Do Not Call Registry: Firms Face 200,000 Dinar Fine

A fine of 200,000 dinars for the company, and 50,000 dinars for the responsible person inside it: that is now the price of calling a consumer who is listed in Serbia’s Do Not Call registry, now that the new rulebook on the registry of consumers who do not want to receive promotional calls and messages has taken effect.

Sources disagree on the exact date the rulebook took effect. B92 reports it has been in force since September 12, 2026, while Biznis i Finansije writes that it happened “this past weekend.” Both sources agree on the substance of the obligation: a business must check the registry before every promotional call, regardless of the precise day the rulebook started to apply.

The rulebook requires a business, before calling a consumer for promotional or sales purposes, to check whether that consumer’s number is listed in the Do Not Call registry. If it fails to do so and calls a listed number, the fine is 200,000 dinars for the company and 50,000 dinars for the responsible person within it. Vesna Perincic of the National Consumers’ Union explains that the fine does not stop at the first violation.

“If the same obligation is not met with a second consumer either, a new fine can follow, and so on,” Perincic said.

An even harsher fine awaits a business that contacts a consumer directly, without any prior consent at all. For that, the Law on Electronic Communications prescribes a fine ranging from 500,000 to 2,000,000 dinars, a range up to ten times higher than the fine for failing to check the registry itself.

How a number gets listed in the registry

Adding or removing a number from the registry is free and goes through the operator with which the consumer has a contract: electronically via a website or app, or in person at a sales location with identification. An electronic request requires a first and last name, a phone number registered in the consumer’s name, and a national ID number. The change appears in the registry on the first day after the request is processed.

For the same number, a request to add or remove it from the registry can be submitted once per calendar month, but that does not mean the consumer has to reapply every month.

“The rulebook clearly states that a consumer can change the status of their number once during a calendar month, meaning they can add it to the registry or remove it. That does not mean they are required to re-register every month,” Perincic explains.

A number stays listed in the registry even when the consumer switches operators, as long as they keep or port the same number. No new request is needed in that case.

An invitation to a promotional event requires written consent

The new Law on Consumer Protection further tightened the rules for direct sales and promotional events. A business is allowed to call a consumer who is not listed in the Do Not Call registry and invite them to a promotional event, but the consumer’s attendance must first be confirmed through written consent that clearly states the activity is commercial in nature.

“You can persuade someone by phone to come, but you cannot let them attend without written consent. The consumer needs to know it is a promotional event and that they will be offered certain products,” Perincic says.

The point of this rule is to keep the consumer from being misled, for example into believing they were invited to a free dinner or an event with no sales purpose, when in fact it is a commercial offer where products or services will be presented to them.

The business’s obligation does not end even when the consumer’s number is not in the registry. Even then, it must clearly state who is calling, from which company, and that the purpose of the call is to promote or sell products and services. A business may not conceal its identity or the real reason for the call, regardless of whether the consumer is listed in the registry or not.