The new Law amending the Law on Financial Discipline (“Amendments”) was adopted on 11 June 2019. These amendments further harmonize the Law on Financial Discipline (“Law”) with the legislation of the European Union, in particular the Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on Combating Late Payment in Commercial Transactions (“Directive”).
Further harmonization with the Directive
The Amendments achieve further harmonization with the Directive by specifying that the debtor should fulfill the payment obligations within the agreed deadline, without prior reminders or warnings by the creditor. Another notable change is that the Amendments now take into consideration the good trade practice, the principle of good faith, nature and particularity of the product or service and the ratio of the rights and obligations when determining whether the conditions of an agreement are significantly unfair and unjust to the creditor.
Decrease of the compensation for late payment
If the debtor fails to pay the creditor on time, the creditor is entitled to obtain compensation by the debtor in the amount of MKD 2,400.00 (approx. EUR 39.00) instead of MKD 3,000.00 (approx. EUR 49.00). This fixed sum is much closer to the amount provided in the Directive.
Transfer of supervision
The previous Law provided that the Public Revenue Office (“PRO”) acts as a supervisory body for the economic operators of the private sector. However, the PRO is a state body responsible for determining, controlling and collecting taxes and public duties, and supervision of the Law does not represent tax control. The Amendments transfer this supervision from the PRO to the State Market Inspectorate.
Removing the procedure for appeals
The procedure for submitting an appeal to the State Administrative Inspectorate, in cases when the state supervisory bodies fail to act on time, is erased with the Amendments. Instead, this matter shall be regulated with the Law on General Administrative Procedure.
Invitation for education for a first-time offense
With the previous Law, if the supervisory body finds that the subject made a first-time offense, the supervisory body issues an invitation for education to the responsible person in the subject. The Amendments erase these stipulations.
The information in this document does not constitute legal advice on any particular matter and is provided for general informational purposes only.
