More efficient cadaster registration – visit to a single counter instead of six, starting July
Five years after businesses required urgent resolving of the lengthy procedure for registering property in the Cadaster through NALED’s Grey Book, the Government of Serbia and line institutions are initiating this reform, and if NALED’s suggestion for introducing a unified tax return for property tax and tax for transfer of absolute rights is adopted, the process of registering real estate property will require a visit to a single counter instead of six, starting from July 2018.
The key pillar of this reform is the new Law on Cadaster Registration Procedure, which will be accompanied with amendments to several tax laws. As a result, the citizens would not need to engage in direct communication with the Republic Geodetic Authority, Tax Administration and local tax administration, but contact only a public notary who would communicate electronically with other institutions through e-counter, and finalize all issues regarding the verification of purchase agreement, getting a certificate on real estate registration and submitting tax returns.
- Cadaster reform is among the most complex, and in addition to healthcare sector improvements, one of the most significant for the citizens of Serbia. Citizens and businesses have been struggling with Cadaster-related problems for decades and I am glad we are finally putting this issue in order. A part of this reform includes the adoption of the law on national infrastructure for geospatial data and the development of address registry – said the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić at the presentation of the new law at Republic Geodetic Authority premises.
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović said that the Cadaster reform builds upon the introduction of e-permitting, and that both reforms will be revolutionary and help Serbia continue its path to the global top in this field. The key goal is the establishment of e-Cadaster. She announced that the new law will enter the Parliament procedure in April. “Along with the faster registration of property rights, we also wish to speed up the second-instance handling of applications with unresolved property issues. Such cases had previously been processed for 10 to 15 years, due to numerous appeals. This procedure will also require fewer steps from now on“, said Mihalović.
NALED Executive Director Violeta Jovanović said that the advancement of Cadaster procedures are highly significant for businesses and that NALED, as a member of the Working group for drafting the Law, acted as a mediator in the dialogue with the state and in setting the path of the reform process, and assisted in coordinating the ministries of construction, justice and finance, RGA, Tax Administration, enforcers and Office for IT and E-Government.
- Cadaster reform is a systemic and very concrete step forward for the development of e-government and the rule of law in Serbia. The elimination of counters and papers introduces order in our land records, and they best reflect a society’s organization level. The foundation of this reform is the Cadaster, which had been receiving the lowest grades in our surveys as an institution significant for businesses, primarily due to the amount of time spent waiting at counters and for resolving applications. The situation is now different and the Cadaster turns into a reform leader – said Jovanović.
The Republic Geodetic Authority Director Borko Drašković said that the Cadaster reform will be performed in three stages, with the aim of introducing digitalization and making the data more transparent and available to citizens. There is an ongoing project with the World Bank for strengthening infrastructure and the Government of Serbia approved the employment of additional 567 officers in order to build the capacities of RGA.
