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
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
eSports in Serbia and Montenegro: Selected Legal Issues
October 2021
eSports is a fast-growing segment of the larger industry of video gaming, and with the ever-increasing viewership base, it threatens to surpass the popularity of traditional sports. There are various stakeholders involved, like game developers and publishers, event organisers, leagues, teams, players, streamers, and sponsors, and there is a multitude of legal matters to be considered when engaging with the industry. It is also reasonable to expect that the growing popularity will eventually lead to the regulation of the industry, similarly to its traditional counterpart.
To the…
Building of a Floating Solar Power Plant On Slano Lake in Niksic
September 2021
Determined to invest predominantly in the development of green energy, State power utility, Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), plans to build a floating solar power plant on Slano Lake in Nikšić, in cooperation with credible partners.
Slano Lake is an artificial accumulation in the western part of Nikšićko Polje, built in the middle of the last century for the needs of the hydropower system "Perućica". It covers an area of 8.89 km2. It is up to 4.4 kilometers long and 18 meters deep.
