Are you obliged to have digital certificate?

Less than a month is left until 31 March 2017, when annual financial statements and corporate income tax reports for 2016 should be submitted.

A large number of legal entities in Montenegro still doesn’t know whether digital certificate for submitting income tax report is necessary and this is precisely the reason why we wrote this blog.

Amendments to the Law on Profit Tax of Legal Entities (Official Gazette of Montenegro, no. 55/16), which is in force since 1 January 2017, stipulates that digital submission of a tax report is obligatory.

Persons obliged to submit corporate income tax, excluding legal entities whose procedure for registration termination is ongoing, have to submit income tax report only via Tax Administration’s website, using advanced digital certificate issued by Montenegro’s national postal service, Pošta Crne Gore.

Legal entities whose procedure for registration termination is ongoing should submit corporate income tax report and financial statements for 2016 in hard copy to the competent regional unit in person or by mail.

Corporate income tax report for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as revised tax reports for these years, should be file electronically as well. For tax years before 2010, reports are to be submitted in hard copy.

Legal entities that are not obliged to submit corporate income tax reports (Article 6 of the Law on Profit Tax of Legal Entities) are:

public authorities, state administrative bodies, local administrative bodies, public funds, public institutions, local tourist organizations, sports clubs, sports associations and federations, religious communities, art associations, political parties, chambers, trade unions and non-governmental organisations (if they were established for non-profit activities in accordance with a specific law). These legal entities are obliged to file their financial statements and they can file them using the Financial Statements desktop application and its option to send the statements without digital certificate, as it was the case in previous two years.

Request filing procedure for issuing a digital certificate:

The application should be submitted in a special form. The form is different for natural persons and legal entities. The first page contains information filled in by the applicant. The back of the form contains a Contract Excerpt signed by the client at the time of certificate delivery and contact information.

The electronic version (pdf and word format) of the application can be found on Posta Crne Gore’s website: www.postacg-ca.me. In addition, legal entities, besides the Request Form, must also submit the form titled Authorisation for Submitting a Request for Issuance/Renewal of a Digital Certificate. The Authorisation should be submitted for each person individually. The authorisation is issued on a form which can be found in a post office. Both forms can also be found on Posta Crne Gore’s web page.

Number of applications and authorisations submitted by legal entities depends on the number of certificates they file their request for.

The applicant has to provide documentation as a proof of legal entity’s identity, i.e. the Central Registry of Business Entities’ certificate. This document should not be older than thirty days (original or certified copy).

The applicant should also pay EUR 110 to Posta Crne Gore’s bank account no. 510-109-04. On the payment slip, the applicant should write his TIN (tax identification number) and a proof of payment should be submitted together with all other documentation.

Therefore, required documentation to be submitted in Posta Crne Gore is:

• filled in application and authorisation
• the Central Registry of Business Entities’ certificate not older than thirty days
•  proof of payment

Only authorised persons can pick up digital certificate. If the authorised person is a foreigner who is not able to come to Montenegro and pick up the certificate, it is necessary to contact Posta Crne Gore via email: info@postacg-ca.me and follow its instructions.