BDK Advokati Advises Alcazar Energy on the Acquisition of the Windfarm Project “Bijela” in Montenegro

October 2023 BDK Advokati advised Alcazar Energy, a sustainable infrastructure fund, on the acquisition of the 118 MW wind farm project “Bijela” in Montenegro. BDK team was led by Senior Partner Luka Popovic. Partner Milan Dakic provided construction-related advice. This is the first wind farm project for Alcazar Energy in the Western Balkans and we are happy that we had the opportunity to assist them in entering the market.
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BDK Advokati Advises Mercator-CG on the Acquisition of Franca Retail Business

June 2023 Mercator-CG and Franca retail chain signed the share and purchase agreement for the acquisition of Franca retail business in Montenegro. Franca retail chain consists of 67 retail outlets with over 900 employees across Montenegro. Through this acquisition, Fortenova Group is strengthening its retail business in the markets in South-East Europe. The BDK Advokati team that advised Fortenova and Mercator-CG on this transaction was led by the senior partner Luka Popovic. The competition team led by the counsel Bisera Andrijasevic, with associate Sanja Dedovic and junior associate Marija…
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BDK Advokati Advised Abu Dhabi Capital Group on the Sale of The Capital Plaza

April 2023 BDK Advokati’s team in Montenegro successfully advised Abu Dhabi Capital Group on the sale of the group of companies that own and operate The Capital Plaza, a premium business and residential complex in Podgorica, Montenegro. The companies were acquired by Big Group. The deal is the second-largest M&A deal in Montenegro in the past twelve months. BDK’s core team that worked on this transaction included Senior Partner Luka Popovic, Senior Associate Jelena Brajkovic, and Junior Associate Marija Ksenija Popovic.   Picture-Copyright: Pixabay.com
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Tender for the Award of Concession for Two Montenegrin Airports

January 2023 The tender for concession of two Montenegrin airports, with the deal value of up to EUR 300 million, was launched in 2019 and, following the prequalification phase, three of the four qualified bidders remained interested in the project; namely, Corporation America Airports, Incheon International Airports Corporation and the consortium between TAV Havalimanlari Holding and Aeroports Paris Internacional. The tender has not yet formally progressed to the next phase as the Government is reconsidering its strategy for the airports. It is expected that, during 2023, the Government makes…
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A New General Collective Agreement Concluded in Montenegro

January 2023  A new General Collective Agreement applicable to all employers and employees in Montenegro came into force on 31 December 2022 and will be valid for an initial period of three years. The GCA introduces certain additional rights for the employees. The most important ones are set out below. Overtime – The maximum allowed number of annual overtime hours is limited to 250 hours. According to the Labour Act, the maximum number of weekly working hours is set to 50 hours, provided, however, that no employee can work more than 48 hours per week, including overtime, on average within…
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Update on the Montenegrin Rules on Special Residence Regime for Digital Nomads

December 2022 After the Foreigners’ Act announced in August 2022 new temporary residence permit regime for digital nomads, the Ministry of Interior has now enacted a bylaw which regulates the details of the procedure and documents required for the permit. Entry into Montenegro While the Foreigners’ Act remained ambiguous as to whether an applicant must enter Montenegro with type D visa (long term visa) in order to apply for temporary residence permit even if from a country to which Montenegro applies a visa-free regime, the bylaw makes it clear that the type D visa is not necessary in such…
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The New VBER and How It Affects the Assessment of Vertical Agreements in Candidate Countries

July 2022, BDK Advokati The European Commission adopted in May 2022 a new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and new Vertical Guidelines (Guidelines), effective as of 1 June 2022 and valid until 31 May 2034. The new VBER applies to all agreements concluded on or after 1 June 2022. The agreements which were in force as of 31 May 2022 and enjoyed under old VBER an exemption from the prohibition which is no longer available under the new VBER, will continue to be covered by the exemption until 31 May 2023. VBER provides a safe harbour for agreements between suppliers and customers which…
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Montenegro – Soon to Become a Destination for Digital Nomads?

May 2022  Author: Jelena Brajkovic, BDK Advokati  On 18 May 2022, a group of MP’s proposed amendments to the Foreigners’ Act to introduce the possibility of obtaining a temporary residence permit for digital nomads. The parliamentary debate on the amendments is expected to start at the beginning of June 2022. The amendments are designed to attract foreigners from IT and other mobile sectors to Montenegro. Digital nomads The proposed amendments to the Foreigners’ Act define digital nomads as foreign individuals (whether they are registered as entrepreneurs or not) who provide Montenegro…
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EPCG to Build its First Gas-Fired Facilities

January 2022 EPCG is planning to build the first gas-fired power plants in Montenegro. The company has issued a public call for a study for the development of technical solutions and a preliminary feasibility study for gas power plants.  
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Montenegrin Tax Reform “Europe Now”

January 2022 Author: Jelena Brajkovic, BDK Advokati The Montenegrin Parliament adopted at the end of 2021 a set of legislative changes concerning taxation, in the Labour Act, Mandatory Social Security Act, Personal Income Tax Act, and Corporate Income Tax Act. The new regime applies from 1 January 2022. Personal income Employment The announced reform’s key goal was to increase the average salary in Montenegro. This was achieved through: (i) increasing minimum monthly wage for full-time work from net EUR 222 to net EUR 450, (ii) abolishing mandatory contributions for health insurance, and…
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Innovation Incentives in Montenegro

December 2021 Authors: Luka Popovic, Marija Ksenija Popovic Montenegro has specific tax rules applicable to innovative companies, within the framework of the  Innovation Activity Act (Zakon o inovacionoj djelatnosti), the Act on Incentives for Research and Innovation Development (Zakon o podsticajnim mjerama za razvoj istraživanja i inovacija), and implementing rulebooks, the key ones being the Rulebook on Registry of Innovation Activity (Pravilnik o registru inovacione djelatnosti) and the Rulebook on Closer Conditions for Acquiring the Status of the Beneficiary of Incentive Measures for Development…
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November 2021 BDK Advokati contributed to the 2021 edition of the Chambers’ Global Practice Guide on gaming law. The authors of the Montenegrin chapter are Luka Popović, partner, and Stefan Đurović, junior associate in BDK Advokati Montenegro. The chapter provides a detailed overview of the permitted online and land-based types of games of chance in Montenegro, licensing conditions and procedures, license fees payable by operators, and other relevant aspects of the Montenegrin regulatory regime for the gaming industry. The Montenegro chapter of the Chambers Gaming Law 2021 guide can…
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