Accounting in Serbia: Obligations, Deadlines and Costs for a d.o.o. and a Preduzetnik

The real work starts once the company is registered. Whether you run a d.o.o. or work as a preduzetnik (sole trader), Serbia requires ongoing records, electronic invoices, regular tax returns and annual financial statements. Anyone who underestimates these obligations risks fines that can quickly exceed a full year of accounting fees. This article covers day-to-day operations: which obligations apply to each legal form, which deadlines belong in your calendar and how to find a suitable accountant (knjigovođa). How the formation itself works and what it costs is explained in Firmengründung in Serbien (in German) and Setting Up a DOO in Serbia: What Does It Actually Cost?. Which legal form suits you is covered in d.o.o. oder preduzetnik? Firmengründung Serbien (in German).

Which bookkeeping applies to which legal form?

In Serbia, the scope of your accounting depends mainly on the legal form and the method of taxation. Broadly, there are three cases:

The paušalac has the lightest workload. The tax administration sets the tax by assessment notice, so there is no profit calculation. Even so, there are obligations that are often handled incorrectly. Every invoice you issue goes into the KPO register in chronological order, whether or not it has been paid yet. Entering invoices only when payment arrives means the register is kept incorrectly. According to the business portal Biznis.rs, cash takings must be paid into the business account within seven working days, and anyone selling to private customers for cash generally needs a fiscal cash register.

For a d.o.o., by contrast, accounting is a fixed part of running the business. Every transaction is recorded in double-entry form, supporting documents must be kept, and at the end of the year financial statements are prepared, filed with the Business Registers Agency (Agencija za privredne registre, APR) and published there. This applies even if the company had hardly any turnover during the year.

E-invoicing and SEF: the rules since 2023

Serbia introduced electronic invoicing in stages. The central platform is the state electronic invoicing system (Sistem elektronskih faktura, SEF). Companies registered for VAT (PDV) issue invoices to other businesses and to public bodies via SEF. Companies without PDV registration must also be able to receive incoming e-invoices via SEF. For them, the obligation to issue invoices through SEF applies mainly to transactions with public-sector clients. How this applies to your business model in detail is something to clarify with your accountant, because the rules have been amended several times since 2023.

In 2025 a further obligation was added for PDV-registered businesses: electronic recording of output VAT charged and input VAT in SEF. These records must be completed by the 12th of the month following the end of the tax period. After a transition period in the first half of 2025, the tax administration has also been penalising formal errors since 1 July 2025. Biznis.rs cites fines of 200,000 to 2 million dinars for legal entities and 50,000 to 500,000 dinars for entrepreneurs. A provisional tax return prepared in SEF is currently due to be introduced from the January 2027 tax period; the start date has already been postponed once, so please have it confirmed locally.

PDV: registration, tax period and deadlines

PDV registration becomes mandatory once turnover in the last twelve months exceeds 8 million dinars. Voluntary registration is also possible below that threshold. The standard rate is 20 percent, the reduced rate 10 percent.

The tax period is either the calendar month or the calendar quarter. The return (PPPDV) is filed via the ePorezi portal within 15 days of the end of the tax period, and the tax must be paid within the same period. The electronic records in SEF must be completed before that, by the 12th. This concentrates your accountant's work in the first half of the month. Invoices you hand over late end up in the wrong period or have to be corrected.

Payroll

As soon as your company pays salaries, including to yourself as an employed managing director, you will also need payroll accounting. For every payment, the tax return for payroll tax and social security contributions (form PPP-PD, pojedinačna poreska prijava o obračunatim porezima i doprinosima) is filed via ePorezi, no later than the day of payment. Taxes and contributions fall due at the same time. Your accountant prepares the payroll calculation and the payment orders. How to combine a director's salary and profit distributions sensibly is described in the article on company formation; IT companies have specific rules, explained in IT-Firma in Belgrad: Steuern (in German).

Annual financial statements and corporate income tax

Companies and entrepreneurs with double-entry bookkeeping file their regular annual financial statements with the APR. If the financial year is the calendar year, the deadline is 31 March of the following year. By the same date, companies without any business transactions submit a statement of inactivity (izjava o neaktivnosti). Documentation for audited financial statements can be submitted later, up to 30 June. The APR only publishes financial statements prepared by an accounting service provider entered in its register. That shows how important it is to choose the right accountant.

Corporate income tax (porez na dobit) is 15 percent. The annual return (Obrazac PDP) is filed within 180 days of the end of the financial year, and during the year a d.o.o. makes monthly advance payments. Small companies are as a rule not subject to a statutory audit; whether your company does become subject to an audit because of its size or legal status follows from the size criteria in the Accounting Act and should be checked every year.

Your deadline calendar

Finding the right accountant

Since the 2019 Accounting Act, accounting services may only be offered by companies that hold a licence from the Chamber of Certified Auditors (Komora ovlašćenih revizora) and are entered in the register of accounting service providers kept by the APR. The transition period for this ended on 1 January 2023. So before you hire anyone, check whether your candidate is in the register. A friendly acquaintance who "does a bit of bookkeeping on the side" is not a solution, because without a register entry your financial statements will not be published.

Also look out for these points:

• Written contract (ugovor o pružanju računovodstvenih usluga) with a clear description of services: what is included in the flat fee, and what is charged extra, for example payroll per employee, annual financial statements, certificates or representation during tax audits?
• Access to ePorezi and SEF: clarify whether the accountant works under their own authorisation or needs your login details. An authorisation is the cleaner solution.
• Language: documents and returns are in Serbian. An accountant who can explain deadlines and queries to you in English avoids misunderstandings.
• Availability before the 12th and the 15th: ask how and by when you should send your documents.

What accounting costs

There are no fixed market prices. The monthly fee depends mainly on the legal form, the number of transactions, PDV registration and the number of employees. A paušalac without employees is at the lower end, a PDV-registered d.o.o. with payroll considerably higher. Even a d.o.o. with no turnover incurs ongoing costs, because the bookkeeping obligation applies regardless of activity. Guide figures for the ongoing costs of a new company can be found in the article on formation costs. Get at least two written quotes and compare them against the same list of services.

Accountant or tax adviser?

The knjigovođa takes care of your company's ongoing obligations. Questions about your personal tax position, for example tax residence, the double taxation agreement with Germany or how to structure profit distributions, go beyond that and belong with a tax adviser. In practice the two often work together.

How Exgentum helps

Exgentum puts English-speaking founders in Belgrade in touch with registered accounting firms, accompanies the first meeting and helps you set up the processes for documents, SEF and ePorezi so that the deadlines do not become a burden in your first year. Marin is your contact on site whenever questions need to be clarified in Serbian.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do the accounting for my d.o.o. myself?

As soon as you outsource your accounting, the provider must be entered in the APR register, otherwise your financial statements will not be published. Keeping the books in-house requires knowledge of Serbian accounting and tax law as well as working with SEF and ePorezi. For foreign founders without Serbian accounting training, this is not a realistic option in practice.

Do I need an accountant as a paušalac?

It is not strictly required by law. Many paušalci still hire an accountant for the KPO register, assessment notices and contributions, because mistakes with deadlines and invoices trigger fines.

What happens if my d.o.o. has no turnover for a year?

If there were no business transactions at all, you file a statement of inactivity with the APR by 31 March. Bank charges or accounting fees, however, already count as business transactions. Whether your company was really inactive is something your accountant should assess.

How long do I have to keep supporting documents?

Retention periods are set by the Accounting Act and the tax laws and differ depending on the document. Ask your accountant for an overview rather than destroying documents wholesale after a few years.

When do I have to register for PDV?

As soon as your turnover in the last twelve months exceeds 8 million dinars. Keep an eye on this threshold at all times, because it refers to a rolling period and not to the calendar year.