Introduction

The Serbian companies registry – Business Registration Agency - announced on the 20th of October, 2017, that, as of that date, it will start implementing the provisions of the Serbian Company Law regulating the compulsory liquidation of companies. These provisions have actually been in force for more than 5 years now, but they have not been implemented by the registry thus far.

The Companies Act introduced in 2011 the obligation of the Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA) to institute compulsory liquidation over companies for failure to comply with legal obligations under the statute. SBRA is, inter alia, obliged to initiate compulsory liquidation over a company which has failed to:

(a) submit its annual financial statements for the previous year until the end of the current year;

New legislation suspends contractual obligations for the next six months with related disputes subject to a separate dispute resolution system.

On 7 April 2020, the Singapore Parliament passed the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (the Act) offering temporary relief to businesses and individuals who are unable to fulfil their contractual obligations because of COVID-19 and providing temporary amendments to bankruptcy and insolvency laws. The Act went into effect immediately.

This briefing looks at the measures being taken by the Singapore government to support businesses and meet the challenges posed by Covid-19, with the introduction of the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (the Act)¹, and the Registrar's Circular No, 4 of 2020: Updates on Measures Relating to Covid-19², focussing on:

A creditor may take security over a debtor’s assets under Serbian law in several ways.

In May 2011 the Law on Consensual Financial Restructuring of the Companies (the Law) was enacted, bringing what appeared to be a new way out for the companies facing financial difficulties.

The Serbian Parliament adopted in urgent proceedings the Amendments to the Law on Privatization extending the existing moratorium on enforcement of creditors’ claims held against the companies in privatization restructuring. The amendments are affective as of 13 May 2014.

As of mid-August 2014, the Serbian Insolvency Act applies in its amended form.

As of 13 August 2014, the amendments and supplements to the Insolvency Act [Zakon o stečaju] are in force, published in the Official Gazette of RS no. 83/2014 ("New IA").

The New IA shall not be implemented retroactively, and those insolvency proceedings that were ongoing on the day the New IA entered into force will be continued under the previously valid rules.

In general, the New IA has not introduced fundamental changes in the field of insolvency law.