The members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia finished today the discussion on all 66 amendments submitted with regard to the Bill on export and import of dual-use goods, the Bill on trade and lease of immovable property, the Amendments to the law on electronic commerce and the Amendments to the law on the protection of competition.

The continuation of the session is scheduled for Thursday, October 31 when the voting on the ten accepted amendments will take place.

21 amendments were received on the Amendments to the law on the protection of competition, which provides for the extension of the period of limitation and proceedings before the Commission for the protection of competition from three to five years. Out of the twenty one, three amendments were accepted.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić explained during the debate on that particular proposal in the Assembly, that in practice the three year period proved to be insufficient due to the complex procedures, the frequent need for obtaining extensive documentation, as well as the fact that certain cases are extremely complex, which can all be resolved by the extension of the period.

That period may not be longer than 10 years, added the Minister.

These amendments specify and define the participant’s dominant position in the market – until now, those who participated in 40% or more of the market had the dominant position, while now participation will merely be one of the parameters for defining the dominant position.

Pursuant to the proposed solutions, one who has less than a 40% share in the market may have a dominant position, while the one with more than a 40% share may not necessarily have the dominant position, because other parameters will be taken into account such as the financial strength of market participants, technological advances and the structure of the market.

Regarding the amendments to the Law on Electronic Commerce, which should provide legal protection to electronic trade, the members of the Assembly proposed four amendments, none of which was accepted by the Government.

The novelty in that law is that it gives the market inspector the possibility to ban the provision of services when there is a violation of the Law; and it will include all those who provide services in Serbia while their headquarters are not in the country.

As for the Bill on export and import of dual-use goods, the essence of which is harmonization with the European standards, ensuring tight control and elimination of unwanted exports and trade in these products, 22 amendments were proposed, five of which were accepted by the Government.

According to these solutions, controlled dual-use goods are those which in addition to having a civilian use may also have a military use.

Among the novelties in that law is the introduction of the concept of comprehensive clause, which means the expansion of the list of goods that can have dual use and for which one must seek permission from the relevant institutions, and this is something on which the EU insisted.

As for the Bill on trade and lease of immovable property, the members of the Assembly proposed 19 amendments, two of which were accepted by the Government.