Digital certificates have been in use in Montenegro since 2010, enabling the electronic signing of documents in a fast, easy and safe manner. Per Montenegrin legislation, the digital signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature and is acceptable as evidence.
According to the amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax Law, which will be applicable as of 1 January 2017, taxpayers will now be obliged to submit their annual tax declaration and tax returns electronically through the portal of the Tax Administration.
There are two certification institutions in Montenegro: the Ministry which issues digital certificates for the purposes of state administration and the Posthouse – a public certification institution for citizens and companies. In order to be able to complete the electronic submission of tax forms and returns, taxpayers will be required to possess a digital certificate issued by the Posthouse certification body.
The process of obtaining such digital certification takes place independently of the tax Administration and it is defined by the rules and procedures set forth by the certification institution. The administrative cost of obtaining a digital certificate (e-token) is around EUR 110.
It is worth noting that the certificate holder must be the legal entity’s authorized person registered in the Central Register of Insured Persons (CROO) maintained by the Tax Administration.
It is expected that that the introduction of the mandatory electronic submission of tax returns will reduce the burden both for taxpayers and for tax officials as well as simplify administrative procedures and reduce the possibility of erroneous data entry. Therefore, it is presumed that this will be an additional step towards strengthening the accuracy and precision of the Tax Administration’s database.
Your contact for further queries is:
Ivan Petrovic
T.+382.20.228.490
E.ivan.petrovic@eurofast.eu