Electronic invoicing in Serbia

Mandate

The rollout of mandatory e-invoicing in Serbia was implemented in three main phases:

• May 2022: All invoices issued to the public sector (B2G and G2G transactions) must be electronic.
• July 2022: The mandate extended to G2B transactions, requiring Serbian public entities to issue e-invoices to private sector companies.
• January 2023: E-invoicing became mandatory for all transactions between private businesses.

At the moment, the mandate applies to all VAT-registered businesses in Serbia, including foreign companies operating in the country through a local tax ID or fiscal representative.

Invoice Format

The official format is UBL 2.1. The data model is based on the European Standard EN 16931, adapted to Serbian legislation to ensure all legally required fields are included.

Electronic Signature

In the Serbian e-invoicing system, a digital signature on each invoice is not required. Unlike other clearance models where invoices must be digitally signed by the issuer, in Serbia the validity and integrity of e-invoices are ensured directly by the centralized platform and by compliance with the structured format.

Archiving

Retention periods for e-invoices vary depending on the type of transaction:

• Public sector transactions (B2G/G2G): Storage must be permanent.
• Private sector transactions (B2B): Invoices must be retained for 10 years from the end of the fiscal year in which they were issued, effectively resulting in a maximum storage period of around 10+1 years.

Prerequisites

Before companies can issue and receive e-invoices in Serbia, they must meet certain administrative and technical requirements:

• Registration in the e-Faktura portal: Taxpayers (companies or sole traders) must register in the system.
• Qualified digital certificate: A qualified electronic signature certificate recognized in Serbia is required for authentication within the system.

Fiscal Control

The Serbian eFaktura system operates under a mandatory clearance model. Every e-invoice must be validated by the platform before being delivered to the recipient. The validation process checks compliance with format requirements, mandatory data, and fiscal consistency. If errors are detected, the invoice is automatically rejected. This ensures that only compliant invoices circulate and provides the tax authority with real-time access to transactional data.

Workflow

The life cycle of an e-invoice in Serbia, through the eFaktura system, consists of several stages from issuance to final storage:

1. Issuance: The supplier generates the invoice in its invoicing or ERP system, including all required data (buyer, line items, amounts, taxes, etc.).
2. Validation (Clearance): eFaktura applies automatic validations immediately upon submission.
3. Transmission: Once validated, the e-invoice is delivered to the recipient via the same platform.
4. Reception and processing: The recipient accesses the invoice through the eFaktura portal or downloads the XML file into internal systems.
5. Archiving: Both issuer and recipient must archive the validated e-invoice for the legally required period (permanent or 10+1 years).