Serbia Expands VAT Reporting Functionality Within Its E-Invoicing System

Serbia’s Ministry of Finance has issued an amended Rulebook on Electronic Invoicing, published in Official Gazette No. 71/2026 in August, 2026. Rather than widening the scope of taxpayers subject to mandatory e-invoicing, the amendments concentrate on strengthening VAT-related functionality within the SEF platform, including VAT record-keeping, preliminary VAT return generation, and input VAT reporting. In parallel, the Serbian National Assembly has taken up Bill No. 2592-26 for consideration, a further legislative proposal that would extend electronic VAT reporting even further and add new cross-border trade capabilities to the system.

Rulebook Amendments: Enhanced VAT Functionality in SEF

The updated Rulebook introduces several changes to how VAT information is captured and processed through SEF:

• Preliminary VAT return – SEF will compile a preliminary VAT return using data drawn from e-invoices, VAT records, and input VAT records already held in the system. This mechanism applies to VAT periods starting after December 31, 2026.
• Expanded VAT reporting fields – New data fields and rules have been added to address taxable amount adjustments, increases and decreases in VAT, reductions tied to advance payments, cancellations (storno), and corrections.
• Input VAT records – Taxpayers must submit input VAT reporting by the 12th day of the month following the relevant VAT period. The Rulebook introduces new procedures for the automatic population of these records.
• Correction and update procedures – The Rulebook specifies how input VAT records can be corrected or updated and how this interacts with the preliminary VAT return, including limitations that apply once a preliminary VAT return or a VAT return has already been filed.
• Handling of SEF outages – New provisions address temporary system interruptions, covering how users are notified and how reporting deadlines may be adjusted when an outage prevents timely submission.

Taxpayers are encouraged to assess how these changes will affect their VAT reporting workflows, correction procedures, and broader SEF-related compliance obligations before the preliminary VAT return functionality takes effect in 2027.

Pending Bill: Further Expansion of VAT Reporting and Cross-Border Functionality

Bill No. 2592-26, accepted for consideration by the National Assembly, would build on these changes by further broadening electronic VAT reporting and cross-border trade capabilities. Its main measures include:

• Purchases from unregistered farmers – Electronic VAT records would be extended to capture purchases from farmers not registered for VAT, with these transactions reported on a cumulative basis and corrections permitted.
• Cross-border trade module – The existing module would be expanded to include export and dispatch data, providing users with access to customs declaration information for imports, deliveries, exports, and shipments of goods.
• Preliminary VAT returns – The bill would formally introduce preliminary VAT returns within the electronic invoicing system, supported by detailed rules for recording farmer purchases, managing customs declaration lists, and carrying out VAT return procedures.
• Aligned penalty provisions – Existing penalties would be updated to reflect the broadened electronic recording obligations.

If adopted, the bill would take effect 8 days after publication. While most provisions would apply from January 1, 2027, the farmer-purchase recording and cross-border customs-declaration access would apply later, from July 1, 2027.

There’s more you should know about e-invoicing in Serbia – learn more about the new and upcoming regulations.