The process of issuing Decisions on determined obligations of freelancers based on their income in 2018 has begun

According to the publicly available information from the Tax Administration of the Republic of Serbia
dated 18 December, the issuance of Decisions on determined obligations of individuals, commonly
referred to as “freelancers,” who earned income between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018,
from (i) copyrights (such as book sales), (ii) related rights to copyright (such as performing songs),
and (iii) income for performed services (such as programming, foreign language classes, working
abroad/on a ship, etc.) subject to self-taxation, has begun. The notice further states that tax
obligations have been determined based on data from business banks regarding individuals’ earned
income, and the delivery of the decisions on assessed tax obligations is being carried out via post
office.
We note that the provision of Article 114, paragraph 2 of the Law on Tax Administration and Tax
Procedure stipulates that the statute of limitations for the right to determine taxes and related tax
payments begins to run from the first day of the following year after the year in which the tax or
related tax payment should have been determined, which in this specific case is 1 January 2024, so it
is likely that an attempt is made to deliver before that date.
Furthermore, in compliance with the principle of enabling insight into facts, the Tax Administration is
obliged, before issuing a decision on tax determination, to allow the taxpayer to review the legal and
factual basis for the issuance of the decision (Article 6 of the stated Law). In this process, a record is
prepared where individuals can present all objections and suggestions relevant to accurately
determining the obligation and issuing the decision.
Finally, the notice from the Tax Administration specifies that the determined obligation is to be paid in
120 equal monthly installments, with the first installment due for payment on the 15th of the month
following the month in which the tax authority’s decision was issued. Taxpayers are required to make
the first installment payment no later than 19 February 2024, which represents the first working day
after the state holiday.