eCounter vs. the counter

Better than any other administrative procedure, the property registration process in the Cadaster has best demonstrated all the “power” of bureaucracy and served as the most illustrative example of how much time a person can waste visiting various institutions’ counters. In surveys performed by NALED over a period of two years, the businesses described the procedures in Tax Administration and Pension and Disability Insurance Fund as situations that pose the greatest burden to daily work, being the most frequent ones. As for the duration, the procedures regarding construction and property rights have been the leaders in terms of time. The estimates have shown that businesses spend from 24.5 to 37.6 minutes to finalize only one out of a minimum of three visits to the Republic Geodetic Authority counters.

Simplification of Cadaster procedures has been set as a priority among businesses ever since Grey Book IV. The regulations required clients to verify purchase agreements with public notaries, but they would first need to visit the Republic Geodetic Authority to obtain a real estate property certificate. This would be followed by a visit to a notary and then a returning visit to the RGA to submit the documentation, but accompanied by waiting in line to obtain information about the amount of fee. After submitting the application, clients would need to make another visit to the RGA, to pick up the decision (after several months of waiting). With the final visit to the post office to pay the fee, the procedure would require a total of six visits to various counters.

Thanks to the systemic approach towards improving Serbia’s competitiveness and its position in the Doing Business list, with the establishment of the Joint group of the Government and NALED, the Cadaster reform has been finally positioned high on the state agenda. A new Law has been prepared which, applying the model of construction permitting reform, introduces an electronic procedure and the principle of one-stop shop counter. Starting from July 2018, the citizens and businesses can finalize all work regarding the registration of ownership rights by addressing a public notary, who further electronically communicates with the RGA and the tax authorities via eCounter. Along with visiting only one “counter” instead of six, the clients will also be able to electronically submit tax applications for property tax and the absolute rights transfer tax.

The key factor for the system’s efficient functioning are the public notaries, and it will be necessary to closely monitor their commitment in implementing the new procedure and help them where needed. It is only then that we will be able to tick the “resolved” box next to the Grey Book’s recommendation for improving property registration.