On Thursday, March 14, 2024, a seminar was held in cooperation with the Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia, focusing on legislative amendments, digitalization and e-customs, novelties in transit procedure, as well as the provision of securities in customs procedure
This significant event, organized as part of the initiative for dialogue between the business community and state institutions, brought together approximately 50 representatives of company members of business associations that organized the seminar – the Belgian-Serbian Business Association, Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, and the Croatian Business Club.
Slobodan Tomić, coordinator of joint affairs in the Sector for Customs Procedures of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia, presented, among other things, the New Application Platform (NAP) and the benefits it brings, including faster procedure for declaring goods, cost reduction, minimizing the need for direct contact between customs officials and importers/exporters and their representatives, and many others. He mentioned that there are currently 55 AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) companies operating in Serbia and that new benefits were introduced for these entities at the beginning of 2023: fewer physical and documentary controls, reduction of the amount of joint security, use of special, faster lanes for AEOs at border crossings, and others. Mr. Tomić pointed out that these novelties significantly contribute to bringing customs procedures closer to EU standards.
Novelties in the transit procedure, such as changes in the structure of electronic transit declaration, pre-submitted declaration, and declaration with fewer data, were presented by Slobodan Ilić, head of the Transit Procedure Group in the Sector for Customs Procedures, while Ivanka Jovetić, coordinator of joint affairs in the Sector for Financial, Investment, and Legal Affairs, presented the part related to the provision of securities in the customs procedure: types of securities, types of guarantees, reference amount of guarantees, etc.
In addition to being informative, the seminar was interactive, allowing participants to ask questions, exchange experiences, and actively participate in dialogue with experts from the Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia. After the working part of the seminar, a cocktail reception was organized as an opportunity for business networking and further dialogue.