MONTENEGRO Law and Practice Contributed by: Luka Popović and Milana Savović, BDK Advokati
11. Enforcement 11.1 Powers
11.3 Financial Penalties When a financial penalty is imposed on a company and not paid within the provided deadline, it will be enforced by the competent authority that imposed the fine, which will be the regulatory body or the court. The primary means of enforcement against compa- nies is blocking their bank accounts and seizing any available funds. If the funds in those bank accounts are not sufficient, the fines will regularly be enforced against other assets of the company, through their seizure and public sale. The taxation of gambling winnings is introduced in the adopted amendments to the Personal Income Tax Act ( Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica , “Offi- cial Gazette of Montenegro”, Nos br. 065/01, 012/02, 037/04, 029/05, 078/06, 004/07, 086/09, 073/10, 040/11, 014/12, 006/13, 062/13, 060/14, 079/15, 083/16, 067/, 059/21, 146/21, 152/22 and 088/24), which came into effect on 1 January 2025. The tax on income generated from games of chance is calculated and withheld by the operator upon each win and is paid simultaneously with the payout of the winnings. The tax on winnings from games of chance is paid at a rate of 15%. Winnings up to EUR300 are non-taxable. The tax is paid on the amount of the winnings reduced by the amount of the individual stake. 12. Tax 12.1 Tax Rate by Sector Gambling revenues are taxed through the system of fixed and variable licence fees (see 4.9 Ongoing Annual Fees ).
The Games of Chance Administration, as the regula- tory body, has broad power to control the compliance of operators with the Games of Chance Act. This is exercised through the regulator’s authorised officers and inspectors, who are entitled, among other things, to: • enter the premises of operators and perform inspections, issue orders or impose specific meas- ures to cure non-compliance; • prohibit the disposal of funds at bank accounts; • temporarily stop the operations; or • prohibit use of the premises or equipment. They are also authorised to fine the company and issue a so-called misdemeanour order, which is a decision on a fine that becomes effective only if the fined entity does not challenge it and requests the court’s decision on the misdemeanour. The authorised officers and inspectors can also file a motion for start- ing misdemeanour proceedings before the competent courts. 11.2 Sanctions Most infringements of the Games of Chance Act are considered to be misdemeanours and trigger mon- etary fines. The monetary fines are regularly imposed by inspectors, through issuing misdemeanour orders, or by the courts in misdemeanour proceedings. The latter will be the case if the fined company opts to challenge the misdemeanour order and have the case heard before the court, or if the inspector files the motion for starting misdemeanour proceedings instead of issuing the misdemeanour order. The most severe infringements are penalised with criminal sanctions. Providing games of chance with- out a proper licence is punishable by a monetary fine or imprisonment for up to three years, while selling betting tickets or accepting payment for games organ- ised abroad can trigger a monetary fine or imprison- ment for up to two years.
340 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook