Stabilisation and restructuring law in Serbia

National Bank of Serbia (NBS) enacted two decisions on a payment standstill on 17 March 2020 which entered into force on 18 March 2020 – Decision on Temporary Measures for Preservation of the Financial System and Decision on Temporary Measures for Leasing Companies aimed at Preservation of the Financial System (both decisions published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, no. 33/20).

The standstill captures all payments of one debtor - the bank is obliged to offer a payment standstill to the debtor on all loans/credit cards and similar exposures irrespective of their number. The payment standstill enters into force on expiry of the 10th day of the day of the offer being published on the bank's website (by the latest on 31 March 2020) and it will be applied in the 90 days after its entering into force or longer, as the case may be if the state of emergency exceeds 90 days, unless the debtor explicitly rejects the payment standstill offer.

The debtor is not automatically entitled to a payment standstill on its obligations which become due  between the payment standstill offer published on the bank's website and its entering into force upon expiry of the 10th day (i.e. at the latest between 21 and 31 March 2020), but it may inform the bank explicitly that it will use the payment standstill even for payments becoming due in this 10-day interim period.

Effects of NBS standstill relief are:

• three months repayment standstill relief for borrowers with respect to loans/leasing (multiple credit lines included) and all other liabilities for the next 90 days, or at least for as long as the state of emergency is in place due to COVID-19;
• default interest is not accrued for said period;
• contractual interest is accrued during the said period and equally distributed into remaining due instalments to be paid once standstill is cancelled;
• this decision can obviously only be obligatory for local lenders and leasing companies and it is uncertain how it will impact cross-border financings.

The Decision on Temporary Measures for Preservation of the Financial System indicates that the payment standstill is offered to (i) natural persons, (ii) entrepreneurs, (iii) agriculture producers and (iv) commercial entities.

The Decision on Temporary Measures for Leasing Companies aimed at Preservation of the Financial System doesn’t differentiate between different categories of lessees. 

Apart from the payment standstill decisions set out above, the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia have not enacted any other stabilisation measures to date. 

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The Serbian Insolvency Act does not stipulate a deadline for the submission of insolvency applications. On the other hand, according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Justice and conclusion no. 119-05-132/2020-01 adopted by the Serbian High Court Council on 18 March 2020 during the state of emergency, all court hearings are postponed apart from those that are deemed urgent (e.g. interim measure procedure in civil proceedings, ordering detention in criminal proceedings etc.). 

Pursuant to the Decree on Deadlines in Court Proceedings During the State of Emergency dated 20 March 2020 (published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, no. 38/20) preclusive deadlines for filing civil complaints, motions for initiating extrajudicial or enforcement and security proceedings, private criminal complaints, administrative lawsuits, constitutional appeals as well as any preclusive deadlines for filing legal remedy in the above-referred cases are deemed suspended as of 15 March 2020.

Local insolvency/restructuring laws have not been amended with regard to the COVID-19 outbreak to date.

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None of the COVID-19 related measures in that regard have been enacted to date.