{"id":39970,"date":"2022-02-22T16:03:51","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T15:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/new-consumer-protection-law-stricter-regulations-on-handling-complaints-and-dispute-resolution\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T09:24:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T07:24:54","slug":"new-consumer-protection-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/new-consumer-protection-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Consumer Protection Law in Serbia: New Rules on Complaints &amp; Disputes"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"39970\" class=\"elementor elementor-39970 elementor-33600\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-699fd643 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"699fd643\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e5c7652 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e5c7652\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"av_textblock_section av-kk59h4i-86bdef1decbcf57c6d1793bd34733046\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>In the past year, on September 19, 2021, the new Consumer Protection Law (hereinafter: the Law) entered into force, but its application was delayed for the next three months, until December 20, 2021. In our previous post, <a href=\"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/rights-under-consumer-protection-act\/\">New Obligations for Traders = Justice for Customers<\/a>, we have previously covered fresh legal concepts introduced for the first time in our legal system, such as the \u201cDo Not Call\u201d register, obligation to prepare an estimate of the sale price for services whose value surpass RSD 5,000, etc.<\/p><p>In this text, we will focus on two areas that have been significantly altered and which are equally important for selling goods and providing services, as well as for <a href=\"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/internet-lawyer-it-attorney-serbia\/e-commerce\/\">e-commerce<\/a> \u2013 i.e., consumer complaint procedures and out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes.<\/p><p>Among the key novelties that should be paid attention to is the adoption of <strong>strict regulations on receipt and processing of complaints<\/strong>, as well as on informing the consumer about the possible out-of-court <strong>dispute resolution and the duty of the trader to take part in that procedure<\/strong>. Failure to comply with these regulations entails <strong>misdemeanor liability and the imposition of fines. <\/strong><\/p><p>Therefore, regardless of the business activity you are engaged in, if you run a business as:<\/p><ul><li>a legal entity,<\/li><li>an entrepreneur or<\/li><li>a natural person within the scope of your business activity or for other commercial purposes,<\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>You are classified as a trader according to the Law, and you must become familiar with these regulations.<\/p><\/div><ul><li data-start=\"49\" data-end=\"123\"><strong data-start=\"49\" data-end=\"72\">19th September 2021<\/strong><br data-start=\"72\" data-end=\"75\" \/><strong data-start=\"75\" data-end=\"99\">*20th December 2021 <\/strong>*effective date of the law<br data-start=\"99\" data-end=\"102\" \/><strong data-start=\"102\" data-end=\"123\">*20th March 2022 <\/strong>*effective date of special provisions on out-of-court dispute resolution<\/li><\/ul><p data-start=\"125\" data-end=\"228\">\u00a0<\/p><\/section><div class=\"avia-image-container av-kzy4ce60-7be5e1da9b540fb2ee7e5499e7467961 av-styling- avia-align-center avia-builder-el-13 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_heading \"><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><h2>New Obligations Regarding the Complaint Procedure<\/h2><div class=\"av-special-heading av-4kiqt8p-d35bf8fde0bf049afcb23f8e9c7d9a8e av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-15 el_after_av_heading el_before_av_textblock av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">1. Obligation to Receive the Complaint and File a Form<\/h3><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-e2045090b0475bc0ddb40242603703e2\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>The fact that the Consumer Protection Law is colloquially referred to as the \u201cComplaint Law\u201d underscores its importance. Although this procedure was regulated in detail in the Serbian legal system, the obligation of sellers to receive complaints was not explicitly regulated, nor was the deadline within which sellers should confirm receipt of the complaint, which affected the efficacy of the procedures.<\/p><p>Therefore, to provide a higher level of consumer protection, the new Law prescribes an <strong>obligation for sellers to receive the complaint.<\/strong> In addition to the existing seller\u2019s obligation to confirm the receipt of the complaint in writing or electronically, i.e., confirm the number of the complaint, the new Law introduces a substantially short deadline within which the confirmation must be submitted \u2013 <strong>\u201cwithout delay\u201d.<\/strong><\/p><p>The introduction of these novelties put a greater pressure on sellers to act in a shorter period, so it is important to keep in mind that for failure to act in such a way, the Law prescribes misdemeanor liability and a fine in the amount of RSD 50,000 for a legal entity, RSD 30,000 for an entrepreneur and RSD 8,000 for a responsible person in the legal entity.<\/p><p>However, despite numerous obligations, the Law still establishes some advantages for sellers. In case a seller resolves an oral complaint in accordance with the client\u2019s demand, the seller is not obliged to issue any form on receipt of such complaint, nor to respond to the complaint in writing or electronically.<\/p><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-4411csp-572202f02618417feba3f6eee99ab347 av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-17 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_textblock av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">2. How to Respond to a Complaint That Has Been Rejected?<\/h3><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-11-d49f3ff851c87104ba6c83ed2c703017\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Having received the complaint and issued a confirmation of receipt of the complaint, the seller is obliged to respond to the consumer regarding the complaint, that is, to notify the consumer whether the complaint is accepted or not.<\/p><p>As we have briefly stated in our previous post on <a href=\"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/rights-under-consumer-protection-act\/\">Consumer Protection Law<\/a>, as of December 20, 2021, the seller is also obliged to provide the following within their response to the complaint:<\/p><ul><li><strong>explain their decision in the event of rejection of the complaint,<\/strong><\/li><li>notify the consumer about the possibilities of <strong>out-of-court dispute resolution<\/strong>, as well as on the competent bodies in connection with this procedure.<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-3bftbc9-40c52912636f56b76a2292a33dd8e5cc av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-19 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_image av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">3. Personal Data Processing in the Complaint Handling Procedure?<\/h3><\/div><div class=\"avia-image-container av-kzy5vclf-12-424305b113ff523ceb2a1ce186bc1e9b av-styling- avia-align-center avia-builder-el-20 el_after_av_heading el_before_av_textblock \"><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-10-048f067b7a4f56908d758d3952f1b56f\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>Even though personal data processing is not the first thing that consumers or traders think about while stating or handling a complaint, it is of high importance that they are acquainted with their rights and obligations under applicable privacy regulations.<\/p><p>When it comes to keeping record of received complaints and the obligation to keep the complaint for two years, the new Consumer Protection Law emphasizes that traders must perform these data processing activities in accordance with the personal <a href=\"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/data-protection-lawyer\/\">data protection<\/a> regulations. Thus, <strong>consumers\u2019 personal data must be processed by the specifically prescribed and justified purpose for which it was collected<\/strong>, fully in accordance with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poverenik.rs\/en\/%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B84\/52-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%BE-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%BE-%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-%D1%81%D0%BB-%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA-%D1%80%D1%81-97-08,104-09-%D0%B4%D1%80-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD-68-12,-%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%BAa-%D1%83%D1%81-%D0%B8-107-12.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Law on Personal Data Protection<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-33jejnt-8f044ebc9a3fec0564f2fbabae6513ce av-special-heading-h2 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-22 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_textblock av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h2>\u00a0<\/h2><h2 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">Out-of-Court Resolution of Consumer Disputes<\/h2><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-8-66131707b51a93fa34ca7325b0e4cfa6\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Prior to filing the lawsuit to protect their rights, consumers may try to resolve their consumer dispute with the trader out-of-court. The idea behind this is to enable a transparent, quick, and fair way of adopting a solution that will satisfy both parties.<\/p><p>Even though the out-of-court method of resolving disputes previously existed as a possibility, it never really came to life in practice. In order to change this, the Law regulates this area in more detail, with additional obligations for traders.<\/p><p>For that reason, in order for traders to comply their business with new regulations, the application of these provisions has been postponed for six months from the day when the Law entered into force, i.e., they will start to apply as of <strong>March 20, 2022.<\/strong><\/p><p>However, there is an <strong>exception<\/strong> to this rule, so with the entry into force of the new Law (December 20, 2021), the trader is obliged to: <strong>before concluding a purchase &amp; sales agreement of goods or services<\/strong>, <strong>inform the consumer about the possibility of out-of-court dispute resolution in a clear and understandable way<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-2i6f2q1-4ad031d5c50f53194933e26d1bd64dc4 av-special-heading-h2 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-24 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_image av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h2>\u00a0<\/h2><h2 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution After March 20, 2022<\/h2><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-7-9f559e0ffbb82ae3478f16fc70052b58\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>As the remaining provisions of the new Consumer Protection Law will soon come into force, the following should be considered: the obligation of a trader to <strong>participate in out-of-court dispute resolution procedure<\/strong>, and the obligation to visibly and clearly <strong>display the notice that they are obliged by the Law to participate in the procedure.<\/strong><\/p><p>The handling of disputes is entrusted to specialized bodies which are under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications (hereinafter: the Ministry). <strong>The entire out-of-court procedure will be free of charge for parties<\/strong>, and the parties will bear only the costs of representation, travel costs, etc.<\/p><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-29mo44p-949a64caff97eff258936b85ff6c10dd av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-27 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_textblock av-inherit-size\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">1. Can Any Consumer Dispute Be Resolved Out-of-Court?<\/h3><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-5-2274c31b8630278d4ee98fdabd052007\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Having in mind the value of the subject of the dispute \u2013 YES.<\/p><p>Before the adoption of the new Law, the rule was that only disputes whose value did not exceed RSD 500,000 could be settled out of court. However, the new Law prescribes that every consumer dispute may be resolved in this way.<\/p><p>However, it should be borne in mind that there are <strong>certain areas of business<\/strong> in <strong>which disputes cannot be resolved out of court at all<\/strong>, such as:<\/p><ul><li>area of medical services provided to a patient for the purpose of medical treatment (including writing prescriptions),<\/li><li>area of providing non-commercial services in the public interest,<\/li><li>in connection with concluded agreements with public service providers in the field of higher education, and<\/li><li>consumer disputes whose out-of-court dispute resolution is regulated by a special law (especially in the field of electronic communications services, postal services, financial services, travel services).<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-1jd9wnd-3e043cb109f558fb9609ffc6691c6b96 av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-29 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_textblock av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">2. How is the Out-of-Court Procedure Initiated?<\/h3><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-4-2a2be07f9f20ff3964c0b6d6c1bd8199\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>The procedure of out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes is initiated by submitting a recommendation to the Ministry \u2013 in person, by mail or electronically. Then, the Ministry forwards the recommendation to the body that is competent according to the place of residence of the consumer, or to another body that the Ministry estimates that will resolve the dispute in the most efficient way.<\/p><p>In order for the competent body to initiate an out-of-court dispute resolution procedure after receiving the recommendation, it is necessary that <strong>the consumer has previously filed the complaint with the trader<\/strong> in accordance with the Law. If that is not the case, the body will reject the recommendation.<\/p><p>Depending on the consumer\u2019s recommendation, the procedure can be handled <strong>directly or electronically<\/strong>. In any case, the trader <strong>is obliged to participate<\/strong> in the procedure.<\/p><p>After the competent body receives a valid consumer recommendation, it will submit it to the trader <strong>to state within 15 days<\/strong> whether the trader recognizes or disputes the consumer recommendation. If the trader disputes the recommendation, the trader must state the facts in the statement based on which the allegations are based and the evidence which establishes those facts.<\/p><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-155uk09-6710cdeb80aebf856811b003d3b0448c av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-31 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_image av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">3. How Long Does the Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution Procedure Last?<\/h3><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-3-d6a8b9a19530b3ae8442f5db48730471\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>The law stipulates that the procedure of out-of-court dispute resolution may last for a maximum of <strong>90 days<\/strong> from the day when the recommendation for its initiation was submitted, and only exceptionally, that deadline may be extended for another 90 days. Therefore, the maximum <strong>six-month duration<\/strong> of the procedure will be possible only in justified cases, when it comes to a complex case.<\/p><p>If, on the other hand, the average length of litigation before the Serbian court is taken into account, it is clear that this way of resolving disputes can greatly contribute to the mutual satisfaction of both traders and consumers.<\/p><p>Also, unlike court proceedings, the public is excluded from the out-of-court dispute resolution procedure. This means that, unless parties have agreed otherwise[1], all data, recommendations, and statements presented during the proceedings or in connection with the proceedings are confidential.<a href=\"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/new-consumer-protection-law\/#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/section><div class=\"av-special-heading av-sb06bt-940b5c9cb5a67bd4de7a739fa3b0a843 av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered avia-builder-el-34 el_after_av_textblock el_before_av_image av-inherit-size av-linked-heading\"><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3 class=\"av-special-heading-tag\">4. Termination of the Procedure<\/h3><p>\u00a0<\/p><\/div><ul><li>RECOMMENDATION ON THE MANNER OF HANDLING DISPUTE RESOLUTION<\/li><li>CONCLUDING THE AGREEMENT ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION<\/li><li>DECISION ON TERMINATION OF THE PROCEDURE (inexpedience)<\/li><\/ul><div class=\"avia-image-container av-kzy4laja-4b9aba31196e3b3411ae6e7bfc12f642 av-styling- avia-align-center avia-builder-el-35 el_after_av_heading el_before_av_textblock \"><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-2-2cae6ba3811373700a976629864ec6a4\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><p>Ideally, through this procedure, the trader and the consumer will reach a compromise solution and conclude an <strong>agreement on resolving the dispute<\/strong>. After reaching an agreement, the body will draft an agreement in writing and submit it to the parties for signature. This agreement may have the force of an enforceable document, if it is accompanied by a statement of consent to initiate enforcement proceedings and signed by the trader, consumer and the competent body.<\/p><p>However, given that there is already some disagreement between the parties, it is certain that in some cases the parties will not be able to reach an agreement on resolving the dispute. In such a situation, the competent body may issue a <strong>recommendation on how to resolve the dispute<\/strong>, when it believes that the recommendation may be effective. Nevertheless, the <strong>recommendation is not binding<\/strong> for the parties to the dispute and the trader and the consumer are not obliged to act in accordance with it.<\/p><p>Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that, regardless of (non) participation in out-of-court dispute resolution, the parties have the right to initiate court or arbitration proceedings. Thus<strong>, the participation of the consumer in the out-of-court dispute resolution does not deprive the consumer of their right to claim damages in court or arbitration proceedings.<\/strong><\/p><p>Statute of limitations, i.e., deadlines within which it is necessary to take a certain action, do not run during the out-of-court dispute resolution procedure, but begin to run again only on the fifteenth day from the day of the end of this procedure.<\/p><p>Therefore, even though out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes may not result in a decision obliging the trader to take a certain action or not take any action, in certain cases, the <strong>conduct of the trader during the procedure, their willingness to reach a compromise, may affect the competent body<\/strong> in reaching a judgement, i.e., an arbitral award.<\/p><\/div><\/section><section class=\"av_textblock_section av-k870di1w-1-b2e8a6563dae672fa5bdff3bdaf611fe\"><div class=\"avia_textblock\"><h6><a href=\"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/new-consumer-protection-law\/#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> only exceptions to the rule are data that must be disclosed according to the Law, or with the aim of implementing or conducting out-of-court dispute resolution, or in case of public interest<\/h6><\/div><\/section>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the past year, on September 19, 2021, the new Consumer Protection Law (hereinafter: the Law) entered into force, but its application was delayed for the next three months, until December 20, 2021. In our previous post, New Obligations for Traders = Justice for Customers, we have previously covered fresh legal concepts introduced for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":69100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"class_list":["post-39970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contracts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39970"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69113,"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39970\/revisions\/69113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}