Serbia: Law on central register of beneficial owners enacted

The Law on the Central Register of Beneficial Owners was enacted on March 6, 2025, and became effective March 14, 2025.

The law generally has a delayed applicability date of 18 months from the effective date, and registered entities will be required to comply with the law within 60 days of the applicability date (i.e., by November 13, 2026). However, certain provisions apply as of the effective date, such as the requirement that the authorized person retain documents regarding the beneficial owner for five years after the entity ceases to exist.

Key amendments under the law include:

• Introduction of new bases for registration, such as trusts and trust-like relationships
• Extension of deadline for registering data from 15 to 30 days from the date the basis for registration occurs
• Expansion of content of central registry to include obligation to upload documents based on which the beneficial owner is determined, as well as a copy of the passport or foreign ID card for foreign beneficial owners
• Introduction of obligation to annually verify accuracy and currency of registered beneficial owner data

Read a March 2025 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Serbia