Step in the fight against the grey economy: Stronger inspections and better business conditions

The Government of Serbia Should Take a New Step in the Fight Against Informal Business Next Year and Work on the Program for Combating the Grey Economy for the Period 2026-2030, Announced at the Constitutive Session of the Fair Competition Alliance (NALED)

- The Ministry of Finance has initiated the development of a new Program for Combating the Grey Economy. NALED, together with members of the Fair Competition Alliance, is participating through coordinating the work of the Expert Group of the Coordination Body for Combating the Grey Economy, which is tasked with drafting this document. According to available data, approximately 60% of activities from the Action Plan for Combating the Grey Economy have been implemented so far, and by the end of 2025, it is believed that the same or even a higher level of implementation could be achieved compared to the previous program, which exceeded 70%, stated Zoran Daljević, President of the Fair Competition Alliance and Director of the Atlantic Group's office.

One of the main goals of the new Program should be to strengthen the capacities of inspection services through financial and personnel support to make their work more efficient. Additionally, it is essential to facilitate the operations of businesses that comply with legal regulations by addressing issues such as long truck lines at border crossings, improving the work of border inspections, simplifying customs procedures, and recognizing international certificates from EU manufacturers, which would speed up cross-border trade.

- We have restored the competencies of market inspectors who should focus on protecting the legal economy, excluding others from this area. Our goal is not to punish businesses but to bring all entities into lawful and legal operations, as this creates circulation within the system. In this regard, I can only say that the 32 new inspectors are the largest investment we have made. They have all passed exams to become market inspectors. We are creating a new generation of younger inspectors who should drive this system in the next decade and shape their business practices in a way that works for the overall benefit, said Aleksandar Adamović, Assistant Minister for Foreign and Domestic Trade and Chief Market Inspector.

He also mentioned that the current Program for Combating the Grey Economy still includes the procurement of a van for the market inspection service when seizing goods, which will be carried out.

Tatjana Dinkić, from the Secretariat of the National Coordinating Body for Trade Facilitation, explained that the increase in exports has led to higher traffic at border crossings, with the longest waiting times occurring with Croatia and Hungary. We have signed an agreement with Hungary to make the flow of goods faster, but the biggest issue remains infrastructure. For example, trade with North Macedonia runs smoothly as we have a dedicated lane at the border, Dinkić added.

As a reminder, one of the priorities of the Fair Competition Alliance is to enable cashless payments at all public administration counters and abolish the requirement to submit a receipt as proof of payment.

New Leadership of the Fair Competition Alliance

Members of the Fair Competition Alliance elected new leadership for this body. For the next two years, it will be led by Zoran Daljević, Director of the Atlantic Group’s office. The new vice-presidents will be Ivan Miletić, Director of Corporate Affairs for Southeast Europe at PMI, Jovan Krivokapić, Manager of Corporate Affairs at JTI, and Biljana Bujić, Tax Partner at KPMG