Prof. Ljubodrag Savić, Ph.D., Faculty of Economics - How the System of Electronic Invoices can help in the modernization of the tax system in Serbia

eKapija: What, in your opinion, are the main advantages of digitizing the tax system in Serbia?

- There is no doubt that the digitization of the tax system in Serbia will significantly facilitate, speed up and simplify the overall operations of the Serbian economy. It will provide the Government, ministries and the Tax Administration with more complete records of the operations of the Serbian economy, as well as the control of the settlement of tax obligations, which will facilitate planning and management of revenues and expenditures of the Serbian budget. Companies will also benefit a lot, because it will simplify and speed up business operations, but they will also be able to plan and track their cash flows more precisely.

eKapija: In what way is Serbia in the lead compared to the European Union countries when it comes to tax return automation?

- Unlike some other areas in which Serbia lags behind Europe, in the process of digitization of the tax system and automation of tax declarations Serbia keeps up with the European Union countries, which started with the implementation of this complex, demanding and in many respects challenging process. Not only that, our country is also actively working to remove the emerging, one would say normal initial problems, as well as raising the coverage and efficiency of the electronic invoice system.

eKapija: What are the main obstacles and challenges in the implementation process of e-invoices in Serbia?

- The process of digitalization is a very complex and challenging step for both the Tax Administration and state authorities, as well as for businesses, because quite a few of them still haven`t reached the required level of digital literacy in order to be able to participate in this process without any problems. These are expected "childhood diseases", countries much more developed than Serbia also passed through. Business entities expect efficient and quick help from the state in the implementation of the system, as well as the elimination of all bottlenecks (on the webinars, about 80% of the questions refer to the calculation of previous VAT). The e-invoice system is regularly supplemented, improved and updated, which efficiently and promptly eliminates the problems observed in its functioning.

eKapija: How will additional improvements of SEF contribute to the improvement of the tax system?

- Additional improvement of the SEF should significantly accelerate the functioning of the overall tax system, simplifying procedures, with more effective technical support and by timely solving the problems that have arisen, which regularly seems to be necessary by updating the system.

eKapija: Has, in your opinion, the daily work process of bookkeepers and accountants been made easier not only by the introduction of e-invoices, but also by continuous system improvement?

- The introduction of the e-invoice system has facilitated, simplified and accelerated the work of accounting services. It is also very important that the state has provided the possibility that accountants can get to know the e-invoices functioning system in detail, as well as to have complete information about changes available in a timely manner, i.e. on improving the e-invoice system.

eKapija: To what extent does the introduction of new functionalities in the Electronic Invoice System (SEF) have an impact on business in Serbia?

- There is no doubt that the e-invoice system will facilitate, to simplify and speed up the overall business operations of the Serbian economy.

eKapija: In what way can the Preliminary VAT declaration contribute to administrative relief both the company and the accountant?

- From September 1, users of the Electronic Invoice System (SEF) received a new method of recording value added tax. The main goal of the changes which are carried out in the Electronic Invoice System is the Preliminary VAT tax declaration, which is an introduction to the reform of the submission of the VAT return. Changes in records are significant, so any mistakes will be tolerated until the end of the year, that is, until the system has been established.

eKapija: How digitization and the introduction of e-invoices affect the reduction of errors and speeding up the process of invoice collection?

- In the previous system, due to the method of data entry and control in the entire work process, there was a high possibility of human error, and in the new system, most of the activities are digitized, which will minimize the possibility of error.

eKapija: What are the macroeconomic benefits of the implementation of digitalization of the tax system when it comes to control, VAT collection and the reduction of the "gray" economy?

- Digitization of the tax system will enable simpler and more comprehensive control of the entire tax system, higher and faster VAT collection, as well as a very significant reduction of the "gray" economy, bearing in mind that the overall business of the Serbian economy will be much more "visible" than under the previous system.