Donations from abroad exempt from VAT and customs duties

BELGRADE - All foreign donations sent to flood-threatened regions in Serbia are exempt from payment of customs duties and VAT, and this also applies to donations through mobile phones distributed via all operators, as stipulated by the Law on Donations and Humanitarian Aid, the Serbian Ministry of Finance said in a release Tuesday.

VAT has not been scrapped on domestic retail trade of goods intended to be used as humanitarian aid.

The Finance Ministry has taken measures to ensure that humanitarian aid, arriving in Serbia from all sides, is imported efficiently, in the shortest possible time.

To facilitate procedures related to the sending of humanitarian aid from abroad, potential donors have been advised by the ministry to inform a competent diplomatic and consular office about their donations.

A specification of goods in the humanitarian shipment and specifying the recipient are required.

If a shipment contains food of plant and/or animal origin, in needs to be checked on the Customs Administration website which border crossings feature a permanent phytosanitary and veterinary inspection, and a list of these crossings will be sent to diplomatic and consular offices as soon as possible.

Photo Tanjug/D. Stankovic (illustration)