Law on Confirmation of Annex no. 3 of the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation in the Field of Infrastructure September 17, 2020 On 13th of March 2020 the Law on Confirmation of Annex no. 3 of the Agreement on economic and technical cooperation in the field of infrastructure between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the People’s Republic of China entered into force. With this law, the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia confirmed Annex No. 3, which was made on May 16, 2017 in Beijing. The basic provisions of this Annex No. 3 relate to amendments to Article 2 and Article 6 of the Agreement. Namely, Article 2 has been amended to read as follows: Cooperation under this Agreement shall take place through: – Development and implementation of infrastructure projects, – Preparation of studies and projects for the purpose of modernization and expansion of infrastructure, as well as construction and reconstruction of infrastructure facilities, by agreement of the Parties, – Technical assistance of experts, professionals specialized in training national staff to draw up development plans and other areas related to each mode of transport, – Supply and/or purchase of machinery, equipment and materials, locomotives and rail vehicles (including electric train) necessary for the construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects, especially in the field of transport, – Exchange of experiences in terms of signalization and integrated systems, as well as other elements agreed between the Parties, – Other forms of cooperation in the field of transport and infrastructure, proposed by some of the Parties. The amendment is made in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 2, by specifying that the cooperation under the agreement will take place through the supply and/or purchase of locomotives and rail vehicles (including electric trains) necessary for the construction, operation and maintenance infrastructure projects, with an emphasis on transport projects, which is a novelty compared to the earlier version of the agreement, which did not specifically mention transport projects as an object of cooperation. Regarding the Article 6, it has been amended to read as follows: The Parties shall provide each other with all necessary assistance to ensure the entry, stay and departure from the country of personnel accredited to carry out activities under the Agreement, in accordance with the national legislation of the two countries. On import and/or purchase of goods and services by contractors, for the implementation of infrastructure projects and projects related to locomotives and rail vehicles (including electric trains) for the purpose of execution of agreements, contracts and programs made in accordance with Article 4 of the Agreement, no customs duties and value added tax (VAT) shall be paid on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The amendment is reflected in the fact that the new version of the article defines in more detail that customs duties and value added tax (VAT) will not be charged in the case of import and purchase of goods and services necessary for the implementation of projects related to locomotives and rail vehicles (including electric train). Such reliefs have been established for contractors, but not for subcontractors. It is interesting to note that a similar amendment was also made in Annex No. 1 when customs and tax reliefs for the project of building the Zemun-Borca bridge were explicitly specified. Therefore, it can be concluded that the goal of such amendments is to provide the most favorable conditions for realization pf the most important infrastructure projects conducted by investors from the People’s Republic of China.
