Customs

§ Legislation

  • Customs Law ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 007/02 dated 12.02.2002, 038/02 dated 26.07.2002, 072/02 dated 31.12.2002, 021/03 dated 31.03.2003, 031/03 dated 21.05.2003, 029/05 dated 09.05.2005, 066/06 dated 03.11.2006, “Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 021/08 dated 27.03.2008, 001/11 dated 11.01.2011, 039/11 dated 04.08.2011, 040/11 dated 08.08.2011, 028/12 dated 05.06.2012, 062/13 dated 31.12.2013, 071/17 dated 31.10.2017)
  • Decree for implementation of the Customs Law ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 015/03 dated 19.03.2003, 081/06 dated 29.12.2006, “Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 038/08 dated 20.06.2008, 028/12 dated 05.06.2012, 011/16 dated 18.02.2016, 040/17 dated 27.06.2017)
  • Decree on the procedure for realization of rights to exemption from payment of customs duties ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 020/15 dated 24.04.2015)
  • Decree on the conditions and manner for sale of customs goods and other procedures with customs goods ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 022/03 dated 04.04.2003, 062/04 dated 11.10.2004)
  • Decree on the procedure for goods and passengers on the border between Montenegro and Serbia ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 026/03 dated 19.04.2003, 054/05 dated 03.10.2005)
  • Decree on the types, amount and manner for collection of customs service fees ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 047/08 dated 07.08.2008)
  • Decree on conduct of activities of customs authority with the goods for which there is a reasonable doubt that they violate intellectual ownership rights ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 048/16 dated 01.08.2016)
  • Decree on issuance of certificates escorting the goods when exported, imported or in transit ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 041/05 dated 10.07.2005)
  • Decree on detailed procedure and conditions for opening duty free shops ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 31.07.2009, 008/10 dated 12.02.2010, 013/14 dated 14.03.2014)
  • Decree on the conditions for performance of activities related to presentation before the customs service ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No.050/09 dated 31.07.2009, 025/16 dated 15.04.2016)
  • Rules on the form, content, manner of submission and populating customs declarations and collective returns ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 016/03 dated 21.03.2003, 043/04 dated 25.06.2004, 002/05 dated 18.01.2005, 014/05 dated 11.03.2005, 048/07 dated 09.08.2007, “Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 032/14 dated 30.07.2014, 011/16 dated 18.02.2016)
  • Rules on the types and manner of use of customs marks ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 049/05 dated 02.09.2005)
  • Rules on the special measures of customs supervision and customs procedure for goods, used for supplying transport vehicles in international traffic ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 078/06 dated 22.12.2006, 057/07 dated 28.09.2007, “Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 052/10 dated 02.09.2010, 034/11 dated 12.07.2011, 027/13 dated 11.06.2013, 052/14 dated 16.12.2014, 008/15 dated 27.02.2015)
  • Instruction on the conditions and manner under which the amount of customs debt may be paid by the third party instead by the debtor ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", No. 019/04 dated 23.03.2004)
  • Law on Customs Service (“Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 003/16 dated 15.01.2016, 080/17 dated 01.12.2017)
  • Decree on Customs Tariff for the year 2018 (“Official Gazette of Montenegro", No. 005/18 dated 29.01.2018)

Custom regulations and procedures are extremely complex, formal and detailed. Only basic aspects of the respective legal framework are listed below.

Customs territory

The customs territory Montenegro (customs territory) shall comprise the territory of Montenegro, including territorial waters, bays and airspace.

Representation

Any person whose rights and obligations are decided upon may appoint a representative for undertaking all or some of the actions in the procedure conducted by the customs authoritiy. A representative must state who is the person being represented, and whether the representation is direct or indirect, and at the request by the customs authority must submit also a valid document with evidence of his powers to act as a representative.

Information on application of customs regulations

Any person importing or exporting goods may request information concerning the application of customs rules from the customs service authorities without being charged. However, fees may be charged where special costs are incurred by the customs authority as a result of necessary analyses or expert testing of the goods in question, report making or return of the goods to the applicant.

The customs authorities in the customs territory may, in accordance with the regulations, take and carry out any measure of customs supervision and control they deem necessary to ensure that customs and other regulations are applied. Customs supervision and control shall be performed selectively, according to the risk analysis with the objective to determine the risk and its intensity, as well as to develop necessary measures for risk estimation according to the established criteria.

Basis for calculation of import and export duties and application of other measures prescribed for trade in goods

Duties on goods imported into the customs territory of the Republic shall be based on the Law on Customs Tariff and on rules laid down in the law. In exceptional cases, a uniform rate in the amount of 5% of the customs value of goods may be applied to goods which are not envisaged for trade and are carried by a traveler, or for goods received by a natural person in the post from another natural person.

The non-preferential origin of goods

The non-preferential origin of goods is defined for the purposes of:

  • Applying the Customs Tariff,
  • Applying other measures established by provisions of separate regulations governing trade in goods,
  • The issuing of certificates of origin.

Goods originating in a country shall be those wholly obtained or produced in that country, including that country's territorial waters. The expression "goods originating in a country" means:

  • Mineral products extracted from the soil of that country;
  • Vegetable products harvested therein;
  • Live animals born and raised therein;
  • Products derived from live animals raised therein;
  • Products of hunting or fishing carried out therein;
  • Products of sea-fishing and other products taken from the sea outside a country's territorial waters by vessels registered or recorded in the ship register of the country concerned and flying the flag of that country;
  • Products obtained or produced on board factory-ships exclusively from the products taken from the sea outside the territorial waters, provided that such factory-ships are registered or recorded in that country and fly its flag;
  • Products taken from the seabed or subsurface outside the territorial waters, provided that the country has exclusive rights to exploit the subsurface;
  • Waste and scrap products derived from manufacturing operations or used articles, if they were collected therein and are fit only for the recovery of raw materials;
  • Goods which are produced therein exclusively from the above mentioned products or from derivatives thereof, at any stage of processing.

Goods whose production involved more than one country shall be deemed to originate in the country where they underwent their last substantial, economically justifiable processing (treatment, final treatment, further treatment) resulting in new products or representing a crucial stage of manufacture.

Value of goods for customs purposes

The customs value of imported goods shall be the transaction value, that is, the price actually paid or payable for the goods sold for export to Montenegro and increased as set forth in the law.

The price actually paid or payable is the total payment made or to be made by the buyer for the benefit of the seller for the imported goods, and includes all payments made or to be made as a condition of sale for the imported goods by the buyer to the seller or by the buyer to a third party to satisfy an obligation to the seller. The payment may be made by cash money, letters of credit or other negotiable instrument of payment. The payment may be made directly or indirectly.

If the same or identical or similar commodities are sold in Montenegro in the same state it was imported, the customs value of the commodities evaluated shall be established according to the unit price per which that commodity or identical or similar commodity is being sold in greatest total quantity in the same or approximately similar timeframe as the commodities evaluated, namely to the persons linked to the persons buying those commodities, providing that the price is decreased for the amount of:

  • An amount of commission usually paid or payable, or an amount usually added for profit and general expenses equal to that usually present in sales within Montenegro of imported goods of the same class or kind,
  • The usual charges for transport, insurance and other related costs incurred within Montenegro,
  • Customs duties, taxes and other charges payable in Montenegro at importation or sale of the goods.

Where in determining the customs value of imported goods it is necessary to postpone the final determination of the customs value, the goods may be released to the declarant provided that the payment of customs duties is secured in the form of a deposit in the amount of a probable customs debt.

Customs supervision

The goods brought into the customs territory of Montenegro shall, from the time of their entry, be subject to customs supervision and customs control in accordance with regulations.

The goods shall remain under customs supervision until their customs status is determined, and in case of foreign goods, the goods shall remain under supervision until their customs status is changed, or they enter a free zone or free warehouse, or they are re-exported or destroyed in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Both passengers and crew, or driving personnel of means of transport and carrying are subject to customs supervision. The following are not subject to customs supervision:

  • Domestic and foreign military vessels;
  • Vessels navigating in parts of border rivers which are not subject to customs supervision pursuant to international agreements;
  • Vessels belonging to internal affair s authorities;
  • Domestic and foreign military aircraft.

Declaring goods

If the goods entering or leaving the customs territory must be declared at the border customs office, or other competent customs office.

The master of any vessel or other responsible person and the commander of any aircraft arriving in Montenegro, or person authorized by him, shall, immediately upon arrival and prior to unlading the goods, submit to the customs office the manifest for all the goods transported as cargo on such vessel or aircraft.

The master of any vessel or other responsible person and the commander of any aircraft leaving Montenegro, or person authorized by him, shall, prior to leaving, submit to the customs office the manifest for all the goods transported as cargo on such vessel or aircraft.

In case of vessels, the form of manifest for international maritime traffic (IMO) must be in accordance with the standards defined by the United Nations Organization, and in case of aircraft, the format of the manifest must be in accordance with the standards defined by the International Air Transport Association (lATA).

The master of the vessel and the commander of the aircraft or his representative in Montenegro must verify that the manifest contains full, accurate and correct data on all the goods transported by that vessel or aircraft.

The person bringing the goods into the customs territory of Montenegro shall be obliged to convey them without delay, by the route and in the manner specified by the customs office to the designated customs office or any other place designated or approved by the customs authorities, and to a free zone.

Any person who assumes responsibility for the carriage of goods after they have been brought into the customs territory shall become responsible for compliance.

In compliance with a concluded interstate agreement, the goods outside the customs territory of Montenegro may be subject to customs control as if the goods had been brought into the territory, under the conditions and in the manner specified in the interstate agreement concerning such goods.

Mentioned regulations shall not preclude implementation of any regulation concerning passenger traffic, frontier traffic, or postal traffic on condition that customs supervision and customs control possibilities are not thereby jeopardized.

Aforementioned regulations shall not apply:

  • To goods temporarily leaving the customs territory while moving between two points in that territory by sea or air, provided that the transportation is made directly and by regular air or maritime line with no stops outside the customs territory. This provision shall not apply to the goods loaded in the ports, airports, or free ports of foreign countries.
  • To goods on board of vessels or aircraft crossing the territorial sea or airspace without having as their destination a port or airport situated in Montenegro.

Presentation of goods to customs

The goods which have been conveyed to the customs office or other place designated or approved by the customs office shall be presented to the customs office by the person bringing such goods into the customs territory or by the person undertaking responsibility for such goods following the entrance thereof.

The following shall not preclude the implementation of regulations concerning the following:

  • goods brought in by passengers,
  • goods placed under customs procedure but not presented to customs.

Once the goods have been presented to customs office, they may be examined or samples may be taken in order that further customs treatment may be determined or that the goods may be used with the customs office permission.

The permission for further customs treatment or use of the goods shall be granted at the request of the person authorized to carry out the approved customs treatment or use of the goods.

Customs document for declaring and unloading of the goods presented to customs office

All the goods to be declared and presented shall be covered by a summary customs document for presentation of goods, with exception for the temporary storage when short application shall be filed.

Declaration shall be submitted to the customs office at the time of the entrance of the goods into the customs territory.

The customs office may extend the time period for the declaration to be submitted, but not beyond the end of the first working day following the day on which the goods are presented to customs.

Obligation to assign goods presented to customs a customs-approved treatment or use

Foreign goods presented to customs shall be assigned a customs-approved treatment or use.

Where the goods are covered by a declaration, the necessary actious for them to be assigned the customs-approved treatment or use shall be carried out within the following time period:

  • 45 days from the day on which the declaration is submitted for goods carried by sea,
  • 20 days from the day on which the declaration is submitted for goods carried otherwise.

Should the circumstances so require, the customs office may set a shorter period or allow extension of the aforementioned periods.

Temporary storage of goods

Goods presented to customs office shall have the status of goods in temporary storage until they are assigned customs-approved treatment or use.

Goods in temporary storage may be stored only in places and under circumstances approved by the customs office.

The customs office may require the person holding the goods to deposit security for payment of customs debt which may arise in accordance with the custom proceeding.

Goods in temporary storage may be subject to such forms of handling which are necessary for ensuring their preservation without modifying their appearance or technical characteristics.

The customs authorities shall without further delay take all necessary measures for regulating the status of the goods, including sale thereof, if the formalities necessary for the goods to be assigned a customs-approved treatment or use are not initiated within the periods determined by the law.

The customs office may, at the risk and expense of the person holding the goods, have the goods transferred to any other place under its supervision, until the situation of the goods is regulated.

Free zones, free warehouses

Free zones and free warehouses shall be parts of the customs territory and premises in that territory separated from the rest of it in which:

  • foreign goods are considered as not being in the customs territory, for the purpose of import duties and commercial policy import measures, provided that the goods have not been released for free circulation or placed under another customs procedure or use, or consumed or used under conditions other than those provided for in customs regulations,
  • domestic goods intended for export, for which specific provisions are made, qualify, by virtue of being placed in a free zone or free warehouse, for measures normally attached to the export of such goods.

Duty free shops

The duty free shops may be opened on the airports and navy ports opened for the international traffic, with organized passport and customs control, for selling commodities to the passengers leaving abroad and passengers in transit over the customs area of Montenegro.

In duty free shops opened on the airports and navy ports opened for the international traffic, passengers leaving the customs area abroad and passengers transiting over the customs area of Montenegro may be sold commodities after they pass the customs control.

Provisions regarding the customs storage procedure shall also apply on storage of commodities in duty free shops.

Granting opening of the duty free shops, as requested by the interested enterprise with headquarters in Montenegro shall be performed by the Ministry of Finance.

Details