e-Incorporation of Sole Proprietors

The application for incorporation of a sole proprietorship can be submitted in paper or electronic form.

The Rulebook on the Content of the Business Entities Register and Documents Required for Registration prescribes the submission of the following documents to incorporate a sole proprietorship with the Serbian Business Registers Agency’s Business Entities Register in paper form:

• Single Application for Incorporation of Legal Persons and Other Subjects and Registration with the Single Register of Taxpayers – sole proprietor;
• proof of identity of the sole proprietor (for a domestic natural person – a photocopy of the ID card; and for a foreigner – a photocopy of the passport / foreign ID card, or a photocopy of the ID card, if issued to a foreigner);
• proof of payment of the fee for incorporation of sole proprietorships;
• permit, consent or other act of the competent authority, if it is prescribed by a separate law as a condition for registration.

If the conditions for incorporation of a sole proprietorship have been met, the Registrar of the Serbian Business Registers Agency’s Business Entities Register shall issue a decision approving the application, allocate the registration number to the sole proprietorship that is assigned by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, while the Tax Administration, through the SBRA, shall assign a PIB ex officio.

e-Incorporation of sole proprietors has been enabled in the Serbian Business Registers Agency as of 1 January 2018.

In order to incorporate a sole proprietorship electronically, a natural person who has attained the age of majority shall:

• have a qualified electronic certificate (electronic signature), issued by the certification body in the Republic of Serbia;
• install an electronic card reader;
• have a Visa, MasterCard or DinaCard payment card, to pay the fee.

e-Incorporation of sole proprietors is performed through the Application of the Serbian Business Registers Agency.

The initial step to be made by a first-time user is to create an account in the aforesaid system for the centralized logging. The Agency has prepared a detailed video instruction on how to create an account

If you have already accessed the system, you can use the very same user account for the e-Incorporation of a sole proprietor. You just need to enter your email and password. In case you have forgotten your password, please see a video guide on how to reset a forgotten password

A User’s instructions manual, in PDF format, can facilitate the e-Incorporation of sole proprietors.

Payment of the e-Incorporation fee is performed through the Visa, MasterCard or Dina payment card system. The payment method is fully explained in the Technical manual for electronic payment of the fee.

The electronic signature is used for signing an electronic registration application, as well as for signing the documents attached to it. Due to the specificity of the procedure itself, signing of documents is performed through the NEXU electronic signing application, which can be downloaded here along with the user guide.

Questions related to the e-Incorporation of sole proprietors can be addressed to our Info Center, either by phone [+ 381 (0)11 418 1000] or by email (preduzetnici@apr.gov.rs). The technical support of the SBRA (sd@apr.gov.rs) is also at your disposal, to provide all necessary assistance with the System for the centralized logging of the Serbian Business Registers Agency’s users.

The e-Incorporation of sole proprietors is designed in such a manner to guide the user while entering data, helping him/her to fill out the registration application correctly and in accordance with the relevant regulations. This eliminates the most common shortcomings in the application that lead to a negative decision of the Registrar.

The Company Law provisions governing the name, registered seat, business activity, termination of business activity, etc. of a company shall equally apply to the incorporation of sole proprietors.

The Registrar checks whether the registration requirements are met (with respect to the availability of the chosen name, business name or entered business activity code) only after the submission of the e-registration application. Although the system itself, most of the time, notifies the applicant of inaccurate entries, it is not checking the items mentioned above. Consequently, it may happen that although you have successfully submitted an e-application, you are not going to be granted a positive decision (e.g. due to the fact that the same sole proprietor’s name already exists in the SBRA database). The system application contains specifically marked mandatory fields that must be filled in, as well as the "i" button that provides more information. The applicant has to take care of the orthography and the manner of entering family names in Latin script, which contain letters: Č, Ć, Ž, Š and Đ (e.g. PETROVIĆ and PETROVIC, ČAČIĆ and CACIC, ŠUŠA and SUSA, ĐURIĆ and DJURIĆ), given that it is not possible to make any changes in the data entered during the e-incorporation procedure, i.e. the e-application is being adopted in its entirety as it has been filled out and the data is registered exclusively as entered by the applicant.

•  I am attaching a consent/certificate/permit of the competent authority to the registration application. Should this document be electronically signed?

If the registration of a particular business activity is conditioned by a consent/certificate/permit of a competent authority, such a document is attached in electronic form to the e-application at the time of its submission, and must be signed with the e-signature of the authorized person of the authority which issued that consent/certificate/permit.

• Who is entitled to submit an e-application using the system for the e-incorporation of sole proprietors?

 The e-application can be submitted by a natural person (future sole proprietor) or a person authorized by the future sole proprietor to submit the application for incorporation to the Agency (proxy).

If the e-application is submitted by the future sole proprietor himself/herself, he/she shall sign the e-application with his/her qualified electronic signature.

If the e-application is submitted by a proxy, he/she shall sign the e-application with his/her qualified electronic signature, and shall attach the power of attorney to it, which must be in the form of an electronic document (signed with the electronic signature of the future sole proprietor). 

• Do I have to attach to the e-application a photocopy of my ID card, in PDF format?

No, the identity of the applicant and the natural person – sole proprietor is checked by the system itself, through the validation of the applicant's qualified electronic signature.

• What needs to be entered in the „Пословно име предузетника” (“Business name of the sole proprietor”) field when filling out the e-application?

The following details shall be entered in the “ПОСЛОВНО ИМЕ ПРЕДУЗЕТНИКА” (“BUSINESS NAME OF THE SOLE PROPRIETOR”) field of the e-application:

• given name;
• designation of the legal form (i.e. “ПРЕДУЗЕТНИК” or “ПР”)
• place of the registered seat.

These data (i.e. the given name, the designation of the legal form and the place of the registered seat) will be populated by the system itself, from the data already filled out in the header. For example, after the data on the applicant's address has been entered, the system will automatically populate this address as the address of the registered sole proprietorship. In case the applicant’s address is different from the address of the registered sole proprietorship, the applicant should only correct the address of the registered sole proprietorship.

Important information:

The name is not a mandatory element. Thus, the “ЖЕЉЕНИ НАЗИВ” (“DESIRED NAME”) field can be left blank.

If the applicant decides that the sole proprietorship has a name, the “ЖЕЉЕНИ НАЗИВ” (“DESIRED NAME”) field must be filled out. If no information is entered in the “ЖЕЉЕНИ НАЗИВ” (“DESIRED NAME”) field, the system will not allow the name to be entered in the „ПУНО ПОСЛОВНО ИМЕ” (“FULL BUSINESS NAME”) field.

The name must not be taken or similar to the name of another already registered sole proprietor. The applicant can determine this fact before submitting the application, by searching the registered sole proprietors and their names on the “Integrated data search” (“Обједињенa претрага”) page.

If the name is entered in the e-application, the field “ОПИС ПРЕТЕЖНЕ ДЕЛАТНОСТИ” (“DESCRIPTION OF THE CORE BUSINESS ACTIVITY”) must be filled out as well.

The description of the core business activity shall refer to the core business activity entered in the “CORE BUSINESS ACTIVITY” (“ПРETEЖНA ДEЛATНOСT”) field.

• Can I, in addition to the core business activity, indicate other business activities in the business name?

If, apart from the core business activity, you want to indicate in the business name other business activities that you perform, you can add a precise or less precise description of these other activities in addition to the description of the core business activity.

The system itself will copy the content of the “ОПИС ПРЕТЕЖНЕ ДЕЛАТНОСТИ” (“DESCRIPTION OF THE CORE BUSINESS ACTIVITY”) field and paste it into the “ПОСЛОВНО ИМЕ” (“BUSINESS NAME”) field. The applicant will only be able to add additional words in the “ПОСЛОВНО ИМЕ” (“BUSINESS NAME”) field, but will not be able to change the part of the business name that has been entered in the “ОПИС ПРЕТЕЖНЕ ДЕЛАТНОСТИ” (“DESCRIPTION OF THE CORE BUSINESS ACTIVITY”) field.

• Can I use abbreviations in the business name (e.g. “СЗР”, “СТР”, “СУР”) as a description of the business activity, or can I use unspecified formulations, such as: “услужна радња” (“service-providing sole proprietorship”) or “производна радња” (“manufacturing sole proprietorship”)?

No, the description of the business activity, which is a part of the business name of a sole proprietor, must refer to the core business activity of the sole proprietor and be in accordance with the Regulation on Classification of Business Activities (“Уредбa о класификацији делатности”). Also, it must not be misleading in regard to the business activity of the sole proprietor. Also, the word “самостална” (“sole proprietorship”) in the business name of a sole proprietor is unnecessary, given that the partnership shops (“ортачке радње”) are no longer foreseen by law and thus each "shop" is a sole proprietorship.

• How can I find the appropriate business activity code in the Regulation on Classification of Business Activities, given that I want to perform several, either similar or different, business activities?

A sole proprietor can register only one core business activity. This does not mean that he/she is not allowed to perform other licit business activities too, providing that he/she meets all requirements in this respect. If a sole proprietor wishes to point out these other activities, he/she can do so by adding the words to the business name, in addition to the description of the core business activity, which indicate the other activities he/she would perform. Therefore, it is necessary to search the Regulation on Classification of Business Activities using general terms (E.g. production, trade, design) and then to find, among the returned terms, the one that is “close to” the business activity the sole proprietor would perform. The search can be narrowed down by specifying the type of product the sole proprietor would manufacture. It is recommended that the search is made by entering a part of the term but not the whole term (E.g. “plast”, “comput”, “equipm”, “instal”).

• Do I have to register a seat if the business activity I perform is a field activity or a business activity the performance of which does not require space?

The seat must be registered even if the business activity is performed as a field business activity. In such cases, the home address (the residence address) of the sole proprietor should be entered in the e-application as the address of the seat. As a rule, the system copy the information on the seat from the set of data entered in the header of the e-application [“Подаци о физичком лицу предузетнику” (“Data on the natural person – sole proprietor”)]. The applicant may modify this information if the space of the performance of the business activity is specific.

• Can I choose the date of the commencement of performance of the business activity?

It is not possible to choose the date of the commencement of performance of the business activity, which is, as a rule, the date of the Registrar’s decision granting the registration of the sole proprietor. However, the sole proprietor may choose the option that allows him/her to submit the information on the date of the commencement of performance of the business activity subsequently.

The possibility of the subsequent submission of information on the date of the commencement of performance of the business activity is left to the applicant in case he/she is not ready to start working immediately after being granted a decision on the incorporation. For example: the renovation of the premises has not been finalized or the performance of a particular business activity, which has been indicated as the core business activity, is conditioned by a consent or permit of the competent authority. In any case, regardless of registration, if the date of commencement of performance of the business activity has not been reported, the sole proprietor will not be liable to the public revenue related obligations.

• Can a pensioner incorporate a sole proprietorship?

Yes, he/she can, but only if he/she is a beneficiary of an old-age pension. Beneficiaries of a disability or survivor’s pension may lose the income they receive from the said two grounds if they incorporate a sole proprietorship.

• Can I incorporate two sole proprietorships?

No. The system itself will notify the applicant that he/she has been already registered as a sole proprietor and he/she will not be able to submit the application.

• Am I obliged to submit the decision on the incorporation of a sole proprietorship in paper form when opening an account in a bank?

Sole proprietors who have been electronically registered with the SBRA are not obliged to deliver to the bank the decision granting their incorporation in paper form. Instead, they are allowed to submit it in electronic form, when submitting the documentation for opening a business account.

Based on the Decision on detailed conditions and the manner of opening, maintaining and closing current accounts (RS Official Gazette, No. 55/2015, 82/2017 and 69/2018), banks can download those data electronically from an organisation in charge of keeping the register of business entities, either by direct request addressed to the Serbian Business Registers Agency or by direct insight into the internet page of the Register of Business Entities, kept by the SBRA.

Banks may download all the necessary data themselves through the SBRA’s web service, in accordance with the Decision on the method, conditions and fees for downloading data in electronic form on the status and other changes of legal entities and natural persons registered with the Serbian Business Registers Agency.