Tax consulting

Working with a tax advisor in Serbia means planning your taxes before they happen instead of discovering them in a Tax Administration decision. NOTA GROUP is a tax advisory firm in New Belgrade serving Serbian and foreign-owned companies: we analyze how your business is structured, identify the incentives you qualify for, assess your exposure, and represent you when an audit or a dispute arrives. Serbian tax rules change every year; we follow them so you can focus on running the company.

What our tax advisory covers

The first area is tax planning and lawful optimization. We review your business model, cash flows, and contracts with partners and look for places where you pay more than you need to: unused incentives, misclassified costs, poorly structured contractor arrangements, or a group structure that creates double taxation. We know the Serbian incentive programs for the IT sector, research and development, and innovative startups in detail.

The second area is VAT. Place of supply for services, input VAT recovery, reverse charge, imports and exports, and special schemes rarely have a simple answer. We analyze the specific case and give you a written opinion you can rely on. The basics of entering the VAT system are covered in our VAT registration guide.

The third area is international taxation: applying double tax treaties, withholding tax on payments to non-residents, transfer pricing, and permanent establishment risk. This is daily life for foreign-owned companies, which we also discuss in our article on setting up a company in Serbia as a foreign owner.

The fourth area is representation: support during a tax audit, responses to the audit report, appeals against decisions, and handling of tax disputes before the Tax Administration of the Republic of Serbia.

How we work: from analysis to implementation

We begin with an intake meeting to define the question. Sometimes it is a single transaction; sometimes it is the entire tax position of the company. We then collect the documents: contracts, financial statements, prior returns, and correspondence with the Tax Administration.

Next comes the analysis. We verify the facts, the applicable legislation, Ministry of Finance opinions, and practice, and deliver a written opinion with a clear recommendation, a risk assessment, and implementation steps. We do not leave you with an abstract conclusion but with instructions your bookkeeper can act on immediately. If NOTA GROUP keeps your books, implementation happens without any hand-off; see our accounting services.

A tax audit follows a different path: we review the audit order immediately, prepare the documentation and the communication with the inspector, attend the audit, and draft objections to the audit report. If the decision goes against you, we write the appeal and represent you further.

What you receive and which obligations we cover

You receive written opinions and analyses, calculation models for planned transactions, a tax risk overview with proposed measures, documentation for incentives and reliefs, and representation before the Tax Administration. For orientation: corporate income tax in Serbia is 15%, dividends paid to resident individuals are taxed at 15%, the standard VAT rate is 20%, and the reduced rate is 10%. In practice the difference is rarely in the rates; it is in the tax base, the treatment of specific costs, and the timing of the obligation, and that is where a tax advisor earns their fee.

Why NOTA GROUP

We work in Serbian, English, and Russian, so the foreign owner and the local management receive the same opinion in a language they understand. Documents are exchanged digitally, and you have direct contact with the advisor handling your case. Tax advisory and bookkeeping sit under the same roof, which means recommendations do not stay on paper but are built into your records and returns straight away. For foreign founders, our note on accounting for foreign-owned companies in Serbia explains how the two services fit together.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a tax advisor if I already have a bookkeeper?

A bookkeeper records what has happened; an advisor plans what is about to happen. For routine operations a good bookkeeper is enough, but for larger transactions, cross-border payments, audits, and restructuring, an advisor saves considerably more than the fee.

What does audit support look like?

From the audit order to the final decision: we prepare the file, communicate with the inspector, attend the audit, and draft objections and appeals. You never speak to the Tax Administration unprepared.

Do you provide written opinions?

Yes. Every analysis ends with a written opinion including a recommendation and a risk assessment, which you can use internally or in discussions with partners and banks.

Do you work with foreign companies entering the Serbian market?

Yes, this is one of our most common engagements. We help with the choice of legal form, withholding tax, treaty application, and registration. Contact us with a short description of your plan to get started.