Land conversion fee of 80 percent of land market value unacceptable for investors

Investors are not happy with the announced introduction of a fee for the conversion of the right to use into the ownership right to building land. Namely, according to the Bill on Land Design and Development, this fee will amount to "80 percent of the market value of building land at the moment of application submission, calculated in line with property tax regulations".

Milos Zivkovic, adviser for the USAID Business Enabling Project, said in a talk with eKapija that the most important thing was that the system referred to in the Bill was quickly applicable.

He pointed out at a public discussion of the Bill on Land Design and Development in the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham) that he advocated for the abolition of conversion, but it was a political decision not to abolish it.

- The initial idea was that some fee has to be imposed. My idea was to set that fee at 15 percent of the value appraised by the Tax Administration. However, it was decided to set that fee much higher – Zivkovic said at the public discussion.

Djordje Nikolic, representative of AmCham, assessed that investors were not going to agree to pay that fee, adding that the proposed solution should be amended.

Other novelties introduced by the Bill on Land Design and Development can be viewed HERE.