Registry of levies supports improvement of business environment

The website of the Registry of levies was presented today, 22 March 2021. The presentation was organised by the Secretariat of the Competitiveness Council of Montenegro, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare.

Minister of Economic Development Jakov Milatović, Head of the Secretariat of the Competitiveness Council (SCC) Marija Šuković, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare Mila Kasalica, Secretary General of the Montenegrin Employers Federation Suzana Radulović and SCC Consultant for Economic Affairs Ana Stojanović spoke at the event.

This project is very important, especially from the aspect of the Government of Montenegro, because it enables strong transparency, which is reflected in the fact that we know exactly what levies we have in the country, Minister Milatović emphasised.

He added that this Registry serves as a regulatory guillotine due to the possibility of eliminating certain regulations that are no longer valid, and at the same time helps to have a more meaningful conversation both within the Government and with the private sector in determining which regulations may in some way be removed or improved, all with the aim of improving the business environment in the country.

Our duty is to reduce levies to required and necessary ones, and on the other hand to increase the quality of public goods, that is, the services we provide to citizens and the economy. That optimality is exactly the task of this Government and I am sure that we will make great progress in the upcoming period, said Minister Milatović.

The establishment of the Registry is an activity initiated by the public and private sectors, and additionally recognised as a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. The basic goal for creating the Registry is to centralize data on levies charged in Montenegro, at the state and local level, in order to simplify the business process and increase transparency.

"The levy burden on businesspeople is huge and this is a goal that must be changed gradually and in favor of the economic development of Montenegro," said State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare Mila Kasalica.

"The Registry is a good example of how important it is for the economy and the state to cooperate and to find solutions that will facilitate business in the country, enable the economy to work better and thus contribute even more to economic development," said Jelena Ćirković, coordinator of SCC and other EBRD projects.

"The goal of today's presentation is to present the website on which the database is located, i.e. the levies that are charged in Montenegro at both the local and national level. This is a good example of activities that both the private and public sectors have recognised as important for improving the business," said Head of the Secretariat of the Competitiveness Council Marija Šuković.

The Registry is available at www.javninameti.gov.me. The number of levies in the database is 2,306, while the number of classified levies is almost 28,000 entered from over 800 laws and bylaws. Searching the levies per licences is also available and it provides data on levies that need to be paid in order to obtain a licence, but also identifies over 400 regulations that need to be repealed, of which 80 have already been repealed.

During the process of drafting the Registry, there was continuous communication with partners from the private and public sector and excellent cooperation with municipal representatives. The presentation announced that, in order to ensure the efficient functioning of the Registry, a Working Group for the preparation of the Draft Law on the Registry levies will be formed at this monthʹs session of the Competitiveness Council.