Document retention periods: Serbia
How long a company must keep invoices, accounting books, payroll, personnel files and tax records, with the law and article behind each period. Where the legal text could not be confirmed, the row says so instead of showing a guess.
Verified on 7 August 2026 and correct to the best of our research at that date. Retention law changes, and the period for a specific document can depend on your sector, contract terms, or an open tax audit. Treat this as a starting point and confirm with your accountant or lawyer before you dispose of anything.
Serbia
5 / 7 document types confirmed
Invoices, issued and received
10 years
- The clock starts
- from the end of the calendar year in which the electronic invoice was issued
- Legal basis
Zakon o elektronskom fakturisanju, čl. 15: elektronska faktura koju izda i primi subjekt privatnog sektora čuva se deset godina od isteka godine u kojoj je izdata, i to u sistemu elektronskih faktura ili kod informacionog posrednika. Elektronsku fakturu subjekta javnog sektora SEF čuva trajno. Rok od deset godina ostao je nepromenjen i posle poslednjih izmena zakona ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 109/2025), koje se primenjuju od poreskih perioda koji počinju posle 31. marta 2026. i proširuju obavezu čuvanja na sve dokumente obrađene u sistemu elektronskih faktura.
Open the source
Accounting ledgers and annual accounts
5-20 years
- The clock starts
- from the last day of the business year to which they relate; subsidiary ledgers from the day they are closed
- Legal basis
Zakon o računovodstvu ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 73/2019 i 44/2021), čl. 28: finansijski izveštaji, izveštaji o izvršenoj reviziji i Statistički izveštaj čuvaju se 20 godina; godišnji izveštaj o poslovanju 20 godina; dnevnik i glavna knjiga deset godina; pomoćne knjige pet godina. Poslednja izmena zakona je iz 2021. godine, pa je čl. 28 i dalje na snazi u ovom obliku.
Open the source
Payroll records
Permanently
- The clock starts
- permanent, the period does not run (the obligation does not end even after the employment ends)
- Legal basis
Zakon o računovodstvu, čl. 28: "Trajno se čuvaju isplatne liste ili analitičke evidencije zarada." Rok se ne računa jer je čuvanje trajno, pa obaveza ostaje i posle prestanka radnog odnosa zaposlenog.
Open the source
Employee personnel files
Permanently
- The clock starts
- permanent, also after the employment ends
- Legal basis
Zakon o evidencijama u oblasti rada, čl. 7 st. 2: "Podaci iz evidencije o zaposlenim licima čuvaju se trajno." Zakon o arhivskoj građi i arhivskoj delatnosti ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 6/2020) ne propisuje fiksan rok, već obavezu donošenja Liste kategorija dokumentarnog materijala sa rokovima čuvanja, uz saglasnost nadležnog arhiva; rokovi u Listi ne smeju biti kraći od zakonom propisanih. Za pojedinačna dokumenta u dosijeu koja nisu deo matične evidencije nema izričitog zakonskog roka.
Open the source
Tax returns and supporting records
5-10 years
- The clock starts
- from the end of the year in which the tax should have been assessed or collected; VAT records until the limitation period expires, counted from the end of the calendar year to which the records relate
- Legal basis
Zakon o poreskom postupku i poreskoj administraciji, čl. 114: pravo Poreske uprave na utvrđivanje i naplatu poreza zastareva za pet godina od dana kada je zastarelost počela da teče, uz apsolutnu zastarelost od deset godina. Zakon o porezu na dodatu vrednost, čl. 47: obveznik je dužan da čuva poresku evidenciju i dokumentaciju na osnovu koje vodi tu evidenciju do isteka roka zastarelosti, a za opremu i objekte kod kojih se ispravlja odbitni PDV rok je deset godina od kraja kalendarske godine u kojoj su prvi put upotrebljeni, odnosno u kojoj su ulaganja završena.
Open the source
Commercial contracts
Not confirmed
- Why this row is empty
- No regulation that sets a retention period for ordinary commercial contracts has been confirmed, and the sources disagree: one source places a company's contracts under permanent retention under the Companies Act (Zakon o privrednim društvima, čl. 240 and čl. 464), while a period of five to ten years under the Accounting Act (Zakon o računovodstvu) and the Law on Obligations (Zakon o obligacionim odnosima) is also cited but has not been confirmed. The limitation periods (ten years in general, three years for the sale of goods and services) apply to claims, not to keeping documents, so they are not a legal obligation to retain records. In practice the specific period is set in the list of categories of documentary material (Lista kategorija dokumentarnog materijala), which is why no single number of years is shown here; confirm the period for your contracts in that list.
Bank statements and payment records
Not confirmed
- Why this row is empty
- Sources disagree on the period for payment transaction documents and for the documents on the basis of which entries are made in the business books: the full text of the Accounting Act (Zakon o računovodstvu) on propisi.net and a secondary source state five years, while the retention table published by Paragraf places the same two categories under permanent retention. In addition, the cited provision ("isprave platnog prometa u ovlašćenim finansijskim institucijama platnog prometa", that is, payment transaction documents held by authorised payment institutions) applies to banks and payment institutions, not to bank statements and payment orders kept by an ordinary company. For these reasons no number of years is shown here, and the retention period for your bank documents should be confirmed for your case.
Arhivix keeps the original of every document unaltered, encrypted and hosted in the EU, and logs each view and download. How long you keep a document follows the rules above.
Your documents are alive now. They move on their own.
Give your company an automated document flow, legally compliant and available at any moment.
No commitment, no credit card.
