In accordance with the Law on Charges on Usage of Public Goods (“Law“), the Government of the Republic of Serbia, in April 2024, adopted the Regulation on Criteria for Determining Activities that Impact the Environment and the Amounts of Fees (“Regulation“).
The Regulation further defines the criteria for determining activities that impact the environment, within the prevalent activity of the charge payer (legal entities, entrepreneurs, and branches of foreign legal entities), as well as the amounts of charges for environmental protection and improvement.
Among other things, the Regulation prescribes the method of payment and determination of the charge amount in the case where the charge payer conducts activities in the territory of multiple local government units.
In such a case, the charge is payed:
- In all territories where they conduct activities that impact the environment,
- According to the degree of negative impact of the prevalent activity,
while the payment is effected as follows:
- The total calculated charge amount determined according to the prevalent activity is divided by the total number of local government units where the activities are conducted,
- Proportionally to the period of activity.
Conducting activities refers to the operations carried out by the charge payer both at the headquarters and distinct business units.
On the other hand, a business unit is understood to mean:
- Business premises and offices outside the headquarters where the charge payer conducts activities, as well as
- Land and premises on the land used for conducting activities.
In this regard, the question arose whether the competent authorities make a distinction in calculating the charge amount depending on the type of activity conducted in the distinct business unit.
According to the opinion of the Ministry of Finance, No. 1397679 2024 10520 004 001 011 004 dated May 30, 2024, such a distinction does not exist, meaning the type of activity conducted in the distinct business unit is irrelevant from the perspective of calculating the charge amount for environmental protection and improvement.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need further information, please feel free to contact us.
By Marija Muzevic, Counsel, and Minja Mucic, Junior Associate, PR Legal
