Deputy Finance Minister Boris Lalovac presented in parliament on Tuesday a new value added tax bill, saying the government would consider the possibility of postponing until 1 January 2015 a provision under which businesses would pay VAT upon issuing a receipt and not upon collecting payment.
VAT will be paid upon collection until December 31 this year and upon issue of receipt as of 1 January 2014, he said, but added that this might be delayed until 1 January 2015.
The general VAT rate will remain at 25 per cent, with exemptions to which rates of ten or five per cent apply. VAT on newspapers and magazines will be five per cent.
As of 1 January 2015, it will no longer be possible to sell property without paying VAT.
War veterans will no longer be exempt from paying VAT on private cars and equipment intended for commercial activity.
Lalovac said a new VAT law was being passed in order to fully comply with European directives on a common VAT system.
The new law abolishes free zones which become part of the common market as well as the physical border and control between EU members, creating a common market without fiscal borders. Imports and exports between member countries are exchanged with the acquisition and delivery of goods within the Union.
