Fiscalization for Online Stores in Serbia: A Webshop Guide
By Nemanja Vukmirović, Lizzard Solutions. Last updated 9 November 2026.
You launched a webshop, connected card payments and offered cash on delivery. Then your accountant asks: “Where are the fiscal receipts for last month’s orders?” Many Serbian shop owners only think about the fiscal side after the first inspection notice.
This guide explains fiscalization for online stores in Serbia in practical terms. You will see which payment methods need a fiscal receipt, how advances and cash on delivery work, how your webshop connects to the fiscal system, and a checklist you can work through this week.
TL;DR
- Every retail sale your webshop makes to individuals must be recorded through an approved electronic fiscal device, whatever the payment method, including advance payments.
- A shop that sells only online can use the Tax Administration’s virtual processor (V-PFR) and must give buyers the receipt in electronic form, with a verification link.
- The cleanest setup lets your webshop call a cloud ESIR automatically when an order is paid, shipped or refunded, and stores the receipt number on the order.
What Is Fiscalization for Online Stores in Serbia?
Fiscalization for online stores in Serbia means that every retail sale and every advance payment a webshop receives is recorded through an electronic fiscal device approved by the Tax Administration. The device signs each receipt and sends its data to the Tax Administration in real time, and the buyer gets a fiscal receipt they can verify.
The rules come from the Law on Fiscalization (Zakon o fiskalizaciji). Three of its provisions matter most for webshops:
- Article 3: the registered seat of a business that sells at retail over the internet through distance trade counts as a retail outlet.
- Article 4: every individual retail sale must be recorded “regardless of the payment method” (cash, instant transfer, cheque, card or other non-cash payment), including advances received for future sales.
- Article 6: the receipt must be issued at the moment of the sale or of the received advance.
The stakes are real. Under Articles 12 and 15, failing to record a sale can lead to a fine of 300,000 to 2,000,000 dinars for a company (50,000 to 500,000 for an entrepreneur) and a 15-day ban on doing business for the first violation.
Key takeaway
Online retail is not on the Government’s list of exempt activities. If you sell to individuals through a website, plan for fiscal receipts from the first order.
Action for today: list every way a customer can pay you, including bank transfer and cash on delivery. You will map each one in the next section.
Which Payment Methods Need a Fiscal Receipt?
All of them, for sales to individuals. What changes is the payment label on the receipt and the moment you issue it. The rulebook on fiscal receipt types and payment methods lists seven labels: cash, instant payment, payment card, cheque, transfer to account, voucher and other non-cash payment.
| Payment option in your shop | Receipt needed? | Label on the receipt | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card payment at checkout | Yes | Payment card | If you charge before delivery, the money is legally an advance (see below) |
| IPS QR / deep link (IPS SKENIRAJ) | Yes | Instant payment | Confirmation arrives within seconds, so automation is easy |
| Bank transfer / payment slip | Yes | Transfer to account | The advance receipt may be issued no later than the next working day, showing the date the money arrived |
| Cash on delivery | Yes, issued by you, not the courier | Depends on how the buyer pays the courier | Agree the issuing moment with your accountant |
| Mixed (e.g. voucher + card) | Yes | Several labels, with amounts split | One receipt can show more than one payment method |
Action for today: open your last ten orders and write the correct receipt label next to each one.
Advance Payments: When Money Arrives Before the Goods
Most webshops collect money before the parcel reaches the buyer. The law treats a payment for a future sale as an advance, and advances must be fiscalized too. The Tax Administration’s guide to fiscalization obligations describes the flow step by step:
- Advance-Sale (Avans-Prodaja) receipt when the money arrives.
- Advance-Refund (Avans-Refundacija) receipt when you finalize the sale. It references the last advance receipt and is not given to the buyer.
- Normal-Sale (Promet-Prodaja) final receipt, which references the advance-refund receipt.
Worked example
A customer orders a coffee grinder for 12,000 dinars and pays by bank transfer on Monday evening. The money shows on your account on Tuesday. Your system issues the advance receipt on Tuesday with Monday’s payment date, as the guide allows for transfers. On Thursday the grinder ships: the system issues the advance-refund receipt and then the final sales receipt, both linked by reference numbers, and emails the final receipt to the customer.
Action for today: ask your accountant whether your typical delivery time means your card and transfer orders are advances, and write down the agreed rule.
Cash on Delivery: Who Issues the Receipt?
Cash on delivery is common in Serbia and causes the most confusion. The obligation to fiscalize sits with the business making the retail sale, which is you. The courier only collects the money on your behalf, so do not expect it to issue your fiscal receipt.
The law requires the receipt “at the moment of the sale”, but we did not find a specific Tax Administration rule on the exact moment for cash on delivery. Shops usually pick one fixed event, such as handing the parcel to the courier, and issue the receipt then. Agree that event with your accountant and apply it to every order.
If the buyer refuses the parcel after you issued the receipt, record a refund (refundacija) that references the original receipt. The rulebook defines refunds broadly: any full or partial return of payment, or return and exchange of goods, for any reason.
Action for today: count last month’s refused cash-on-delivery parcels. That is how often your refund flow will run.
How Your Webshop Connects to the Fiscal System (ESIR, V-PFR, L-PFR)
An electronic fiscal device has three parts, all defined in Article 2 of the law:
- ESIR (electronic invoicing system): the software where sale data is entered and the receipt is issued. For a webshop this is usually a cloud ESIR with an API.
- PFR (fiscal receipt processor): signs receipts and sends data to the Tax Administration. It is either local (L-PFR, works offline) or virtual (V-PFR, run by the Tax Administration, online only).
- Security element: the certificate issued by the Tax Administration that signs your receipts.
Under Article 6, most businesses that use V-PFR must also keep at least one offline-capable device in each registered premises. Businesses that sell only online are exempt from that rule, so a pure webshop can run on a cloud ESIR plus V-PFR. You register your premises with the type “distance trade” and your seat as the address, and you should check that your ESIR is in the Tax Administration’s register of approved elements.
Online-only sellers must issue the receipt in electronic form (Article 13 of the rulebook), with a verification hyperlink instead of a printed QR code. A typical automated flow looks like this:
- The gateway confirms payment, or the order reaches your agreed issuing event.
- Your webshop sends the items, VAT labels, amounts and payment label to the ESIR API.
- The ESIR returns the receipt number and verification link through V-PFR.
- Your shop saves both on the order and emails the receipt to the buyer.
- Returns and cancellations call the same API as a refund that references the original receipt.
- Failed calls go into a retry queue and alert someone, so no order ships without a receipt.
This is a classic integration job. Our API integration guide for small businesses explains how to plan it, test it and keep it running. Receipts emailed to buyers also contain personal data, so keep the rules of Serbia’s data protection law for websites in mind.
Action for today: ask your ESIR provider for its API documentation and a test account.
Payment Gateway Options for Serbian Webshops
Your payment setup and your fiscal setup should be designed together, because every payment event can trigger a receipt.
- Card acceptance through an acquiring bank: the bank provides a hosted payment page and sends a confirmation your shop can act on.
- IPS instant payments: according to the National Bank of Serbia’s IPS online payment page, online stores use the IPS SKENIRAJ method, with a QR code on desktop or a deep link to the buyer’s banking app on mobile. NBS merchant guidance adds that banks offering online card acceptance must also offer IPS acceptance, at the same cost as at a physical point of sale.
Selling to companies as well? Business buyers can change which document you need. Article 3 treats an online seller’s seat as a retail outlet, and a receipt for a company buyer carries the buyer’s PIB. Some B2B orders may instead need an electronic invoice, which our SEF eFaktura integration guide covers. Let your accountant decide which applies to your B2B orders.
Action for today: ask your bank whether IPS is included in your e-commerce contract. If you need help connecting it, see our development and integration services.
Fiscalization Checklist for Your Online Store
- Every payment method in your checkout is mapped to a receipt label.
- Your premises are registered as “distance trade”, with the security element issued.
- Your ESIR and processor appear in the Tax Administration’s register of approved elements.
- The issuing moment for card, transfer and cash-on-delivery orders is agreed in writing with your accountant.
- The advance flow (advance-sale, advance-refund, final sale) is automated and tested.
- Electronic receipts with the verification link reach the buyer by email or in their account.
- Returns and refused parcels create a refund that references the original receipt.
- Failed ESIR calls are retried and someone is alerted.
- B2B orders follow the document type your accountant confirmed.
Not legal or tax advice
This guide summarizes the regulations as we read them on 9 November 2026. Rules and interpretations change, and your case may differ. Confirm every decision with your accountant or the Tax Administration before you change your setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an online store in Serbia need a fiscal cash register?
Not a physical one if you sell only online. The Law on Fiscalization lets online-only sellers use the Tax Administration’s virtual processor (V-PFR) without keeping an offline device. You still need an approved ESIR, a security element and registered premises of the type “distance trade”, and you issue every receipt electronically.
Do I need a fiscal receipt if the customer pays by bank transfer?
Yes, for sales to individuals. Article 4 requires recording every retail sale regardless of payment method, including advances. When a transfer arrives before delivery, you issue an advance receipt, which may be issued no later than the next working day and shows the date the money arrived, followed by the final receipt.
Who issues the fiscal receipt for cash on delivery?
You do, as the seller. The courier only collects the money for you. The law requires the receipt at the moment of the sale, so agree one fixed issuing event with your accountant, such as handing the parcel to the courier. If the buyer refuses the parcel, record a refund that references the original receipt.
Can I email the fiscal receipt instead of printing it?
If you sell only online, electronic form is the rule: Article 13 of the rulebook says such sellers issue the receipt electronically, with a verification hyperlink. Businesses that also sell in person issue printed receipts there and may send them electronically only with the buyer’s consent.
Want fiscal receipts to issue themselves?
We connect webshops, payment gateways and cloud ESIR systems, so every payment, shipment and refund creates the right receipt automatically. Book a free consultation.
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