The proposed amendments further align Montenegrin legislation with EU directives in the area of administrative cooperation in tax matters, and introduce the obligation to exchange data on cross-border tax arrangements, pre-agreed tax opinions, transfer pricing, and additional tax.
One of the most significant innovations relates to digital platforms and the cryptocurrency market. The obligations of platform operators and service providers related to cryptocurrency have been specified, requiring them to collect data on users and transactions, implement verification measures, and provide information to the Tax Administration for international exchange.
“The reporting platform operator is required to collect data and maintain records about sellers, i.e., advertisers of the sale and rental of real estate, parking spaces, and any type of transportation, sale of products, and provision of personal services, about the total fees paid and the number of relevant activities for which that fee was charged, about taxes, fees, or commissions that were withheld and collected from platform users during the reporting period,” states the Draft Law.
A special chapter relates to cross-border tax arrangements that may indicate tax avoidance. Intermediaries and taxpayers will be required to report such arrangements to the Tax Administration within 30 days, which will automatically exchange the data with EU member states.
“The intermediary is obliged to provide information to the tax authority for the purpose of exchanging information with the competent authorities of the EU member state, another state or territory, on the prescribed form in electronic form, within 30 days from the day after the cross-border arrangement has been made available for its realization, or when it is ready for realization or when the first step has been taken in its realization,” is stipulated in the Draft Law.
The law also introduces the possibility of joint tax controls with EU member states, including joint inspections and the exchange of documentation and evidence.
Amendments are also foreseen regarding the forced collection of tax debts. If the sale of seized real estate fails through public bidding or direct agreement, the state will be able to take over the property, while the tax debt will be reduced by one-third of its assessed value.
The method of calculating default interest is changing. Instead of the current fixed rate of 0.03 percent per day, the interest will be linked to the reference interest rate of the European Central Bank.
“The default interest rate is determined at the level of the basic default interest rate increased by three percentage points. The basic default interest rate is the interest rate set by the European Central Bank for main refinancing operations and which applies on the first day of the calendar half-year,” states the Draft Law.
The proposed amendments also bring a significantly stricter penal policy. For legal entities, monetary fines are increased from the previous 1,000–15,000 euros to a range of 4,000 to 40,000 euros, while penalties for responsible persons and entrepreneurs are also multiplied.
The Draft Law stipulates that the new provisions will come into force the day after publication in the “Official Gazette of Montenegro.”
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