Last Updated on 25 March 2020, 12:00 CET
Unlike most of the countries in the region, Montenegro did not yet declare a state of emergency, nor declare an epidemic of COVID-19. Furthermore, the Montenegrin authorities did not introduce many tax-related measures in other to curb the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
In terms of wording, Montenegro did not change its legislation. However, through specific decrees/announcements of the Government of Montenegro, it introduced some important measures, including pushing back the deadline for filing annual tax returns to 15 April, instead of 31 March 2020. Moreover, the excise on medical alcohol sold in pharmacies has been removed and there was a postponement of payment of tax liabilities based on employee salaries and Law on Reprogramming of Tax Liabilities for up to 90 days.
The Tax Administration of Montenegro said in relation to the Law on Reprogramming of Tax Liabilities that the so-called “moratorium” does not happen automatically. Instead, pursuant to this measure, taxpayers are required to file tax returns (IOPPD forms) electronically within the statutory deadline. Then, when submitting an application, it will additionally be possible to enter confirmation of whether the declared obligations are postponed or not.
Furthermore, it is specifically emphasized that this measure of the Government of Montenegro only refers to liabilities arising from salaries of employees and that it does not include eventual postponement of payment of liabilities based on other types of taxes. It remained unclear whether interest will be calculated.
Tax Administration also announced that, same as for almost all state bodies, communication with parties will be done via e-mail or telephone.
There have been numerous proposals for additional measures in order to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 both from experts and in regard to the partial or complete abolition of flat-rate taxes or change of VAT rates on specific goods. It remains to be seen what will happen in the future.
