Right to VAT Exemption on Imports

The Ministry of Finance has adopted the Rulebook on Determining Products and the Procedure for Exercising the Right to VAT Exemption on Imports

(“Official Gazette of Montenegro”, No. 124/24 dated 25.12.2024)

This rulebook provides more detailed regulations on the products and procedure for obtaining VAT exemption on imports as outlined in Article 28, Paragraph 1, Points 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34 of the Value Added Tax Law (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro”, Nos. 65/01, 72/02, 21/03, 76/05 and “Official Gazette of Montenegro”, Nos. 16/07, 29/13, 9/15, 53/16, 1/17, 50/17, 80/20, 59/21, 146/21, 49/22, 65/22, 140/22, 3/23, and 94/24) (hereinafter: Law).

The mentioned points of the article refer to VAT exemption on imports:

Article 28

1. VAT payments on imports are exempt for:

8. Non-commercial goods brought by passengers from abroad, in prescribed type, value, and quantity;
9. Goods contained in shipments sent free of charge by individuals from abroad to individuals in Montenegro, provided that these shipments are not of a commercial nature and meet the prescribed type, quantity, and value;
10. Personal property imported by individuals moving to Montenegro who have previously lived in another country continuously for at least 12 months, provided that the items are owned by those individuals and have been used for at least six months before the move, and the import of these products can be carried out within 12 months from the date of relocation, extendable due to special circumstances, except for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and tobacco products, commercial vehicles, and products used for business or professional purposes;
11. Household items and gifts imported by individuals moving to Montenegro due to marriage, except for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and tobacco products;
12. Personal property inherited by Montenegrin and foreign nationals permanently residing in Montenegro from abroad, except for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and tobacco products, commercial vehicles, products used for business or professional activities, raw materials, and finished products or semi-finished goods, livestock, and agricultural products in quantities exceeding usual family needs;
13. Clothing, school materials, and household items used to furnish student rooms for students or pupils coming to study in Montenegro, intended for their personal use during their studies;
14. Agricultural products, crops, livestock, forestry products, fish farming, and beekeeping products obtained on estates owned by Montenegrin farmers in the border area of a neighboring country, and breeding and other products obtained from livestock on these estates due to fieldwork, grazing, or wintering, as well as seed, fertilizers, and products for soil and crop treatment from these estates;
15. Laboratory animals and biological or chemical substances for research;
16. Therapeutic substances of human origin and reagents for blood group and tissue type identification;
17. Shipments containing reference substances for the quality control of medical products, approved by the World Health Organization;
18. Pharmaceutical products used at international sports events;
19. Products imported by state authorities or registered humanitarian or charitable organizations, intended for free distribution to people in need, except for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tobacco products, coffee, tea, and motor vehicles (except for emergency vehicles);
20. Items specially made for the education, employment, or training of blind or other disabled persons, if imported by institutions or organizations whose activity is to provide assistance to these individuals, if these items have been donated to these organizations, based on the opinion of the authority responsible for social welfare;
21. Products imported by state authorities or registered humanitarian or charitable organizations, intended for free distribution or free availability to victims of natural disasters, except for materials and equipment intended for the reconstruction of areas affected by natural disasters;
22. Decorations and awards received within international events and gifts received in international relations, except for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tobacco products, and products used by heads of state or their representatives during official visits;
23. Items imported for trade promotion purposes – samples of goods of negligible value, printed and advertising material;
24. Products used or consumed at fairs or similar events, except for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tobacco products, solid, liquid, or gas fuels;
25. Goods imported for testing, analysis, or evaluation to determine and verify their composition, quality, or technical characteristics, for the purposes of information or industrial or commercial research, except for products used for testing, analyzing, or evaluating, which promote sales activities;
26. Trademarks, samples, designs, their accompanying documentation, and forms for the recognition of inventions, patents, innovations, etc., submitted to the relevant bodies for the protection of copyright and industrial property rights;
27. Documents intended for tourist information, containing no more than 25% commercial advertisements, distributed free of charge to encourage visits to foreign countries;
28. Various documents, certificates, forms, printed materials, brochures, records, and mail shipments;
29. Auxiliary materials for packing and protecting goods during transport;
30. Bedding, animal feed, and other types of food for the transport of animals;
31. Fuels contained in the standard tank of passenger cars and motorcycles and in special containers, or fuels contained in portable tanks for passenger cars and motorcycles, up to ten liters per vehicle, as well as lubricants necessary for the operation of these vehicles;
32. Materials for the construction, maintenance, or decoration of memorials or war graves;
33. Coffins with deceased persons, urns with the ashes of deceased persons, and flowers, wreaths, and other usual decorative funeral items, provided they do not have a commercial purpose;
34. Passenger vehicles specially adapted for transporting persons with disabilities, exempt from customs duties, under the conditions prescribed by customs regulations;

The right to VAT exemption on imports is exercised with the competent customs authority through a simplified procedure, marked on the document.

This rulebook enters into force the day after its publication in the “Official Gazette of Montenegro” and will apply from January 1, 2025.