Komnenic & Partners Managing Partner Milos Komnenic and Partner Nemanja Radovic talk about real estate in 2025 in Montenegro.

CEE Legal Matters is proud to introduce the latest in our Comparative Guides series. This one focuses on Real Estate in CEE.

Contributed by Komnenic & Partners.

The Montenegrin Agency for the Protection of Competition ("Agency") has released draft version of the Law on Procedures for Compensation of Damages Resulting from Competition Violations ("Damage Law") and draft of the amendments and supplements to the Law on the Protection of Competition ("Competition Law"), whose aim is to align Montenegrin legislation with legislation of the European Union as part of Chapter 8 in the negotiations for Montenegro's accession to the European Union.

At the session held on December 19, 2024, the Government of Montenegro adopted the Bill of Law on Construction of Buildings and the Bill of Law on Spatial Planning. It was proposed that these laws should be adopted through an expedited procedure.

Montenegro’s real estate sector is undergoing significant transformations due to recent legislative changes and proposed reforms, particularly in the tourism sector. These novelties will impact investors, developers, and most certainly the entire economy of Montenegro, but it remains debatable if the impact will be positive.

From September 2024, the Montenegrin Parliament passed a series of tax legislative amendments aligned with the country’s Fiscal Strategy for 2024-2027. Set to take effect on January 1, 2025, these reforms aim to increase budget revenues to offset recent reductions in labor taxes and improve the business environment. The changes affect the Corporate Income Tax Law, Personal Income Tax Law, VAT Law, Law on the Write-off of Interest on Outstanding Tax Liabilities, and Excise Law, focusing on modernizing the tax system and stimulating investments primarily in the agricultural sector.

Central and Eastern Europe is increasingly on the radar of digital nomads seeking new destinations. The countries they flock to see their markets impacted – for better or worse – with both opportunities and challenges aplenty. Babic & Partners Partner Marija Gregoric and JPM & Partners Partner Jelena Nikolic analyze these impacts.

Harrisons, working with Bird & Bird, has advised the EBRD on a EUR 20 million loan to Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services SMATSA.

Montenegro-based Jovovic, Mugosa & Vukovic and Serbia-based Zivkovic Samardzic have joined the South East Europe Legal Group.

Moravcevic, Vojnovic and Partners in cooperation with Schoenherr has advised Agri Europe Cyprus on its acquisition of a 74.94% stake in Hipotekarna Banka Podgorica. Komnenic & Partners advised a group of corporate, family, and individual sellers.

Montenegro is seeing major changes with the election of a new Supreme Court President, the creation of a state-owned development bank, and tax reforms under the Europe Now 2 program, aligning the country with EU standards, according to Vujacic Law Office Partner Jelena Vujisic.

Harrisons, working with Bird & Bird, has advised the EBRD on its EUR 10 million loan to Hipotekarna Banka Podgorica, secured with EU Supranational Bonds.

JPM Partners has advised Presto Pay on obtaining a payment institution license from the Central Bank of Montenegro.

JPM Partners has successfully represented the Montenegrin Agency for Audiovisual Media Services in an administrative dispute initiated by the Serbia-based Pink Media Group.

The Misdemeanor Court in Podgorica recently imposed a fine of EUR 806,953.09 on the telecommunications company M:tel doo Podgorica (“M:tel”) for the acquisition, by its related Serbian company, of 50% shares in the Slovenian company Arena Sport doo Ljubljana (“Arena Sport”).

The Law on the Waiver of Interest on Outstanding Tax Obligations (“Law”) has been officially adopted and will take effect on 1 January 2025. This Law allows for the waiver of unpaid interest on tax obligations that became due before 31 December 2024.

The new Waste Management Law of Montenegro (“the Law”), which came into force on April 12, 2024, represents a step further towards harmonizing Montenegrin legislation with the acquis communautaire, namely key European Union (“EU”) directives in the area of waste management.