Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Parliament of Montenegro has adopted a new Value Added Tax (VAT) Law, aimed at providing a more comprehensive regulation of all key elements of the VAT system in line with European standards.

The VAT Law was adopted with 48 votes in favour, with no votes against and no abstentions.

Presenting the proposed legislation earlier today in Parliament, Minister of Finance Novica Vukovic said that the existing VAT Law, adopted in 2002, had been gradually aligned with European regulations over the years, but still contained provisions that were not consistent with Council Directive 2006/112/EC and its subsequent amendments.

“Given that EU membership is Montenegro’s strategic goal, as well as the need to modernize and simplify the system in response to the development of the digital economy and the growth of cross-border trade, it has been assessed that the existing framework is no longer sufficient and that an entirely new law is necessary,” Vukovic said.

Implementation of the law will require adjustments to the business processes and IT infrastructure of the Tax Administration.

Vukovic added that the proposed legislation brings Montenegro one step closer to the provisional closure of Chapter 16 – Taxation in its EU accession negotiations.