The new Law on Tourism and the Law on Hospitality entered into force on March 22nd, 2019

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THE LAW ON TOURISM

The new Law on Tourism (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 17/2019) and the Law on Hospitality (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” No. 17/2019) entered into force on March 22nd, 2019. The old Law on Tourism, which ceased to be valid on the day of entry into force of the new law, regulated both areas – tourism and hospitality:

  • According to the new definition, the tourist agency is a commercial company, an entrepreneur, another legal entity that performs tourist agency activities under the conditions prescribed by the Law, while the branch of a foreign legal entity will no longer be able to perform the activity of travel agencies. The new Law introduces a central information system in the area of ​​catering and tourism (E-tourists), which enables electronic registration of guests, electronic payment of residence tax, submission of a request for categorization and other.
  • In addition to the already existing possibilities for incentives, new financing for tourism promotion in the field of ecological standards, energy efficiency, use of renewable energy sources is foreseen; development of the national tourist brand; digitization and other innovative solutions; improving traffic connections with strategic markets; rural tourism and hospitality.
  • The activity of a tourist agency may be performed occasionally at fairs and other public events, but not longer than 15 days.
  • In relation to the travel agency license for travel organization, the deposit will be introduced as well as the license category. The amount of deposit will depend on the category of the license, and this area will be more closely regulated by the policy.
  • In addition to the already prescribed obligations of the travel agency, new ones are prescribed, for example a tourist agency is obliged to sell a tourist trip at a selling price, which is expressed in a unique amount. Travel registration records are also introduced.
  • A travel agency that sells a passenger service electronically is obliged to operate in accordance with the Law and regulations governing electronic trade.
  • The identity card issued to tourist guides and tourist escorts is issued with a validity period of ten years.
  • “Limo service” is no longer subject to regulation of the Law, and within the rent-a-car, the possibility of renting a motor vehicle A category is introduced. The service provider must have at least five registered motor vehicles of category B. The motor vehicle can not be older than five years, counting from the date of the first registration, and on motor vehicles and services provided, records are kept with prescribed content.
  • Any change of data, which should be entered in the register of the Business Registers Agency, should be automatically taken into the Register of Tourism.

 

THE LAW ON HOSPITALITY

The new Law on Tourism (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 17/2019) and the Law on Hospitality (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” No. 17/2019) entered into force on March 22nd, 2019. The old Law on Tourism, which ceased to be valid on the day of entry into force of the new law, regulated both areas – tourism and hospitality:

  • The new Law introduces a central information system in the field of hospitality and tourism (E-tourists), which enables electronic registration of guests, electronic payment of residence tax, application for categorization and other.
  • Hospitality activity can be performed by a company, another legal entity and an entrepreneur, if registered in the appropriate register. Some hospitality services can also be provided by a physical person.
  • Some new concepts have been introduced by the law and the definition of existing concepts has been carried out.
  • The hospitality worker who provides accommodation services in an unclassified hospitality establishment is obliged to submit a registration to the local self-government unit on whose territory the facility is located, before the commencement of its activity.
  • Establishment of the Central Information System in the field of hospitality and tourism (hereinafter: CIS) is envisaged. It is planned to adopt a rulebook on how to enter, operate, manage and use CIS, as well as prescribe its content and type of data.
  • The Ministry is obliged to enter in the CIS the data on the facilities and the caterer, which it records, as well as the data on the health institutions that perform the hospitaity related activity, and the local self-government unit is obliged to enter data on the objects it registers in the CIS. Hospitality workers will have to have access to CIS in order to enter data on the accommodation user. Also, each request for categorization of catering facilities is submitted via CIS.
  • For the purpose of checking the quality of service provision in categorized hospitality facilities, a business association of hospitality workers may designate a secret guest who makes a report with an expert opinion which he can submit to the Ministry.
  • A physical person can provide hospitality services in a domestic hospitality facility and a village tourist household of up to 30 individual beds, for up to 30 users of services, and only accommodation services (so far it could provide food services).
  • A physical person as a hospitality worker is obliged to clearly state his name and surname at the entrance of the building, as well as the contact telephone and must be the owner or co-owner of that accommodation facility. Exceptionally, hospitality services may also be provided by a member of the family household of the owner or co-owner, with their written consent, which must be certified by the notary public. The physical person for the provided hospitality services issues a special account, with prescribed content and it is obliged to keep a record of the issued invoices at the daily level.
  • The taxpayer pays the physical person in the determined annual amount, while the Government shall prescribe more precisely the conditions and manner of determining the amount of the annual amount of the residence tax for the natural person providing hospitality accommodation services, as well as the manner and deadlines for payment.
  • A completely new chapter on “personal data protection” has been introduced, as well as the possibility for the inspector to act as an anonymous user of the service.