The registration procedure shall be initiated by submitting an application for registration on the appropriate form.

The application for registration shall be accompanied by the prescribed documents, either originals, certified extracts or certified copies, as well as by proof of payment of the registration fee.

When a foreign document is attached to the registration application, it must be legalized in compliance with the law and accompanied by a translation drawn up by a certified court interpreter.

The procedure of ex officio registration or strike-off of data shall be initiated when a court, public enforcement officer or other state authority delivers a resolution, decision or other appropriate document constituting the legal grounds for registration or strike-off of data from the Register, as well as if a separate law prescribes that the registration or strike-off of data is performed ex officio.

*The registration procedure is governed by the Law on the Procedure of Registration with the Serbian Business Registers Agency (Official Gazette of the RS, Nos. 99/11, 83/14, 31/19 and 105/21).

*The content of the Register and the documents required for registration are stipulated by the Rulebook on the Content of the Register of Pledges on Movable Property and Rights and Documents Required for Registration (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 71/19 and 156/20).

*The fee for registration and other services of the Pledge Register is stipulated by the Decision on Fees for Registration and Other Services Provided by the Serbian Business Registers Agency (Official Gazette of the RS, Nos. 119/13, 138/14, 45/15, 106/15, 32/16, 60/16, 75/18, 73/19, 15/20, 91/20, 11/21 and 66/21).

SUBMISSION OF REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS

The registration application can be submitted directly or by mail.

The application can be submitted directly in the business premises of the Serbian Business Registers Agency in Belgrade or one of its thirteen organizational units. The addresses of the organizational units are listed in the “Contacts” section.

If the application is submitted by mail, the date and time of its submission shall be deemed to be the date and time of its receipt by the Serbian Business Registers Agency.

TYPES OF THE REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORMS

The following are the types of application forms for registration of pledge rights:

  • Application Form for Registration of a Right of Pledge;
  • Application Form for Registration of Amendments and/or Supplements to Data on a Registered Pledge;
  • Application Form for Registration of an Annotation;
  • Application Form for Strike-off of an Annotation;
  • Application Form for Strike-off of a Registered Pledge.

The following are the types of application forms for registration of a contract of sale with retention of ownership until the full price has been paid:

  • Application Form for Registration of a Contract of Sale;
  • Application Form for Registration of Amendments and/or Supplements to Data on a Contract of Sale;
  • Application Form for Registration of an Annotation of a Contract of Sale;
  • Application Form for Strike-off of an Annotation of a Contract of Sale; and
  • Application Form for Strike-off of a Contract of Sale.

The registration application forms listed above are available on the website of the Agency, in the Pledge Register’s section “Forms”.

These application forms can be downloaded free of charge from the section “Forms”, while the paper copies thereof can be obtained in the business premises of the Serbian Business Registers Agency in Belgrade or one of its thirteen organizational units against a fee of RSD 120.

Special instructions for completing each of the forms and detailed instructions on the required registration supporting documents are provided in the section “Instructions”.

Detailed instructions on the fee for registration or strike-off of data are available in the section “Fees”.

THE REGISTRATION APPLICANT

To be considered valid, an application has to be submitted by a duly authorized person.

The following are the parties authorized to submit the application for registration of a right of pledge:

  • the pledge creditor (a party that is securing its monetary claim by the right of pledge); and
  • the pledger (a party that has the right of ownership over a movable asset or is the holder of some right that it pledges in favour of the creditor).

The debtor (a party different from the pledger, whose debt is secured by the pledge) is not authorized to submit the application for registration of a right of pledge.

The following are the parties authorized to submit the application for registration of a contract of sale:

  • the seller (a party that is selling its movable asset); and
  • the buyer (a party that is buying a movable asset over which the seller retains the right of ownership even after it has been handed to the buyer).

Other types of registration applications can be submitted not only by the pledge creditor, the pledger, the seller and the buyer but also by the interested parties, i.e. parties that have a certain legal interest in registering or striking-off data from the Register (e.g. the party pursuing the litigation related to the registered pledge right shall be authorized to file the application for registration of an annotation; the party that has purchased the object of the pledge in the court sale procedure shall be authorized to file the application for striking-off the registered pledge, etc.)

THE SIGNATORY OF THE REGISTRATION APPLICATION ON BEHALF OF THE LEGAL ENTITY

The registration application submitted by the legal entity shall be signed by the:

  • Legal representative of the company or other legal entity;
  • Representative, who is authorized to represent the company according to the relevant company document or the resolution of the competent corporate governance body;
  • Procurator, provided that he cannot transfer the authorisation for representation to a third party, since a procuration shall be non-transferrable;
  • Authorized person, based on the proper power of attorney or authorization..

SUBMISSION OF THE REGISTRATION APPLICATION THROUGH THE PROXY

If the registration application is submitted through the proxy, the proper power of attorney for representation shall be attached to the application.

The power of attorney can be:

  • General power of attorney, authorizing the proxy to take all actions in the procedure; or
  • Special power of attorney, authorizing the proxy to take only certain actions specified in the power of attorney.

The proxy must be explicitly authorized for signing a pledge release statement.

If the proxy is not an attorney-at-law and the authorization is granted by a natural person, the power of attorney must be certified by the authority competent for signature certification (as of 1 March 2017, only notaries shall be responsible for certification of documentation, except in local self-government units where there are no notaries and therefore the certification may still be performed by a court or municipality).

AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW AS THE REGISTRATION APPLICANT

If the proxy is an attorney-at-law, the power of attorney does not have to be certified. However, if the foreign legal entity authorizes an attorney-at-law by virtue of a power of attorney, the signature of the grantor should be certified to verify that the signatory is the authorized representative of the grantor of the power of attorney. If the power of attorney is certified abroad, such a document must be legalized in compliance with the law.

DEPOSITING A POWER OF ATTORNEY

If some legal entity often appears as a party in the registration procedure, the power of attorney may be deposited with the Pledge Register.

When submitting the registration application, the applicant should state that the power of attorney was deposited and must state the filing number of the power of attorney deposited with the Agency.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR REGISTRATION

The appropriate and duly completed registration application shall be accompanied by:

  • a document constituting the legal grounds for registration or strike-off of data;
  • another appropriate document that can corroborate the data that are subject to registration;
  • proof of payment of the prescribed registration fee.

The documents accompanying a registration application shall be either originals or certified copies.

If a foreign document is submitted for data registration, it must be legalized in compliance with regulations governing legalization of documents in international transactions.

A document drawn up in a foreign language shall be accompanied by a translation drawn up by a certified court interpreter.

The Rulebook on the Content of the Register of Pledges on Movable Property and Rights and Documents Required for Registration prescribes in detail the documents that must be submitted for registration or strike-off of registered data, specifically for each type of registration application.

The Rulebook is available in the section “Laws and By-laws”.

Detailed instructions on the documents to be submitted with each of the registration applications are provided in the section “Instructions”.

DEADLINE FOR FILING THE APPLICATION

The applicant shall submit the registration application within a period of 15 days from the issue date of the data or document that are subject to registration, or the change of registered data or document unless another deadline is prescribed by law. If the application is submitted upon expiry of the deadline prescribed by law, a registration fee shall be increased by the amount prescribed by the Decision on Fees for Registration and Other Services Provided by the Serbian Business Registers Agency.

DEADLINE FOR THE REGISTRAR'S DECIDING UPON THE APPLICATION

The deadline for deciding upon a registration application shall be five workdays from the receipt thereof.

If the Registrar fails to decide upon an application within the deadline set by the law, the application shall be deemed to have been granted. In that case, the Registrar shall issue a decision accordingly, approving the requested registration without delay.

Decision granting the application

If the registration requirements are met, the Registrar shall issue a decision granting the application. The decision by the Registrar shall be published on the website of the Agency simultaneously with its adoption.

Decision rejecting the application and possibility to submit the new one against the payment of one half of the prescribed fee

The Registrar shall reject an application if he determines that it has been submitted by an unauthorized party, does not contain data and facts necessary for the registration, is not accompanied by the prescribed documents, the facts contained in it do not comply with the facts contained in the attached documents and the data registered in publicly available registers, and/or it is not accompanied by proof of payment of the prescribed registration fee. The decision rejecting the application shall state which of the prescribed registration requirements have not been met.

If the applicant submits a new registration application within 30 days from the date of publication of the decision rejecting the application and remediates the deficiencies established by the decision, he shall pay one half of the amount of the fee prescribed for the registration that is the subject-matter of the application. The applicant must state in the new application the number of the decision rejecting the previous application.

If the applicant appeals the decision rejecting the application and at the same time submits a new application, the actions taken for the remediation of the established deficiencies shall be considered not taken at all and the appeal procedure shall be continued.

Other grounds for rejecting an application

The Registrar shall issue a decision rejecting the application if he establishes that he is not competent to decide upon the application, the data or the document which are the subject-matter of the application are not subject to registration, the data or the document submitted for registration has been already registered, the application referred to in Article 17 paragraph 3 of the Law on the Procedure of Registration with the Serbian Business Registers Agency has not been submitted within the prescribed time limit, the registration of data or documents conflicts with a separate law, or the registration of the data or the document conflicts with a document of the competent authority issued in compliance with the law.

A decision by the Registrar can be appealed by the applicant.

DELIVERY OF A WRITTEN COPY OF THE DECISION ISSUED IN THE REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

A written copy of the Registrar’s decision is served on the applicant only at his express request.

A written copy of the Registrar’s decision can be delivered:

  • by mail, to the legal entity’s or the soleproprietor’s registered mailing address;;
  • by mail, to the legal entity's or the soleproprietor's registered office address, if a amailing address was not registered;
  • by email, to the registered email address pursuant to regulations governing electronic business;
  • by mail, to the address of the permanent or temporary residence of the natural person who is a party to the procedure; or
  • it can be collected in person, at the Agency's business premises in Belgrade or one of its thirteen organizational units.

RETURN TO STATUS QUO ANTE

Return to status quo ante is not permitted in the registration procedure.

APPEALING THE REGISTRAR’S DECISIONS

The party authorized to submit an application shall be entitled to appeal the Registrar’s decision to the Minister in charge of economic affairs, within 30 days from the date of its publication.

Within the same time limit, a notice of appeal can also be made orally, for the record of the Serbian Business Registers Agency.

Filing a notice of appeal shall not stay the enforcement of the decision.

If a party authorized to submit the application appeals the decision rejecting the application, which establishes the registration requirements that have not been met, and at the same time remediates the deficiencies established by the decision, it shall be deemed that the actions taken for the remediation of the established deficiencies shall be considered not taken at all and the appeal procedure shall be continued.

The appellant may not make any reference in the appeal to the facts that were not entered in the application and the documentation that was not attached to the application.

Proof of payment of the state administrative fee for the appeal and the decision shall be filed along with a copy of the appeal. The fee is paid to the Republic of Serbia budget, account No.: 840-742221843-57.

According to Article 5, paragraph 1, items 1) and 2) of the Law on State Administrative Fees (Official Gazette of the RS, Nos. 43/2003, 51/2003, 61/2005, 101/2005, 5/2009, 54/2009, 50/2011, 70/2011, 55/2012, 93/2012, 47/2013, 65/2013, 57/2014, 45/2015, 83/2015, 112/2015, 50/2016, 61/2017, 113/2017, 3/2018, 50/2018, 95/2018, 38/2019, 86/2019, 90/2019, 98/2020, 144/2020, 138/22 and 92/23), the fee for applications is charged on submission, and for decisions upon filing a request for the issuance thereof. According to a scale of charges for state administrative fees, the fee for filing an appeal shall amount to RSD 590 (tariff number 6), for a copy of the decision on appeal - RSD 690 (tariff number 9), and for a reminder inviting the payer to pay the fee - RSD 350 (tariff number 18).

APPEALS PROCEDURE

If the Registrar establishes that the appeal is either late, or inadmissible, or filed by an unauthorized person, he will issue a decision rejecting the appeal.

If the Registrar establishes that the appeal is justified, he will change or revoke the contested decision and issue a new decision approving the application.

If the Registrar fails to take any of the aforesaid decisions within five workdays from the date of receipt of the appeal, he will forward the appeal to the Minister in charge of economic affairs, without delay.

The minister will reach a decision on the appeal within 30 days from the date of receipt of the appeal by the Ministry.

RECTIFICATION OF TECHNICAL ERRORS

In case of misprints, miscalculations or other evident errors in the registration process, the Registrar will proceed to issue a decision correcting these within five workdays from the date when such errors were noted or from the date of submission of the request for corrections.

If the Registrar, while deciding upon the request for rectification of the error, establishes that no error was made, he shall issue a decision dismissing the request as unfounded.

ISSUANCE OF EXCERPTS, CERTIFICATES OR COPIES OF DOCUMENTS

ISSUANCE OF EXCERPTS, CERTIFICATES OR COPIES OF DOCUMENTS

Excerpt by ZL. number

An excerpt from the Register is a public document that contains all registered data on a particular right of pledge, i.e. a contract of sale.

An excerpt on the registered pledge right with the annotation to the effect that the settlement procedure has started has the power of an executive document.

In order to initiate a court or out-of-court settlement of a claim that is secured by the pledge right, the creditor shall have to pre-register an annotation that the claim settlement procedure has started.

Certificate

A certificate is a public document confirming that a particular movable asset is registered as the object of the pledge or sale, or that a particular person is registered as the pledger or the buyer, stating basic data on the registered right of pledge or contract of sale or confirming that a particular movable asset is not registered as the object of the pledge or sale, or that a particular person is not registered as the pledger or the buyer.

A certificate also confirms whether a data item or a document was registered, i.e. whether a particular document is kept in the Register.

A request for issuance of an excerpt/certificate from the Pledge Register

The request for issuance of an excerpt/certificate from the Pledge Register is displayed on the webpage of the Register within the section “Forms” and can be submitted by any interested party.

The request must be accompanied by proof of payment of the fee.

Issuance of copies of documents

An interested party can also request the issuance of copies of the documents based on which the registration or the strike-off of data from the Register was performed.

Fees for the issuance of excerpts, certificates and copies of documents

Detailed instructions on the fees for services of the Pledge Register, including the issuance of excerpts, certificates or copies of documents are available in the section “Fees”.

DATA AVAILABILITY

Availability of data on the Agency’s website

All registered data are publicly available on the website of the Agency, free of charge, within the section “Data Search” of the Pledge Register.

Detailed instructions on how to search the database can be found in the“Instructions” section, under the heading “Data Search Instructions”.

Access to registration supporting documents

Any interested party may access registration supporting documents.

The request for access to the case files should be submitted to the Archives Department of the Serbian Business Registers Agency. Detailed information, including contact telephone numbers, are available in the section “Archives”.

Data access restrictions

Access to certain data and documents may be restricted, pursuant to regulations governing the protection of personal data and business confidentiality.

CONSEQUENCES OF REPORTING FALSE DATA OR SUBMITTING FORGED OR TAINTED DOCUMENTS IN THE REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

Article 45 of the Law on the Procedure of Registration with the Serbian Business Registers Agency stipulates that the registration of false data or submission of forged or tainted documents with the intent of using such data or documents in the registration procedure as authentic constitutes a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment from three months to five years.

The new Rulebook on the Content of the Register of Pledge on Movable Property and Rights and the Documents Required for Registration entered into force on 12 October 2019. The Rulebook governs the content of the Register and the documents required for registration of data. The provisions on the registration of the two new types of contracts – a pledge contract with the transfer of the pledged asset into the possession of the creditor and a contract of sale of movable assets with retention of ownership for the purpose of securing the seller’s claim until the full price has been paid - shall apply as of 1 January 2021.