Serbia’s Ministry of Finance has amended the Rulebook on Electronic Invoicing, introducing changes to summary VAT records, electronic input VAT recording, and the structure and preparation of preliminary VAT returns through the national e-invoicing system.
Serbia’s Ministry of Finance has adopted amendments to the Rulebook on Electronic Invoicing, published in Official Gazette No. 71/2026. The amendments took effect on 1 August 2026, except for provisions concerning the preparation of preliminary VAT returns, which will apply to tax periods beginning after 31 December 2026.
This Rulebook on Electronic Invoicing details the technical and legal requirements for using the national e-invoice system. It specifies the mandatory registration procedures for various entities, including private companies, entrepreneurs, and public sector users, while clarifying the roles of information intermediaries.
The rulebook defines the essential elements of an electronic invoice, such as tax categories, currency rules, and required identification numbers like PIB and JBKJS. Additionally, it provides rigorous instructions for the electronic recording of VAT, covering both individual and summary records for various transaction types.
The key amendments are as follows:
Summary of VAT records
The amendments modify Article 19 of the Rulebook to provide greater granularity in reporting cancellations within the Summary VAT Register:
- Separate tracking for advances: In the sections “Cancellation – tax debtor supplier” and “Cancellation – tax debtor recipient” data regarding increases in the tax base and VAT relating to advances must now be reported in dedicated, separate fields.
- Tax rate breakdown: These advance-related base and VAT increases are itemised separately for both the 20% and 10% VAT rates.
- Recipient basis: For tax debtor recipients, cancellation entries are populated based on individual VAT records concerning acquisitions that hold a cancelled status for the relevant tax period.
Electronic recording of input VAT
Articles 28a, 28г, 28ђ, and 28д update the rules for electronic recording of input VAT (EEPP). EEPP must generally be completed by the 12th day of the month following the relevant tax period.
Taxpayers may correct or update EEPP after this deadline, subject to specific rules on automatically entered data.
EEPP must be completed or updated by the date the preliminary VAT return is prepared; however, if that return has already been submitted, or the regular VAT return has been filed, automatic EEPP updates are no longer available. EEPP functions can be performed in SEF daily from 09:00 to 24:00.
Preliminary tax return
Articles 29 and 29a establish the structure, auto-population logic, and formatting for the preliminary tax return in SEF:
- Three-form structure:
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- Form PPP PDV: The primary preliminary value-added tax return.
- Form Appendix 1: Detailed data on the tax base/fee and VAT generated from SEF records.
- Form Appendix 2: Data on supplies of equipment and facilities used for business activities, as well as investments in such facilities.
- Data flow & aggregation: Form PPP PDV is created by combining data automatically entered into Appendix 1 with data manually entered into Appendix 2.
- Sources feeding Appendix 1: Data automatically populates Appendix 1 from e-invoices (invoices, advance invoices, debit notes, and specific credit notes), individual VAT records (under Articles 20 and 20a), Summary VAT Records, and EEPP.
- Default values: If SEF lacks data for specific fields in Appendix 1, the value “0” (zero) is inserted automatically.
- Monetary format: All figures across Form PPP PDV, Appendix 1, and Appendix 2 are rounded and expressed in whole Serbian Dinars (RSD) without decimals.
- Availability & submission: Drafting preliminary tax returns in SEF is enabled daily from 09:00 to 24:00 hours, and the completed return is submitted to the tax authority upon request.
