The Central Register of Integrated Procedures for the issuance of construction and other construction industry permits, which is kept by the Serbian Business Registers Agency, has received a total of 73,073 applications in the first eight months of this year, out of which 18,741 were the applications for the issuance of construction permits. By 23 September, 18,473 applications have been processed.
Compared to the same period last year, when 45,413 applications were received, the total number of applications received in the first half of this year was 45,524, out of which 12,798 applications refer to the issuance of construction permits, which is by 3.5% less than in the same period last year. This reduction was a consequence of the unfavourable health conditions, as well as the state of emergency introduced due to the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which caused a decline in all business activities in the country, including the construction industry.
In the first eight months of the year, exercising the authority falling within its jurisdiction, the Serbian Business Registers Agency was controlling the compliance with the prescribed deadlines in 29,538 submitted applications. In 1,203 cases, the Agency requested explanations of the reasons for delays in resolving applications for the issuance of location requirements, construction and occupancy/use permits, connection to utilities and other infrastructure. This control aims to monitor the work of the competent authorities and achieve greater efficiency in the implementation of administrative procedures.
Since the establishment of the Central Register of Integrated Procedures in 2016 and the introduction of electronic issuance of construction permits, the number of applications has been increasing from year to year. In 2016, 63,109 applications were received, while the number of applications received in 2019 was 114,707.