Serbia’s retail sector is moving from direct price intervention toward broader regulation of commercial relationships, promotions and consumer information. The shift follows the expiry of a 20 per cent margin cap that applied to a broad basket of goods from September 2025 through February 2026.
The government measure lasted six months and attracted criticism over its abrupt introduction, limited consultation and potential to distort supply. Its replacement came in April 2026, when parliament adopted a Trading Practices Law, a new Consumer Protection Law and amendments to the Trade Law. Most provisions of the new consumer legislation began applying on 2 August 2026. The new framework covers supplier contracts, payment conditions, promotions, online rankings, consumer reviews and price information rather than relying on a single limit on retail margins.
For Delhaize Serbia, Lidl, Mercator-S, Univerexport, DIS and Metro, the previous measure directly constrained pricing. The new rules instead require changes across supplier agreements, promotional procedures, shelf labels, websites, customer-service operations and returns systems.
New restrictions govern retailer-supplier agreements
The Trading Practices Law draws on the EU approach to unfair trading practices in food supply chains while extending its coverage to areas including agricultural inputs, household chemicals and hygiene products. Its prohibited practices include late payments, unilateral changes to contracts, misuse of trade secrets and short-notice cancellation of orders involving perishable goods. A second category, covering practices such as returns, product listing, display and promotional charges, is permitted only when the relevant arrangements are expressly and clearly agreed.
The Competition Commission can impose fines of 0.2 per cent of a company’s total annual turnover generated in Serbia for violations on the prohibited list. Breaches of the second category can result in fines of 0.1 per cent, while repeat violations can lead to doubled sanctions. The legislation also provides for a whistleblower reward equivalent to 5 per cent of the fine. The mechanism gives employees involved in procurement and category management a financial incentive to retain evidence of potentially prohibited practices.
The new framework changes the terms under which retailers and suppliers negotiate commercial arrangements. Dairy producers, agricultural cooperatives and household-goods manufacturers receive clearer grounds for challenging fees and deductions associated with access to retail shelves, while large chains have stronger incentives to standardise contracts and centralise approvals.
Retail pricing becomes increasingly data-driven
Changes to the Trade Law introduce additional requirements for promotional pricing, including reference to the lowest price applied during the previous 30 days. Retailers must also prepare to provide real-time digital price lists through an open-data framework. The changes are designed to improve price comparison and regulatory monitoring while making inconsistencies in pricing more visible.
Implementation will require coordination between point-of-sale systems, enterprise-resource-planning platforms, online catalogues and physical shelf labels across potentially hundreds of thousands of individual stock-keeping units. Promotions negotiated centrally with suppliers can create compliance issues if prices displayed in individual stores, on marketplace listings or through loyalty applications do not match the relevant requirements. Retail technology suppliers, data-quality specialists and compliance-software providers consequently face additional demand associated with the new framework.
Consumer remedies and inspections are strengthened
The revised consumer rules also increase protections for customers when purchased goods fail shortly after acquisition. In relevant cases, consumers receive more direct rights to terminate transactions and obtain refunds during the first 30 days. Penalties have been increased and inspection powers strengthened, including through mystery shopping. The practical impact of these measures will depend on enforcement capacity and consistent application by inspectors and courts.
The combination of stronger remedies, price information requirements and expanded enforcement creates additional operational obligations for retailers, manufacturers and other businesses selling directly to consumers.
Online marketplaces face additional disclosure duties
Serbia’s digital commerce market has expanded significantly. The National Bank recorded 110.6 million online purchases in 2025, while domestic marketplace Ananas lists more than one million products. The international platform Temu has also established a connection with the Serbian market through a partnership with Post of Serbia, illustrating how a global marketplace can develop local logistics access without initially establishing a large domestic corporate operation.
The new consumer framework specifically addresses digital content, digital services and online marketplaces. Platforms must disclose whether a seller is a trader, provide information about significant ranking parameters, identify paid placement and address fake reviews. Additional transparency requirements apply to personalised pricing and situations in which consumers provide personal data rather than money in exchange for goods or services.
Physical retailers and platforms face different compliance pressures
Marketplaces may not own the products sold through their platforms, but the new rules place part of the consumer-compliance process on them. Physical retail chains retain established stores, logistics infrastructure, supplier networks and customer relationships, while online platforms can provide broad product selection and price comparison without maintaining a national store network. The new requirements place additional obligations on both models. Physical retailers face greater price transparency, while digital platforms must assume wider responsibilities for sellers, rankings, reviews and transaction information.
Smaller merchants may face additional administrative and documentation requirements when operating through either channel. Serbia’s April legislation therefore replaces the temporary direct restriction on retail margins with rules governing commercial contracts, pricing information, promotions, digital marketplaces and consumer remedies. The new framework took effect for most consumer-law provisions on 2 August 2026, creating compliance requirements that extend across retailer-supplier relationships and digital sales channels.
