Amendments made to the Law on the Deadlines for Settlement of Monetary Obligations in Commercial Transactions in December 2017 established the obligation to register invoices and other payment requests issued to the public sector in the Central Invoice Register. This process is managed by the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance.

The Central Invoice Register started operating on March 1, 2018.

In 2022, due to the new electronic invoicing law, CRF became mandatory once again for certain businesses.

Central Invoice Register 2022

The Ministry of Finance, Treasury Administration, Central Invoice Register is a database that tracks all invoices and other payment requests exchanged between two commercial entities or the public sector creditor and corporate entities.

In 2013, legislation leading to the establishment of the Central Invoice Register was passed. Later, in 2017, the Ministry of Finance revised its stance on the Central Invoice Register in three key points:

• Debtors no longer have to send invoices to the Central Invoice Register.
• Only creditors are required to send invoices.
• Any violation of these obligations leads to unique measures.

Since the creditor is the one collecting the invoice, attention shifted from the debtor to the creditor. Consequently, it is the creditor's duty to ensure payment of the invoice, even if they have to request the appropriate authorities to penalize the debtor.

In this case, the Treasury serves only as an intermediary and data custodian. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for supervising the obligations undertaken in the public sector (recording, monitoring, and reporting completed obligations). In contrast, the Central Invoice Register contains all information related to the invoices themselves, including name, Public User Number of Public Funds (JBKJS), invoice number, issue date, total amount, and comments. Naturally, the Central Invoice Register also contains information about creditors, debtors, and ordinary individuals.

Who Needs to Perform CRF Invoice Registration

Those who need to perform CRF invoice registration are legal entities, creditors, debtors, individuals (local administrator and local user).

Any type of legal entity can be a creditor; however, there are limitations regarding debtors. If you are a private sector entity, you need to find out whether the legal entity you conduct business with has completed CRF invoice registration and whether you can locate their JBKJS.

If you are not obligated to use the Central Invoice Register, you may need to use an alternative registration system like SUF or SEF. You can learn more about each system by clicking the links.

You can use the Public Funds User Center to search for JBKJS using a web application that is regularly updated or manually search a document updated once a month containing all relevant JBKJS. If the corporate entity you are looking for exists, you will find JBKJS by entering the required information into specific fields - the more information, the better.

Registration in the Central Invoice Register

According to the instructions for registration in the Central Invoice Register, corporate entities request CRF invoice registration to initiate the application process. If you have created an account, you can create invoices after receiving notification from the Central Invoice Register that registration was successful. Within three days, corporate entities process invoices through their internal system, print payment instructions, and send the document to the Public Funds User.

To review submitted invoices, an authorized user logs into the Central Invoice Register using their account. Correcting entered data is crucial at this stage, which also requires collaboration between creditors and debtors. It's best to avoid errors by communicating and cooperating because invoice creation takes time and patience.

Next, invoice details are displayed, and the invoice is then processed in the internal system. Corporate entities then issue a payment order, based on which the Central Invoice Register confirms the validity of the invoice and records the payment.

To conclude the process, the business entity sets the invoice status to "settled."

You can view a visual representation of this registration process provided by the Ministry of Finance's Treasury.

CRF Invoice Registration

To start the invoice registration process, administrator data for the physical person must be entered, and accuracy of input is crucial. The most common mistake during registration is entering the wrong email address.

Required files must be downloaded from the Treasury's website. If this is your first time accessing the account, indicate so. Once you have gathered all necessary documents, submit them to the Treasury Department you specified when registering for CRF invoice registration.

It is not feasible to re-register the same legal entity once the registration form has been filled out and received. It's important to get in touch with the responsible organizational unit of the Treasury Administration to which you submitted the registration request and request the termination of access to the Central Invoice Register if the registration contains errors.

Be cautious when entering administrator and legal entity information because these two pieces of information do not always have to be the same. By clicking on the link below the fields where the data is listed, you can access information about the organizational unit number.

Your email address will be used to confirm successful registration. You will also receive a token for data modification and a file named "registration.pdf" in the same email. This document must be printed, signed, and stamped before being submitted to the appropriate Treasury organizational unit along with the required documentation.

Central Invoice Register Obligations

The process of submitting a request for registration and operating in the Central Invoice Register will be carried out according to user instructions and in accordance with the Regulation on the manner and procedure of CRF invoice registration, i.e., other payment requests, as well as the manner and content of the Central Invoice Register (Official Gazette of RS number 7/2018).

If this formal obligation is not fulfilled, the debtor-public sector entity will not be obliged to pay the invoice amount. This can be particularly important in forced collection proceedings and interest calculation in case of late payment, as well as in the matter of prescription of claims.

Entering an e-Invoice in the Central Invoice Register

To register an invoice, you must enter it into the Central Invoice Register. Invoices can be entered individually, in groups, or using the rest of the interface. Only when the central graphical interface of the invoice register is not available is the rest of the interface used. The Invoice Identification (IDF) is obtained for invoices that are properly registered in the invoice register.

The following details must be entered to register invoices:

• JBKJS of the debtor
• Invoice/proforma invoice number (which is actually the reference number or payment instruction)
• Amount
• Issue date

The accuracy of the entered data is the primary responsibility of debtors and creditors. Therefore, ensure that the data entered is correct by verifying it multiple times.

The invoice issue date is the date of registration of the invoice. Whenever you update or cancel an invoice, the original invoice date is replaced with a new date.

You can find more detailed instructions for the Central Invoice Register on their website.

Contact Central Invoice Register

For more information or questions related to the Central Invoice Register, you can contact their customer service at crf trezor.gov.rs

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Frequently Asked Questions about the Central Invoice Register

1. Who is required to use the Central Invoice Register (CRF)?

   Entities that issue invoices to the public sector. They are then classified as creditors or debtors and must submit or not submit invoices accordingly. Since 2017, only creditors are required to send invoices.

2. How do you start using the Central Invoice Register?

   You must submit a registration request to the Central Invoice Register. Once your request is approved, you can create your first CRF invoice registration. Within 3 days, payment instructions will be printed and sent to the debtor.

3. Do you need to register with the Central Invoice Register, SEF, or SUF?

   The best way to find out which system is best for you is to read our SEF vs. SUF article, along with what you've just read about the Central Invoice Register, and see which obligations apply to you.