The total tax debt of municipalities, local enterprises and public institutions founded by local governments at the end of 2025 amounts to 80,4 million euros, while seven requests have been submitted under the Law on Tax Receivable Rescheduling since the entry into force of this law, totaling 2,1 million euros.
This was officially stated to "Vijesti" by the Tax Administration.
The law officially came into effect on December 30th of last year.
The Parliament adopted a law late last year that allowed municipalities, funds, public institutions and companies established by local authorities to reschedule tax debt in installments with a write-off of interest and costs. The law was jointly prepared by the Ministry of Finance and the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro,
"The total tax debt of municipalities, local enterprises and public institutions for 2025 amounts to 80,4 million euros, of which 45,8 million refers to net principal debt and 34,6 million to accrued interest."
The Tax Administration stated that the largest part of the total tax debt relates to local companies, whose liabilities amount to 44,7 million euros, of which 27,7 million is the principal debt and 17 million is accrued interest. The debt of municipalities amounts to 29,6 million euros, of which 14,3 million is the principal debt, while 15,3 million relates to interest, while public institutions owe a total of six million euros - 3,7 million on the basis of principal and 2,3 million on the basis of interest.
"The news asked how much each municipality, with its funds, public institutions and companies, individually owes.
"Based on the Law on Tax Administration, the tax authority can provide information on the debt status only for taxpayers who are on the black list of tax debtors. According to this data, the municipalities of Cetinje, Rožaje, Berane, Bijelo Polje and Ulcinj stand out among the largest debtors. When it comes to local companies, the largest debts are 'Komunalno Cetinje', 'Komunalne djelatnost Ulcinj', 'Komunalno Berane', 'Komunalno-Lim Bijelo Polje' and 'Vodovod i kanalizacija Ulcinj', while among public institutions, the largest debtors are 'Centar za kultura Rožaje', 'Centar za kultura Kolašin', 'Sportski centar Berane', 'Radio Berane', 'Biblioteka Njegoš Cetinje' and 'Centar za kultura Berane'," the Tax Administration said.
Tax receivables are considered to be due and unpaid tax and non-tax debts arising from value added tax, corporate profits and personal income, as well as contributions for pension and disability insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance and the Labor Fund.
The Tax Administration said that since the beginning of the implementation of the new legal solution on the rescheduling of tax receivables of local government units, funds, public institutions and companies founded by municipalities, a total of seven requests for rescheduling have been submitted, with a total debt amount of 2,1 million euros.
"The tax authority is obliged to issue a decision on the rescheduling of tax claims within 60 days of the expiry of the deadline for submitting a request for the rescheduling of tax claims, and on that basis, no decisions on rescheduling have yet been issued. Considering that the deadline for submitting requests expires at the end of February, an additional number of applications from taxpayers who have already expressed interest to regional units is expected. After the deadline expires and the documentation is completed, the requests will be considered in accordance with the law," the Tax Administration said.
The rescheduling of a tax debtor's tax claim includes the postponement of payment of the tax claim for up to 120 equal monthly installments, depending on the amount of the tax debt, and the write-off of interest and procedural costs related to the tax claim.
Whoever enters the reprogram will have a minimum monthly installment of 1000 euros.
The Tax Administration is obliged to issue a decision on rescheduling within 60 days of the expiration of the deadline for submitting the request, and payments under that decision are distributed so that contributions (PIO, health, unemployment and Labor Fund) are paid first, and only then taxes, including VAT and corporate income tax.
The law stipulates that the tax authority will revoke the rescheduling decision if the debtor does not pay the monthly installments regularly or does not settle current obligations during the rescheduling period, in which case the debt is increased by interest from the date of occurrence and a forced collection procedure is initiated.
The Tax Administration shall keep records of tax claims whose rescheduling has been approved by a decision on the rescheduling of tax claims in accordance with this Law, in electronic form.
In its explanation of the bill, the Ministry of Finance stated that its implementation creates conditions for these tax debtors to be able to settle their due tax debt and ensure regularity in settling future obligations, while at the same time avoiding additional borrowing in order to settle their tax obligations.
"Also, the adoption of this law will contribute to improving the collection of significant amounts of outstanding tax liabilities and tax discipline of taxpayers, which will ultimately result in an increase in budget revenues," stated the Ministry of Finance, which estimated that the implementation of this law will collect seven million euros in revenue annually, or 70 million in ten years.
The adoption of this law was not planned by existing strategies or the Government's work program.
The taxpayer will have to regularly settle current tax liabilities with a rescheduling.
Financial stabilization assistance
The Union of Municipalities previously announced that this measure is not selective and does not constitute state aid, but rather support for all municipalities and public entities that perform tasks of public interest.
"The goal is to help local communities stabilize their finances, regularly settle current obligations and continue to perform tasks important to citizens. The implementation of the law is expected to result in better collection of municipal tax debts, greater tax discipline and more stable local budgets. This would create conditions for the smooth operation of public services, the implementation of planned projects and better cooperation between local governments and state authorities. Estimates show that the implementation of the law could bring the state about seven million euros in additional revenue per year, or about seventy million euros in the next ten years, which confirms its positive effect on public finances," said the Community of Municipalities.
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