Serbia is the only European country with free-trade agreements covering both the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union at once, plus CEFTA and Türkiye. For a manufacturer that means goods made in Serbia can enter both markets duty-free where the origin rules are met. It is an EU candidate, its law is progressively aligning with the Union's, and labour costs are markedly lower than in Central Europe.
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Recent trade news from this country's authorities and newsrooms — tariffs, taxes, sanctions, currency, imports and exports. Headlines are in the original language; the article opens at the publisher. We add no comment.
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Setting up a company
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Legal forms
- ·Sole trader
- ·Minimum capital
- ·How long registration takes
- ·Foreign ownership
- ·Documents to incorporate
- ·What to watch for
- ·Special regimes and zones
Taxes
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Corporate income tax
- ·VAT
- ·Withholding tax — dividends
- ·Double taxation treaty
Visas and residence
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Short stay
- ·Work permit
Citizenship
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Route to citizenship
Investment opportunities
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Where the capital goes
- ·Zones and incentives
What it makes and needs
Electrical machinery and wiring harnesses, motor vehicles and parts, grain and fruit, rubber and plastics, pharmaceuticals.
Oil and gas, machinery, chemicals, vehicles and consumer goods.
Manufacturing technology and automation, automotive components, food processing, energy, construction.
Money and payments
A managed float, in practice stable against the euro. Currency operations are free; payments between residents are made in dinars.
Importing into their market
A national customs regime converging on the Union's; the Stabilisation and Association Agreement has removed duty on most goods from the EU.
Serbia is adopting European technical regulation; CE is recognised for many categories, or an equivalent Serbian conformity mark is required.
Bringing their goods into the EU
The Stabilisation and Association Agreement gives Serbian goods duty-free access to the EU where the origin rules are met; part of the agricultural range carries quotas.
Origin is evidenced by an EUR.1 certificate or an invoice declaration under the PEM rules; cumulation within the pan-Euro-Mediterranean zone is available.
Outlook
Base case: Serbia stays a manufacturing base on the Union's doorstep, duty-free under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, cheaper than the EU, with accession moving slowly. For a European buyer that means a nearby supplier with no duty but with a customs procedure.
What to watch: the pace of accession talks and alignment with the Union Customs Code, the dinar against the euro, industrial energy prices, and whether Serbia introduces a CBAM-equivalent mechanism — that decides how steel, aluminium and cement move after 2026.
Practical matters
Serbian is the official language; English is common in business and among younger people. Sworn translations are done by court-appointed translators.
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