This post was originally published on 27 November 2025 and updated on 5 December 2025.
Serbia has recently implemented or announced several administrative and legislative measures aimed at controlling retail prices of certain FMCG.
The Price Margin Decree
The controversial Price Margin Decree[1], which came into force on 1 September 2025 and is set to remain in effect until 1 March 2026, was revised, effective as of 29 November 2025. The Decree, applicable to wholesalers and retailers whose 2024 revenue exceeded the set thresholds, caps wholesale and retail margins at 20% for food, household chemicals, and personal care products. Additionally, the fees that retailers may charge suppliers (such as marketing or listing fees) are capped at 10% of the total net amount invoiced by the supplier during the period of the Decree’s application. For retailers who have installed suppliers’ freezers on their premises, the aggregate fees charged to the relevant suppliers may not exceed 18% of the supplier’s total net amount invoiced during the Decree’s effective period. This increased cap was introduced to enable such retailers to offset the costs of maintaining the cold chain. Pursuant to the revised Decree, logistics rebates and write-offs are now capped at the values agreed as of 1 August 2025, whereas previously they were subject to a fixed percentage limit.
The Decree also prohibits retailers from removing products from previously agreed product lists without the supplier’s written consent. This provision was introduced to prevent retailers from unilaterally delisting products or reducing orders as a form of retaliation against suppliers who comply with the Decree.
Price monitoring platform announced
Under the revised Decree, retailers are required to publish price lists for all products covered by the Decree on their accounts within the Open Data Portal operated by the Ministry of Trade.
Retailers must upload updated price lists every Monday by 2:00 PM, in a machine-readable CSV format. Each price list must include the product name, barcode, brand, unit of measure, regular retail price, and price per unit. The Open Data Portal will be searchable by retailer, product category, product name, brand, and price. The price lists will be publicly accessible as of 9 December 2025 and the portal will have a price comparison functionality.
New legislation on prevention of unfair practices in food supply chain is in the pipeline
Serbia has recently launched the process for preparation of a draft new legislation aimed at preventing unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain. The legislation aims to protect suppliers with limited bargaining power from unfair trading practices by economically stronger buyers. It is to be based on EU Directive 2019/633.
Since no first draft has yet been issued, the criteria for designating protected suppliers and buyers with significant market power are still unknown. It is also still unknown which authority will be in charge of enforcement.
[1] Regulation on Special Conditions for Conducting Trade in Certain Types of Goods (“Official Gazette of the RoS”, Nos. 76/2025, 78/2025 and 93/2025).
