LAWON DETERMINING THE ORIGIN OF PROPERTY AND ON THE SPECIAL TAX ("Off. Herald of the RS", Nos. 18/2020 and 18/2021) |
Article 1
This Law shall regulate the conditions, method and procedure for determining the property and increase in property of a natural person and the special tax on increase in property which the natural person cannot prove that has been acquired legally, as well as the authorities competent for the implementation of this Law.
Article 2
Within the meaning of this Law, individual expressions shall have the following meanings:
1) "Property" shall mean immovable and movable objects, whether registered or not, as well as other property rights applicable in the Republic of Serbia and abroad;
2) "Reported income" shall be the income of a natural person which has been reported to the competent tax authority;
3) "Increase in property" shall be the positive difference between the values of the property of a natural person at the end and at the beginning of a certain period;
4) "Expenditures for private needs of a natural person" shall stand for expenditures incurred by a natural person for private needs determined in the procedure of determining property and the special tax;
5) "Property on which special tax is determined" shall stand for the difference between the sum of the increase in property and expenditures for private needs of a natural person, on the one hand and the reported income increased by the amount of income not subject to taxation in the Republic of Serbia, property acquired without encumbrance, property acquired by borrowing, i.e. property acquired in another lawful manner.
Article 3
The burden of proof for any increase in property in relation to the reported income of a natural person shall lie with the Tax Administration, and the natural person shall bear the burden of proof that the property was acquired legally in the part in which the increase in his/her property is not in compliance with the reported income.
II UNIT OF TAX ADMINISTRATION COMPETENT FOR DETERMINING PROPERTY AND SPECIAL TAX
Article 4
The Tax Administration shall be competent for conducting the procedure for determining the property and the special tax and collection of special tax in compliance with this Law.
A separate organizational unit shall be established within the Tax Administration to carry out the tasks defined by this Law (hereinafter: Tax Administration Unit).
Manager of the Tax Administration Unit
Article 5
A person with at least ten years of professional experience acquired in the jobs in the field of tax procedure can be appointed to the position of the Manager of the Tax Administration Unit.
The Manager of the Tax Administration Unit shall be appointed by the Government for a period of five years, at the proposal of the Minister in charge of finance affairs.
III POWERS OF THE TAX ADMINISTRATION UNIT AND COOPERATION OF STATE AUTHORITIES
Powers of the Tax Administration Unit
Article 6
In the procedure prescribed by this Law, the Tax Administration Unit shall have the right to inspect and acquire data from:
1) All types of records and data maintained by i.e. in possession of competent authorities and other persons on immovable and movable objects, economic operators, financial instruments, savings deposits and accounts maintained with commercial banks, as well as other records and data from which the property of a natural person can be determined;
2) Ledgers and documentation of companies and other persons, in order to determine the property of a natural person.
Article 7
All state authorities and organizations, authorities of the Autonomous Province and of the local self-government unit, holders of public powers, natural and legal persons shall, at the request of the Tax Administration Unit, deliver data at their disposal within the time limit set by it and provide support to the employees of the Tax Administration Unit in the procedure prescribed by this Law.
Liaison Employees and Detachment
Article 8
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Bank of Serbia, the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, the Republic Geodetic Authority, Serbian Business Registers Agency and the Central Securities, Depository and Clearing House shall designate one or several liaison employees, for the purpose of more efficient cooperation and delivery of data that the Tax Administration Unit needs to conduct the procedure prescribed by this Law.
Where necessary, the liaison employees may be, at the request of the Director of the Tax Administration, temporarily transferred or detached to work with the Tax Administration Unit.
A temporary transfer or detachment shall last up to one year and can be extended.
Notifying the Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office
Article 9
If it is determined in the procedure prescribed by this Law that the facts are indicative of the existence of reasonable doubt that a criminal offence has been committed, the Tax Administration Unit shall notify the Police, the Tax Police, the public prosecutor’s office and other competent authorities thereof.
IV THE PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING PROPERTY AND SPECIAL TAX
Article 10
A procedure to determine property and the special tax shall be initiated and conducted ex officio, and it shall comprise of the preliminary procedure and the special tax control and assessment procedure (hereinafter: control procedure).
Determining of the Value of Property
Article 11
When determining the value of property, the entire property of the natural person shall be taken into account, and in particular:
1) Immovable objects (apartment, house, office building and premises, garage, land, etc.);
2) Financial instruments;
3) Stakes in a legal person;
4) Equipment for the pursuit of self-employment;
5) Motor vehicles, vessels and aircrafts;
6) Savings deposits and cash;
7) Other property rights.
The method and procedure for determining the value of property and income of a natural person and expenditures for private needs of a natural person shall be prescribed by the Government.
Initiating of a Preliminary Procedure
Article 12
A preliminary procedure shall be conducted by the Tax Administration, based on the risk analysis.
A preliminary procedure can also be initiated based on a report of another authority or at the initiative of a natural or legal person.
Article 13
In a preliminary procedure, the Tax Administration Unit shall determine the increase in property on the basis of data available to it and data collected from other authorities and organizations, legal or natural persons and compare them with the reported income for a certain period.
The Tax Administration Unit shall initiate the control procedure as prescribed by the law regulating the tax procedure and tax administration, if it makes probable in the preliminary procedure that, in the maximum of three consecutive calendar years in which the natural person has an increase in property, there is a difference between the increase in property and the reported income of the natural person exceeding EUR 150,000 in Dinar counter value calculated by using the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia applicable at the last day of the calendar year of the inspection period.
Article 14
In a control procedure, the property of a natural person to be taxed by special tax is determined, as well as its value.
The natural person referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall have the right to take part in the control procedure and to provide evidence that prove the lawful nature of property acquisition.
Natural person’s non-participation in the control procedure shall not stay the further conduct of the procedure.
In the control procedure, the Tax Administration Unit shall draw up a report on the performed control subject to mutatis mutandis application of the law regulating tax procedure and tax administration.
Following the completed control procedure, if the Tax Administration Unit finds the existence of property taxable by special tax, it shall pass a decision on determining the special tax.
Article 15
The special tax base shall be determined as the value of the property on which special tax is determined, and which shall comprise of the sum of revaluated value of such property for each calendar year that has been the subject of control.
The value of the property on which special tax is determined shall be revaluated by applying the consumer price index dating from the last day of the calendar year for which such property is determined up to the date of passing of the decision on the special tax.
The revenue from the special tax shall belong to the Budget of the Republic of Serbia.
Article 16
The Tax Administration Unit shall impose the special tax for the entire control period, by applying the rate of the special tax of 75% to the tax base determined under this Law.
Appeal against Decision of the Tax Administration Unit
Article 17
Appeal can be filed with the Ministry in charge of finance affairs against a decision on special tax. The appeal shall have suspensive effect on the enforcement of the decision.
The decision of the Ministry in charge of finance affairs shall be final in administrative proceedings and an administrative dispute can be initiated against it.
Application of the Law Regulating Tax Procedure and Tax Administration
Article 18
Unless where laid down otherwise by this Law, the procedure prescribed by this Law shall be governed by the law regulating tax procedure and tax administration, except for the provisions on time-barred determination and collection of tax.
Where it is determined in the course of procedure prescribed by this Law that the tax payer has an unsettled tax liability prescribed by another law (another type of tax) based on the lawfully acquired income, i.e. property, the procedure for determining and collecting such tax shall be carried out in compliance with the regulations governing such type of tax, as well as in compliance with the regulations governing tax procedure and tax administration.
V RELATION TO THE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Article 19
Where proceeds from crime have been determined in criminal proceedings by means of a final judgment and the special tax under this Law has also been paid, the court shall calculate the amount of the special tax paid in the proceeds from crime.
Provision of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply in the procedures of confiscation of the proceeds from crime.
Training of Tax Administration Unit’s and Ministry in Charge of Finance Affairs’ Employees
Article 20
The employees of the Tax Administration Unit and the employees of the Ministry in charge of finance affairs who are deciding in the second instance on appeals shall attend continuous training.
The program and method of conducting the continuous training shall be prescribed by the Minister in charge of finance affairs, at the proposal of the Director of the Tax Administration.
Article 21
The judges of the Administrative Court who are ruling on actions filed against the decisions on special tax which are final in administrative procedure must complete the training for acquiring special knowledge on the procedure of determining property and the special tax.
The training of judges shall be carried out by the Judicial Academy.
The program, method of conducting and the duration of the training shall be prescribed by the Judicial Academy.
The Judicial Academy shall issue certificates of completed training to the judges who have completed the training.
Issuing and the form of the certificate shall be prescribed by the Judicial Academy.
VII DATA ON FINANCIAL SITUATION AND SECURITY CHECKS OF PERSONS
Article 22
Prior to assuming their work positions, the employees of the Tax Administration Unit shall to deliver to the Agency for Prevention of Corruption complete and true data on their property, in writing.
Data on financial situation shall be recorded and checked by the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, in compliance with the law regulating its operations.
Article 23
At a written request of the director of the Tax Administration, in which the legal basis, the purpose and the scope of the check shall be indicated, security checks of the employees of the Tax Administration Unit shall be carried out, prior to assuming their work positions, during their work with the Tax Administration Unit, and one year from the termination of work in the Tax Administration Unit, without knowledge of the persons who are subjects to such checks.
The security checks shall be carried out by the Ministry of Interior Affairs and by the Security Information Agency.
The security checks of the Ministry of Interior Affairs shall be carried out in order to determine the existence of any obstacles from the aspect of protection of public order, and those of the Security Information Agency for the purpose of determining the existence of any obstacles from the aspect of security of the Republic of Serbia, and in the security check procedure data on the person subject to the check shall be collected and checked which are necessary to fulfill the purpose of the security check, while the check itself shall be performed by interviewing citizens, collecting data from legal persons, public authorities or by inspecting the registers, records, collections of data and databases maintained based on the law, as well as by taking other measures in compliance with the law and regulations passed based on the law.
A report shall be made on the completed security check, which shall be delivered to the director of the Tax Administration. The report shall not include data based on which methods or procedures used in collecting of data would be revealed, the sources of information or the members of the Ministry of Interior Affairs and of the Security Information Agency that have participated in the security checks would be identified.
Data collected in the course of a security check shall be recorded, kept and protected in compliance with the law regulating secrecy of data and the law regulating protection of personal data, and shall be used solely for the purpose for which it has been collected.
Article 24
All persons that in the procedure of determining of property and the special tax learn of data relating to such procedure shall keep such data as secret data in terms of the law governing tax procedure and tax administration.
Article 25
A misdemeanor fine ranging from RSD 500,000 to RSD 2,000,000 shall be imposed against a legal person that fails to deliver data at its disposal at the request of the Tax Administration Unit and within the time limit set by that administration (Article 7).
A sole trader shall be sanctioned for the misdemeanor referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article with a fine ranging from RSD 100,000 to RSD 500,000.
A natural person and the responsible person with a legal person, state authority and organization, authority of the Autonomous Province and of the local self-government unit and with a holder of public powers shall be sanctioned for the misdemeanor referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article with a fine ranging from RSD 50,000 to RSD 150,000.
A fine ranging from RSD 50,000 to RSD 150,000 shall be imposed for the misdemeanor against a natural person which has failed to keep data acquired in the course of the procedure of determining property and the special tax as confidential (Article 24).
Х TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Time Limit for Passing of Secondary Legislation
Article 26
The secondary legislation envisaged by this Law shall be passed within six months from the date of entry into force of this Law.
Article 27
The Manager of the Tax Administration Unit shall be appointed within nine months from the date of entry into force of this Law.
Designation of Liaison Employees
Article 28
The Ministry of Interior Affairs, the National Bank of Serbia, The Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, the Republic Geodetic Authority, Serbian Business Registers Agency and the Central Securities, Depository and Clearing House shall designate one or several employees to liaise with the Tax Administration Unit, within nine months from the date of entry into force of this Law.
Entry in Force and the Beginning of Application of the Law
Article 29
This Law shall enter into force on the eighth day from the date of publication in the “Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia” and it shall become applicable upon the expiry of one year from the law’s date of entry into force.
Independent Article of the Law on Amendments and Supplements of the Law on Determining the Origin of Property and on the Special Tax
("Off. Herald of the RS", No. 18/2021)
Article 11
This Law shall enter into force on the day that follows the date of publication in the "Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia", and shall become applicable from the day of commencement of application of the Law on Determining the Origin of Property and on the Special Tax ("Official Herald of the RS", No. 18/20).