detailed conditions regarding the submission of a summary declaration. Also, the basis for the adoption of this regulation is contained in Article 101, paragraph 1 of the Customs Law, which states that the customs authority may authorize the simplification of the procedure, in the cases and in the manner prescribed by the Government.

The adopted amendments to the Regulation on customs-approved treatment of goods, in the part concerning express shipments, help establish a system that allows the submission of customs documents before the arrival of express shipments and the processing of these documents (for the purpose of risk analysis), also before the arrival of express consignments, and which in turn should have the acceleration and simplification of the procedure with express shipments.

The Customs Administration has published document under number 148-33-012-01-16/2016 dated 28 January 2016 - The beginning of Joint Transit Procedure

Information stating that the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure, published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia - International agreements" No. 13 dated 26 June 2015, shall enter into force in the Republic of Serbia as of 1 February 2016 was published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia" No. 24 dated 30 December 2015.

The "Official Journal of the European Union" No. L 344 dated 30 December 2015 published the following decision: 

• Decision No. 3/2015 of the Joint Committee of EU-EFTA about joint transit dated 13 October 2015 in relation to inviting of the Republic of Serbia to access the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure from 20 may 1987 [2015/2466] and
• Decision No. 4/2015 of the Joint Committee EU-EFTA on a common transit dated 26 November 2015, which repeals the Convention dated 20 May 1987 on a Common Transit Procedure [2015/2467]