Understanding Your Legal Duty: Archive Documentation Requirements for Employers

Since the adoption of the new Archive and Archival Materials Law, employers have been repeatedly reminded of their obligation to submit documentation to the Archives of the Republic of Serbia. Unfortunately, many employers still fail to comply with this legal duty.

An Archive Book is the primary record of all archival materials and documents generated in the course of an entity’s work. Keeping this book is a legal requirement for all legal entities in Serbia, regardless of their size or business activity.

Who is required to maintain an Archive Book?

The obligation applies to creators and holders of archival materials, excluding individuals (i.e., physical persons). This includes government bodies, public institutions, local government units, public enterprises, entities holding public authorizations, commercial companies, and other legal entities. The Archive Book serves as an inventory of documents, where the contents and titles of documents are not listed. Instead, it summarizes the quantity of documents created in the previous calendar year, grouped by categories.

Since maintaining the Archive Book is a legal obligation, employers must submit a copy of the Archive Book for the previous year to the relevant archive by April 30th of the current year.

Even if your business operations are conducted electronically, you are not exempt from submitting a physical copy of the Archive Book, as the Archives of the Republic of Serbia is not yet able to accept electronic documents. It remains unknown when this capability will become available.

Failure to submit a copy of the Archive Book can result in penalties. Legal entities may be fined between 50,000 and 2,000,000 dinars, while responsible individuals can be fined up to 150,000 dinars.

For companies established in Serbia, it is also necessary to have internal general acts related to archival matters. According to Article 14 of the law, every creator must adopt the following:

1. General guidelines for recording, classifying, archiving, and storing archival materials and documents.

2. A list of categories of archival materials and documents with retention periods.

3. General guidelines for recording, protecting, and handling electronic documents.

4. A decision to appoint a responsible person for the protection of archival materials and documents (especially for commercial companies).

Failure to adopt these internal acts can also result in fines. Legal entities may face fines ranging from 50,000 to 2,000,000 dinars, while responsible individuals can be fined between 5,000 and 150,000 dinars.

To avoid penalties for both the company and its responsible individuals, feel free to contact us so we can help ensure you comply with the law and submit the necessary copy of the Archive Book on time.