Igor Živkovski, Živković Samardžić Corporate and M&A Senior Associate, shall represent the Foreign Investors Council in the working group established by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia to finalize the working draft of the Amendments to the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations.
Besides the Foreign Investors Council, the group that held its first meeting on 8 June 2017 is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, National Bank of Serbia, Tax Administration, Securities Commission of Serbia, Association of Serbian Banks and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.
The group aims to propose solutions for liberalization of the existing limitations of capital flows in the areas of (i) short-term borrowing from abroad by residents that are not banks; (ii) payments for purpose of residents’ investments in foreign short-term securities, and (iii) payments for purpose of non-residents’ investments in short-term securities in the Republic of Serbia.
In line with Serbia’s obligations stemming from the Stabilization and Association Agreement and in order to harmonize the applicable regulations with the EU legislation and international standards in this area, as the part of the accession negotiations within the context of the Acquis Chapter 4 –Free Movement of Capital, the Amendments to the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations are to be adopted by the 1 September 2017, as the day on which the four year after the entry into force of the Stabilization and Association Agreement expires.
Živković Samardžić, one of the Serbia’s leading full-service independent law firms, is a proud member of the Foreign Investors Council. The Council, established in 2002 as a promoter of the investment conducive business environment and solid business ethics, is connecting over 130 members with investments over €28.7 billion, more than 94,000 employees in Serbia, direct contribution of 21.7% to the GDP and significantly higher indirect impact on the economy through their value-added chains.