If you occasionally sell your own used items on Instagram in Serbia, you do not need a business and you pay no tax. If you buy goods to resell, make products to sell or sell regularly, that is a business activity. Under the Serbian Trade Act only registered companies and sole proprietors (preduzetnici) may trade, and registration brings taxes, fiscal receipts and obligations towards customers.
This guide explains where the line is between clearing out your wardrobe and running a shop, what you risk by selling without registration, how much it costs to register as a sole proprietor, when you can use the flat-rate (paušal) tax regime, and what the new 2026 Consumer Protection Act and the Trade Act amendments change.
Note: We checked the regulations on 6 October 2026. This is a practical guide, not tax or legal advice. Talk to an accountant before registering, because the right tax regime depends on your specific activity.
Do you need a business to sell on Instagram in Serbia?
It depends on what you sell and how often. In its opinions, the Ministry of Finance takes the position that an occasional sale of items from your personal property is not taxable. Once sales become continuous, goods are bought to be resold or made to be sold, it is a business activity.
| Situation | Registration required? |
|---|---|
| You occasionally sell clothes you have worn | No |
| You sell household items before moving | No |
| You buy goods (outlets, Turkey, online platforms) to sell at a higher price | Yes |
| You regularly make and sell jewellery, candles, clothing or cakes | Yes |
| You run a dropshipping profile | Yes |
| You occasionally sell new items you never used | Grey area: the income may be taxed as “other income”, ask an accountant |
The Trade Act amendments (Official Gazette RS, no. 35/2026) define a trader by business activity or commercial interest and explicitly mention e-shops, platforms and dropshipping. In practice: an Instagram profile with a catalogue, “price in DM” and regular parcels is a shop by every criterion, just an unregistered one.
If you are not sure which side you are on, ask yourself four questions: do you buy goods in order to sell them, do you sell every week, do you advertise, and is it a regular income? One “yes” is a reason to talk to an accountant.
What you risk by selling without registration
The penalties are more serious than most sellers think, and they come from three laws:
- Trade Act (Article 69): a natural person trading without registration faces a fine of RSD 50,000 to 150,000, with a possible ban on the activity for 6 months to 2 years. The market inspector seizes the goods (Article 58).
- Tax Procedure and Tax Administration Act (Article 129a onwards): the Tax Administration assesses tax on the income by estimate, without recognised costs. You get 15 days to pay and another 30 days to register the activity. Goods are seized, and for a repeat offence the seizure is permanent.
- Criminal Code (Article 235, unauthorised trade): trading without authorisation on a larger scale is punishable by a fine or up to 2 years in prison. If the gain exceeds RSD 450,000, the penalty is 6 months to 5 years.
The “up to RSD 2 million” figure often quoted in the media applies to legal entities, not to individuals selling through social networks.
Inspections are carried out by the market inspectorate and the Tax Administration, and are often triggered by a complaint from a customer or a competitor. In 2023 the National Consumer Organisation of Serbia published a blacklist of 200 unregistered Instagram shops. The risk is uneven: a profile with few sales is rarely a target, but the risk grows with turnover, the number of customers and the number of unhappy ones.
How to sell legally on Instagram: 6 steps
- Register as a sole proprietor with the APR (Serbian Business Registers Agency). The registration fee is RSD 2,500 from 1 January 2026, and the APR decides within 5 working days (often 2 to 3 in practice). You can apply online through the APR with a qualified electronic certificate, for example a chip ID card.
- Choose your tax regime right away. The request for flat-rate taxation is filed together with the registration, not later. More on this in the next section.
- Open a business account. Customer payments go to the business account, not your personal one.
- Set up fiscalisation. A seller who sells only online issues an electronic fiscal receipt with a verification link and does not need a local processor (a physical cash register).
- Update your profile. Seller details, prices and delivery information must be available to the customer before they buy.
- Prepare the documents. Terms of sale, information on the right of withdrawal, how to file a complaint and a privacy policy, because customers send you their name, address and phone number.
Tax: flat rate, bookkeeping or VAT
This decision has the biggest effect on how much you pay each month, and there is an important difference between reselling and selling your own products.
| Regime | Who it suits | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Flat rate (paušal) | A sole proprietor who sells only their own products (handmade, own production) | A fixed monthly amount of tax and contributions, depending on the activity and municipality |
| Self-assessment (bookkeeping) | Reselling goods, and anyone who cannot or does not want to use the flat rate | Tax on actual profit plus contributions, and an accountant’s fee |
| VAT payer | Turnover above RSD 8,000,000 in the previous 12 months | VAT on sales, with the right to deduct input VAT |
A few rules worth knowing:
- Retail and wholesale trade, as a rule, cannot use the flat rate. The exceptions are trade from a kiosk or a trailer and, importantly for Instagram sellers, a sole proprietor who sells only products they make themselves (Personal Income Tax Act, Article 40).
- The flat-rate ceiling is RSD 6,000,000 in annual turnover.
- VAT: once turnover in the previous 12 months exceeds RSD 8,000,000, you must register for VAT within 5 days of crossing the threshold.
- You can check what you would pay on the flat rate in the Tax Administration’s flat-rate tax and contributions calculator.
Fiscal receipts when selling on Instagram
This is where most outdated advice lives. A registered seller selling to individuals issues a fiscal receipt whatever the payment method: cash, card, bank transfer or advance payment. Which receipt goes with which payment method, and when, is explained in our guide to web shop fiscalization in Serbia.
- Cash on delivery: a fiscal receipt is required and goes in the parcel. The seller issues it, not the courier. Articles claiming that no receipt is needed for cash on delivery rely on opinions from the time of the old fiscal cash register law and no longer apply.
- Prepayment by transfer or card: issue an advance receipt when the money arrives and a final receipt when you dispatch the goods.
- Electronic receipt: with the customer’s consent you can send the receipt electronically instead of printing it.
As early as 2022 the Tax Administration stated explicitly that online sales are not exempt from fiscalisation. Unregistered individuals are not subject to fiscalisation, but that does not protect them from the penalties for unregistered trade described above.
Customer rights: the 14-day withdrawal applies to Instagram too
The new Consumer Protection Act (Official Gazette RS, no. 35/2026) applies from 2 August 2026. An order placed through Instagram messages is a distance contract, so the same rules apply as for a web shop:
- The customer can withdraw within 14 days without giving a reason. The period runs from the day the goods reach the customer, not the courier.
- If you did not inform the customer of the right of withdrawal, the period is extended by 12 months.
- You refund the money, including standard delivery, within 14 days of the withdrawal.
- The customer pays the direct cost of returning the goods, unless you agreed to pay it or did not inform them in advance.
- There is no right of withdrawal for made-to-measure or personalised goods, perishable goods, or hygiene products whose seal has been broken.
So the line “no returns or exchanges” in a profile bio does not apply to a registered seller. It does not remove the customer’s statutory right, and it shows the seller does not know the rules. We explain every deadline and template from the buyer’s side in our guide to returning goods bought online in Serbia.
What your Instagram profile must show
No law has a specific rule for social networks, but the obligations under the Electronic Commerce Act and the Consumer Protection Act apply to sales through them too. Before buying, the customer should have access to:
- the business name and registered address;
- the registration number (matični broj) and tax ID (PIB), plus the VAT number if you are registered for VAT;
- the register details (APR);
- an e-mail address and a phone number;
- prices, with clear information on whether they include delivery.
A practical setup: a short bio with the business name, a highlighted “Info” story with all the details, and a link to one page with seller details, terms of sale, the right of withdrawal and the privacy policy.
Instagram or your own website?
Instagram is great for getting started: no costs, customers are already there and it is easy to show a product. The problems start when sales grow.
| Instagram profile | Your own web shop | |
|---|---|---|
| Start-up cost | Zero | Build and maintenance |
| Where customers come from | Followers and the algorithm | Google, ads, Instagram, referrals |
| Orders | Manual, through messages | Automatic, cart and checkout |
| Card payments | Manual, through a link | Integrated |
| Seller details and terms | Bio and highlights | Permanent, clearly accessible pages |
| Risk | A blocked account stops sales | The platform is yours |
| Google search | Barely visible | Products can rank |
A good sign that it is time for a website: you spend more time answering “price?” in messages than working on your products, or customers ask where they can pay by card. Instagram then stays the shop window and sales move to the site. We write more about this in why an Instagram page is not a substitute for a website, and you can see indicative costs for a shop in our guide to online shop development costs or in the website cost calculator.
FAQ: selling on Instagram in Serbia
Can I sell on Instagram without a registered business?
Yes, if you occasionally sell your own used items. If you buy goods to resell, make products to sell or sell regularly, you must register the activity, because under the Trade Act only legal entities and sole proprietors may trade.
How much does it cost to register as a sole proprietor?
The APR fee for registering a sole proprietor is RSD 2,500 from 1 January 2026. Add the costs of fiscalisation, a business account and, if you keep books, an accountant. Monthly tax and contributions depend on the tax regime.
Does an Instagram seller have to issue a fiscal receipt?
Yes, if they are registered and sell to individuals. The receipt is issued whether the customer pays cash on delivery, by card or by bank transfer, and with the customer’s consent it can be sent electronically.
Can handmade products use the flat-rate regime?
Yes. Trade, as a rule, cannot use the flat rate, but the law allows it for a sole proprietor who sells only products they make themselves. The request is filed together with the registration.
Can an Instagram customer return goods?
Yes. A purchase through Instagram messages is a distance contract, and the customer can withdraw within 14 days of receiving the goods, except for made-to-measure goods, perishable goods and opened hygiene products.
Does the Tax Administration check Instagram profiles?
Inspections are carried out by the Tax Administration and the market inspectorate, most often after a complaint from a customer or a competitor. We found no publicly announced campaign against Instagram sellers in 2024 to 2026, but penalties and seizure of goods apply to unregistered trade regardless of the sales channel.
Sources (in Serbian): Trade Act, Consumer Protection Act 2026, Tax Procedure and Tax Administration Act, Electronic Commerce Act, eFiscalisation FAQ.
