USAID Business Enabling Project News, January – February
2012
First National Registry of Para-fiscal Charges Published
USAID BEP and NALED developed a list of 256 para-fiscal charges introduced by
public authorities on the central, provincial and local levels, and sorted them out by
the title, relevant law and bylaw. The Registry, prepared under a grant to NALED,
will enable monitoring of these hidden taxes and will help policy makers and the
business community to identify para-fiscal charges that should be eliminated or
streamlined.
Focus Groups - Step towards the Inspections Reform Strategy
USAID BEP in collaboration with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and
leading business associations in Serbia held four focus groups on inspections reform.
These focus groups gathered businesses from four industrial sectors. They will
provide input for the draft Inspections Reform Strategy, which should be adopted by
the Working Group for Inspections Reform by March 31, 2012.
Support for the Implementation of the New PPP Legislation
USAID BEP held separate discussions with the Government of Serbia and World Bank
officials to discuss implementation of the new PPP legislation. USAID BEP plans to
help implement this important new law by providing assistance to the new
Governmental Commission for PPP’s.
Ministry of Justice Recruits Candidates for Enforcement Officers
On February 7, 2012, the Ministry of Justice announced the new (third) public call for
candidates for enforcement officers. Around 50 candidates applied for the first
examination, with 18 passing, and around 40 professionals applied for the second,
January exam, of which 23 professionals passed the written part of the exam and are
now awaiting the oral part.
New Strategy on Regulatory Reform
USAID BEP helped the Office for Regulatory Reform and Regulatory Impact
Assessment (RRO) and the Cabinet of Deputy Prime-Minister in charge for economy
and regional development draft the new Strategy on Regulatory Reform in the
Republic of Serbia 2012-2014 (the Strategy).
Labor Reform Process in Serbia is necessary
USAID Business Enabling Project met with staff of the Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy (MLSP) to discuss labor law reform. Proper regulation in the field of Labor is
especially significant for a business-friendly environment. As there have been no real
improvements in the labor area in Serbia for a number of years now, BEP aims to
provide support to MLSP in conducting the Labor Reform Process.
National Assembly needs to Increase its Role in Control of Public Spending
The current involvement of the National Assembly in the Government of Serbia
budget process is insufficient and does not afford the National Assembly the
opportunity to provide the necessary input or oversight on the budgeting and
spending of the GoS. Planned joint activities should help to strengthen the
democratic process of planning and budgeting, enabling increased transparency and
accountability of Government of Serbia taxation and spending policies and
procedures.
USAID BEP organized study tour to Italian Ministry of Finance and Economy (MEF)
and Bank of Italy (BoI)
Staff of the Macro-Fiscal Department (MFD) of the Serbian Ministry of Finance (MoF)
obtained valuable training and guidance. The Italian MEF and BOI invited the Serbian
delegation for a two-day intensive course on macroeconomic and fiscal analysis and
projections. The Serbian delegation received a reception at the highest level,
including presentations by the the MEF Treasury Director, Marco Cacciotti, and the
BoI Managing Director of Economic Research, Daniele Franco.
USAID Business Enabling Project Stresses Need for Budget Process Improvements
at a Press Conference at the Chamber of Commerce
USAID BEP supported research and publication of the article “Budget System in
Serbia: Institutional Framework and Practice” in the Economic Institute’s monthly
Macroeconomic Analyses and Trends (MAT). The article emphasizes the importance
of a quality budget process for the efficiency of public finance management and
recommends improvements to the current framework.
USAID Business Enabling Project and the Newly Appointed Director of the Public
Debt Administration (PDA) Work Together to Improve PDA’s Institutional and
Reporting Capacities
Branko Drcelic, the PDA Director, and BEP continue to work on resolving a number of
issues existing in the PDA’s debt management system including cash-flow
calculations and reporting discrepancies. The expected corrections will streamline
effectiveness and efficiency of the PDA staff’s reporting on Serbia’s public debt and
will free up PDA’s resources for more fundamental types of analyses.
USAID Business Enabling Project Trained Macro-Fiscal Department (MFD), Public
Debt Authority (PDA), Treasury Authority (TA) and the Fiscal Council (FC) Staff on
Public Debt Sustainability
USAID BEP, through a grant to FREN, delivered training to MFD of the Ministry of
Finance, aimed to build the capacity of the team to model and track the dynamics of
public debt. The MFD staff learned about the risks associated with the public debt
sustainability and development of models capturing debt dynamics in various
macroeconomic and fiscal scenarios.
USAID Business Enabling Project Assistance to Securities Commission Yields Results
The assistance USAID BEP is providing to the Securities Commission is helping to
ensure successful implementation of the new Capital Markets Law. USAID BEP
helped draft important bylaws that were adopted. At the beginning of March, BEP
will organize a two-day training event, aimed at promoting investor protection and
fostering market integrity through better supervision of the market.
USAID BEP is currently outlining and reviewing regulations concerning capital and
the capital adequacy of a broker-dealer company, including procedures for risk
identification, measurement, assessment and management. The new bylaws will be
adopted by mid-May 2012. The new Capital Market Law contributes to more
efficient investor protection, creation of an efficient and transparent capital market,
and reduction of systemic risk.
USAID Business Enabling Project Continues Efforts to Facilitate Access to Finance
for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
USAID BEP held roundtables in Jagodina and Vranje on access to finance and for
small and medium sized enterprises. Both roundtables gathered numerous
businesspeople and provided an opportunity to share experiences, opinions, and
lessons learned on access to finance, which will serve as beneficial inputs to future
policies and development of access to finance for SMEs in Serbia.
USAID Business Enabling Project Highlights Advantages of Modern Commodity
Exchange
USAID BEP and the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the Roundtable
“Commodity Exchange - Chance for Serbian Economy.” The roundtable focused on
the benefits to the Serbian economy of a modern and functional commodity
exchange, and making the commodity exchange part of the overall financial market.
Coordinated Efforts in Enactment of Factoring Law
Factoring is considered as one of the best value for money when the basic need of
the client is financing. In the EU, about 80% of factoring users are small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) and about 70% of factoring firms turnover is realized with SMEs.
The Ministry of Finance has requested USAID BEP’s assistance to develop this
important new law.
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