Overview

Serbia has made much progress in modernizing its trade mechanisms since 2000. The landlocked Balkan nation has introduced key reforms—such as streamlining its customs procedures to be in line with EU practices, developing an electronic customs clearance system, and modernizing its cargo risk management system. These reforms have dramatically improved the nation's trading environment. This case study shows how the government reformed trade practices and how well those changes are paying off.

Main Findings

• Prior to the electronic data interchange (EDI), it took a trader an entire day to clear goods at customs. Now the required documents are submitted electronically and customs clearance takes less than an hour.
• According to the Doing Business database, total time to export dropped by 21 days—from 32 to 11 days—and import time was reduced by 32 days—from 44 to 12 days.