Goods - Slovenia

Updated 04/2010

Legal requirements

The basic Act which governs the area of commercial activities, including trade, is the Companies Act.

Companies Act

The Trade Act, which is particularly applied to regulate the area of trading activities, lays down the provisions for the manner of and conditions for conducting trade in the national market and abroad, as well as the proper surveillance of the implementation of these provisions.

Trade Act

In accordance with the Regulation on the standard classification of activities the activity designated as G – Trade includes selling and repairing motor vehicles and motorcycles.

Trade activity is divided into three main sections:

G - 45 Wholesale and retail trade in and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
G - 46 Wholesale trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles
G - 47 Retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles
Regulation on the standard classification of activities

To a certain extent a handicraft business, governed by the Small Business Act, is also connected with trading.

Small Business Act

Limitations

One of the most important Acts for trading goods is the Consumer Protection Act (ZVPot), which regulates the rights of consumers relating to the marketing of goods and services by companies and lays down the obligations of the State authorities and other subjects to provide consumer rights and to protect consumers against unfair trading practices.

Consumer Protection Act
Consumer Protection against unfair trading practices

The manufacturer of a product is responsible for damage caused by a defect in the product and he is obliged to recompense the damage in the case of death, bodily injury or damage to the health of a person. The Regulations relating to products which must have a warranty for faultless functioning enclosed state that a warranty certificate must be enclosed with a product and, if this product needs a certain procedure to work properly, the instruction manual must also be enclosed.

Regulations relating to products which must have a warranty for faultless functioning enclosed

Foodstuffs

Of great importance regarding foodstuffs is the Health and Hygiene Safety of Foods Act, which lays down conditions which must be fulfilled for all foodstuffs, protecting the health of people and providing for the smooth traffic of foods in the internal market and abroad. The Commission for Foodstuffs within the Chamber of Trade, Crafts and Industry of Slovenia (TZS) participates in drafting the legislation relating to foodstuffs and monitors the implementation of the legislation in practice.

Health and Hygiene Food Safety Act
TZS - Commission for Foodstuffs
Regulation on the Implementation of the Parts of Certain Community Regulations Relating to Food, Food Hygiene and Official Food Control
Tobacco Products control Act

Non-foodstuffs

In non-food trade the specific requirements for the protection of consumers’ health must be fulfilled for certain groups of products, such as chemicals, cosmetics, plant protection products, leather and footwear and hazardous products.

TZS - Commission for Non-foodstuffs

Excise Duty

The Excise Duty Act governs excise duty matters and imposes excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and energy-generating products and electric power, which are consumed in Slovenia.

Excise Duty Act

Requirements relating to the issue of a trade permit

Usually, you do not need any permits to engage in trade, but only the appropriate registration of your business. For marketing certain types of products, specific conditions must be fulfilled, such as, for example, if plant-protection products, are being marketed, this must be done in accordance with the provisions of a special regulation which requires an entry in the register and an appraisal of the active substance, before a trade permit can be issued.

Order on plant-protection product registration costs

Administrative procedures

The One-Stop Shop – OSS Web Portal offers help and information about conditions for conducting business and obtaining administrative authorisations.

e-OSS

Permits and Licences

The regime of export control has been introduced to monitor exports of dual-use goods, specified as items and technology, including software, which may be used for both civil and military purposes.

Control of Exports of Dual-use Items and Technology Act
Decree on the Performing the Control of Exports of Dual-use Items and Technology

If the export of certain goods, software or technologies from Slovenia is subject to control, these goods cannot be legally exported without an appropriate export authorisation. An application for an export licence should be submitted to the Ministry of the Economy. All the necessary information relating to the licensing procedure and exporter obligations is included in the Instruction Manual of the Ministry of the Economy.

Application for an export licence
Instruction Manual

International number for VAT

Any entrepreneur who engages in business must be entered in the Register of the Tax Administration as a taxable person for the payment of value added tax (VAT).

Explanation of Value Added Tax

You must inform the competent tax authority about the commencement of business as a taxable person subject to value added tax, by filling in the application on the standard form (Form DDV-P2) asking for the issue of an identification number for VAT, which must be written in each invoice issued by a provider of services. Foreigners must complete the Form DDV-P3.

VAT Identification Number Application [121 KB]

VAT Identification Number Application for Foreigners [296 KB]
Other forms for taxable persons subject to VAT

The Tax Authority communicates with taxable persons electronically, through the eDavki, (eTaxes) Portal which enables access to various applications for submitting tax returns.

eTaxes

Each company liable for charging excise duties, must file an application with the customs authorities at least fifteen days before the commencement of production, storage, shipment or import of products subject to excise duty.

Registration of a Taxable Person Subjec to Excise Duty

Communication relating to excise duties may be done electronically. It is first necessary to conclude an agreement on the nature of the business activity, and then a digital certificate for the digital signature may be registered.

eCustoms

Requirements relating to invoicing

The invoice shall be issued for each payment or payment in advance. The obligations regarding the issuance of invoices and the specification of invoice components are covered by:

The Value Added Tax Act
Slovenian Accounting Standards
Companies Act
What are the mandatory components of an invoice?

Declaration on trading goods

The official form for the written customs declaration of goods within the standard procedure for entering in the customs procedure or re-export is a customs document (EUL). The customs document (EUL) shall be submitted in sets, which are composed of various documents relating to all the formalities necessary for the chosen customs procedure. The EUL form (customs document) must be completed in accordance with the Instructions for using and filling in the fields of an EUL form.

Forms
Regulations relating to filling in a customs document

Submission of statistical data

Intrastat is the system for the statistical measurement of trading goods between the Member States. It is designed to make monthly surveys based on the data collected directly from the reporting units through the statistical forms. The national accession threshold is EUR 200,000 for the delivery and EUR 85,000 for the receipt of goods.

Companies’ annual reports on trade in goods between the Member States must be submitted to the national statistics authorities by the companies themselves. To be included in the electronic report you should fill in the forms which are available on the Intrastat Website. The reports may also be sent by post (hard copy).

The deadline for the submission of data for a previous month to the Customs Office in Nova Gorica is by the 1st to 15th of the current months, irrespective of the reporting medium.

Intrastat

Suspension of tariffs or obtaining new tariff quotas

Suspensions are exceptional measures, different from the usual treatment, which enable the total or partial suspension of usual import duties for unlimited quantities. Companies may require exemption from customs duties for the import of raw materials, sub-products and component parts originating from extra-EU markets, by a written application in the Slovenian and English form which must be submitted to the Ministry of the Economy.

For covering all needs of manufacturing or processing companies, the quotas may be allocated to these companies (limited quantities regarding the quantities available), and the rate of customs duty for the quotas will be reduced or free quotas will be allocated. An application for the allocation of quotas should be submitted to the Ministry of the Economy as a separate document, or it may be obvious from the application for a suspension that the applicant needs quotas.

International trade

If national or foreign manufacturers become aware that they are entitled to purchase goods which are subject to tax relief or quotas, they may submit a claim .

Form in Slovenian

Delivery of certain goods

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia offers its members and non-members to obtain all public and other documents at one location,the so-called One-Stop Shop. In the section Public Documents the following public documents are available:

Licences for road hauliers;
Permits for road hauliers;
ATA Carnet;
Certificate on the non-preferential origin of goods.
A one-stop shop for procedures and documentation

Internationl Consignment Note

Information and advice on international consignment notes is available from the Association for Transport and Communications, and CMR Forms are available in bookshops.

Association for Transport and Communications

Complaints and disputes

Any dispute over allegedly unfair competition shall be discussed by the Competition Protection Office which is the competent body for the settlement of such disputes.

Competition Protection Office

The Trade Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia is the competent body for disputes relating to competition and it is responsible for monitoring the execution of legal decisions and assessing the cases of unfair competition.

Trade Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenija

[M1] TheMinistry of Justice provides a high level of professionalism and effectiveness in criminal justice to deal with the complex forms of commercial, financial and organised crime.

Ministry of Justice

The Standing Arbitration Board within the GZS (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia) is the only common institutional arbitration board in Slovenia, which enables the settlement of commercial disputes, at national and international level, by arbitration and intervention.

Standing Arbitration Board within the GZS

Resources

The Trading Statistics is the trade info-system of the Chamber of Trade, Crafts and Industry of Slovenia (TZS) which has the task of showing at one location a trading activity as a whole, using an interesting and simple way of presentation.

TZS – Trading Statistics

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

Goods - Slovenia