Regulation on Limitation of Margins amended again – Fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, as well as coffee and cocoa, exempt from price fix

The Government of Serbia has once again, this time at a session held last Thursday, amended the Regulation on Special Conditions for Conducting Trade, or the so-called Regulation on the Limitation of Trade Margins. A particularly important change concerns the prices of fresh food, coffee and cocoa.

Before the latest amendments, this regulation required that “the supplier’s invoice price cannot be higher than the invoice price that was valid on August 1, 2025,” which in practice froze purchase prices. After the amendments to the regulation voted on September 11, this part of the regulation was relaxed and now “fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fresh fish, as well as exchange-traded goods, i.e. coffee and cocoa” are exempt from this obligation. In other words, this indicates that the purchase prices of these goods will be able to change depending on market conditions.

The regulation also includes an amendment related to the calculation of the maximum margin of 20%. The previous version of the regulation did not specify exactly when the restriction applies. The latest amendments to the regulation clarify that the maximum margin of 20% applies “from the time the goods are first placed on the market of the Republic of Serbia.” The expected effect is to prevent artificial price increases before certain products reach the shelves.

In addition, the regulation also amends the parts concerning fees and rebates that retailers charge from suppliers. The previous version of the regulation stated that if fees, logistics rebates and shortage fees were not agreed on August 1, 2025, they could not be applied. After the amendments, this part of the regulation now reads “if fees, as well as logistics rebates and shortage fees or write-offs, were lower on August 1, 2025, they cannot be increased.”

– Retailers who did not have contracted fees, as well as a logistics rebate and a fee for shortages or write-offs on August 1, 2025, may include the allowed amount prescribed in this article in the retail price when calculating the margin – the amended regulation states.

In addition, the articles and paragraphs concerning the submission of price lists, as well as the data to be submitted, are also amended in the regulation. The latest amendments establish that retailers are obliged to submit price lists in an electronic format that the Ministry of Trade publishes on its website.

With the latest amendment to the regulation, retailers have also been tasked with, when it comes to data, providing a barcode for each product in the future.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Government of Serbia

Regulation on the Limitation of Trade Margins

retail margins

retail chains