The Government of Serbia has adopted amendments to the Regulation on Special Conditions for Trading Certain Goods, further clarifying margin limits and introducing new rules for suppliers and retailers. The Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade confirmed that the changes will come into force on December 1.
The most notable update is that the 20% margin cap now applies equally to both regular and promotional prices. Additionally, the list of products no longer tied to purchase prices as of August 1, 2025, has been expanded to include frozen fruit, honey, and teas.
Suppliers of these products will no longer have their invoice prices frozen, as the Ministry noted that rising raw material costs make it impossible to operate without losses. However, the margin limit for retailers remains in effect.
The regulation also introduces a cap on total fees that retailers can charge suppliers, set at 10% of the total net invoice amount during the regulation’s validity. This does not apply to logistics rebates or fees for product shortages or write-offs, which remain at levels agreed on August 1, 2025.
Similarly, so-called “off rebates” are capped at 10%, regardless of whether the products are covered by the regulation.
For suppliers who have freezers installed in retail stores, a special rule limits the total fees that retailers can charge to 18%. If the fees were previously lower, retailers are not allowed to increase them.
Retailers without pre-agreed fees may include a maximum of 14% allowable costs in the retail price, while promotional discounts must be fully passed on to the final price.
The amendments explicitly require retailers to apply promotional discounts to reduce prices, a rule that, according to the Ministry, was not consistently followed in the past.
One key protective measure for suppliers is that retailers can no longer unilaterally remove products from their assortment or abruptly reduce orders without written consent from the supplier. The Ministry stated that some retailers had been using these methods as a form of pressure.
The regulation also requires clear statements of payment purpose on accounting documents and mandates the signing of contract annexes to align business operations with the new rules.
Consumers will also see a major change: retailers will be required to publish current price lists on the Open Data Portal on April 1, August 1, August 31, and September 1, 2025. All price lists will be available from December 9, 2025, in machine-readable CSV format, according to Tanjug.
The Ministry emphasized that these amendments are designed to prevent abuses, ensure stable supply, and provide consumers with transparent insight into price trends.
