The Municipality of Budva will unblock the account of the Hotel and Tourism Company (HTP) "Miločer" after an agreement is concluded with this government company on the settlement of the tax debt, which has reached almost two and a half million euros.
This was confirmed to "Vijesti" by several sources, and is foreseen in the announced settlement that the state will conclude with the lessee of the "Sveti Stefan Miločer" hotel complex, the company "Adriatic Properties".
As explained, the account freeze that the Municipality of Buva placed on the accounts of HTP "Miločer" through the Central Bank, because they did not pay real estate tax, will be lifted when the company commits in writing to settle the tax debt in installments, which has now, with the two most recent decisions, reached two and a half million euros.
While waiting for the agreement to be finalized, the Local Public Revenue Administration, acting ex officio, issued two decisions on securing the tax claim of HTP “Miločer” for the past year, indicating that a mortgage on the property will be registered in the cadastre. This concerns a part of Miločer Park, which houses several old stone villas, a spa center on Kraljičina plaža, as well as a plot of land on which there is a closed construction site, where instead of the demolished hotel “Kraljičina plaža”, the tenant is building a new hotel with 63 rooms and 63 apartments for sale.
"Since the taxpayer has not paid the due obligation within the prescribed legal deadline, this decision initiates the procedure for securing the first installment of the tax debt in the total amount of 151.668,34 euros," it says in the first decision that "Vijesti" had access to.
A second decision was also made regarding the second installment of the annual obligation for 2025, in the amount of 149.310 euros.
"Recording of the encumbrance (mortgage) is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 60 of the Law on Tax Administration. By recording the encumbrance (mortgage), the mortgagee, the Municipality of Budva, acquires the right to settle the claim in question by judicial sale of the encumbered real estate in the procedure and in the manner prescribed by the provisions of the Law on Enforcement and Security," the decisions state.
"Vijesti" has repeatedly written that the situation in this government company is more than alarming, because "Adriatic Properties" has not paid rent for almost three years, since when the dispute has been ongoing before an international tribunal in London.
At the end of last year, when the Municipality of Budva also adopted two decisions for 2024 and registered mortgages, HTP "Miločer" owed the local administration 2,1 million euros in real estate tax, which was increased by more than 300 thousand euros with the latest decisions.
The employees of that company did not receive 40 salaries, and the company did not settle its loan obligations to Univerzal Bank, and the Compensation Fund also placed a freeze on the account.
The company "Adriatic Properties" has concluded a contract with HTP "Miločer" for a multi-decade lease of the former hotel "Kraljičina plaza" and land, on whose behalf it pays 87.000 euros quarterly. This is the only income of "HTP" Miločer", which has two employees, a director and a business secretary, as well as a three-member board of directors.
In early April, the Government adopted an Information containing an overview of the situation regarding the reopening of the Aman Sveti Stefan complex (Sveti Stefan Island and Villa Miločer), as well as a proposal for measures to ensure the public interest in terms of fiscal revenues, employment, preservation of the cultural landscape and the international reputation of the destination, and in the context of the arbitration proceedings being conducted before the Court of International Arbitration in London.
The information, which "Vijesti" has access to, contains an overview of the current state of the closed complex, the legal framework of existing contractual relations and the progress of negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute and reopening the complex within a defined period, as well as a proposal for the Terms of Settlement in the aforementioned arbitration.
The settlement terms defined the termination of the Arbitration proceedings by waiving the claims and counterclaims of the arbitration parties, the methods of using the island of Sveti Stefan, Queen's Beach and the path at Queen's Beach, as well as Sveti Stefan Beach and Miločer Beach.
It was also agreed to adopt planning documents, increase the lease price, extend the lease term, as well as the novelty that the state participates in the lessee's profits with 10 percent.
It was also stated that the affirmation of joint cooperation, a program for the inclusion of the local population and the tourist promotion of Sveti Stefan, and the continuation of the construction of a new hotel - the "Janu Kraljičina plaža" hotel, without the construction of additional apartments, were agreed.
The state expects that the opening of the complex will lead to an increase in budget and local revenues through the payment of rent, VAT, tourist tax and taxes related to increased consumption, as well as additional revenue to the budget in the amount of 10 percent of the tenant's annual profit.
"The conclusion of the settlement ends the arbitration proceedings under conditions that are complementary to the legal position that the lessor and the lessor's guarantor had in the proceedings, which means that the settlement is in the public interest. In order to guarantee the sustainability of this settlement, the negotiations also included representatives of the PE for the Management of the Coastal Zone, the Municipality of Budva, as well as the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro, who have a legal and social interest in implementing the proposed settlement, as well as representatives of one of the creditors of the HTP Miločer company, Universal Capital Bank, who also signed the proposed settlement terms," the Ministry stated.
"The new proposed solution increases the amount of income, or rent, received by the companies HTP Miločer and Sveti Stefan hotels," the Government stated at the time.
The lease is planned to be extended for five years - the length of time the complex has not been in operation, and the Adriatic Properties company is obliged to open the hotel no later than June 2026.
It was also determined that there is no additional construction in Miločerski Park, beyond that envisaged by the building permit and within the existing dimensions, the Government concluded.
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