The Act on Amendments and Supplements to the Companies Act represents one of the largest, if not the largest legislative development expected in Serbian law in 2017. As the public debate on the subject changes came to a close recently, it is expected these revisions will be subject to the parliamentary procedure very soon. Among the proposed amendments and supplements—which have a two-fold aim, i.e. harmonization of domestic law with requirements from the Chapter 6 (Companies Law) for accession to the European Union and Serbia’s progress on the World Bank’s Doing Business List—are those concerning status of minority shareholders of […]
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The European Commission has recently concluded that Luxembourg has been granting an undue tax benefit to Amazon in the total amount of EUR250 million. Since Serbian tax authorities have the power to issue binding advance tax opinions—and given that multinationals commonly exploit this option without any consideration of state aid rules—the Commission’s Decision in the Amazon case should raise some eyebrows. The European Commission (Commission) continues its battle against alleged tax avoidance and has recently concluded that Luxembourg has been granting an undue tax benefit to Amazon in the total amount of EUR 250 million. This tax benefit was awarded […]
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It is our great privilege and pleasure to announce that Ms. Vesna Živković, a senior at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law business law concentration, has been selected as the winner of the second Taboroši Scholarship for the academic year 2017/2018. We would like to use this opportunity to sincerely congratulate Vesna as well as to thank all candidates for their participation and submissions of enviable quality. We are truly pleased with the number of submissions and are certain that Taboroši Scholarship will, in the years to come, motivate an increasing number of students of the business law module […]
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The Energy Community, the quintessential energy organization aiming to extend EU’s internal energy market and EU acquis to southeastern Europe and the Black Sea region, and create an integrated & sustainable pan-European energy market, recently published its 2016/2017 Annual Implementation Report (Report) (available for download), where it officially acknowledged our ongoing constitutional challenge against the Serbian Competition Act, secondary legislation and general regulations. The report does a noteworthy job in properly identifying some of the key arguments set out in the constitutional challenge, particularly the criminal nature of competition proceedings, lack of procedural safeguards required by the ECHR, and that the […]
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Gecić Law acted as legal counsel to the Government of Serbia and the Železara Smederevo steel mill with respect to an European Commission (EC) investigation on the historical State aid received by the old company, and the potential responsibility of Hesteel Serbia to reimburse it, under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, informed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, that the European Commission concluded that “the HeSteel-owned steel mill does not have to reimburse any state aid received in the past” (link). […]
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A series of interesting developments, unorthodox actions and landmark decisions surrounding the Serbian Protection of Competition Act that took place in recent months seem to be approaching its final resolution in the form of a brand new competition act that will enhance market competition and at the same time protect companies’ human rights. As this peculiar story approaches its final chapter, we analyse the chronological developments and measure expectations on a potentially milestone development for both Serbia, the region and the European antitrust discourse as a whole. The Uprising The first signs of what was to come happened in late […]
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On October 17, 2017, National Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Act on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in Electronic Business (the “Act”), which comes into force today, and thereby replacing the current regulations on electronic business, i.e. Electronic Signature Act and Electronic Document Act. The Act represents another step forward with planned and ongoing process of digitization and modernization of public administration in general, providing citizens and business entities with a simpler approach to services of public authorities, i.e. a faster, cheaper and more efficient business performance. A change of current practice, with high number of […]
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About the Scholarship The Taboroši Scholarship is established in memory of Professor Svetislav Taboroši, by family and former students who have been inspired by the Professor’s work and dedication to academic research and innovative problem solving in the practice of business law. A brilliant teacher and scholar, Professor Taboroši strived to educate his students on the most recent trends in legal academic thought and the importance of critical thinking in academic and professional analysis of international law & economics. The Scholarship is awarded annually to a student of the senior year at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law who, […]
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(Update: 02.25.2022.) CJEU Reaches Final Decision in Landmark Anti-Dumping Case The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) reached a final decision in a landmark anti-dumping case, with far-reaching implications for HBIS Serbia and the Serbian economy. The CJEU sided with the General Court’s ruling which confirmed the European Commission’s (EC) decision not to impose anti-dumping measures on steel producers from Serbia in 2017, simultaneously imposing these measures on products originating from Brazil, Iran, Russia and Ukraine, following months of investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices (link). Gecić Law was legal counsel to the Government of Serbia and the Smederevo […]
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Photo courtesy of Aleksandar Milutinović, photographer On October 4, 2017, the Bar Association of Vojvodina (BAV) held a panel in Novi Sad (city known as Serbian Athens) on the topic, “The proceedings of the Commission for Protection of Competition (Commission) against the Bar Association of Serbia (BAS), possible implications for the BAV and constitutional challenges against the Protection of Competition Act”. The speakers on this complex and news-worthy topic were Isidora Nikolić Savin, attorney and specialist for civil and EU business law, and Bogdan Gecić, partner at Gecić Law. Great attendance and interest by attorneys and associates specialized in various fields […]
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