The new Law on the Capital Market, in force since 5 January 2022 and applicable from 6 January 2023, allows the establishment of third-country (non-Serbian and non-EU) firms for the provision of any investment services or the performance of investment activities with or without any ancillary services in the territory of Serbia. However, the relevant articles providing for the provision of investment services through branches will only enter into force from the day of the Republic's accession to the EU (see Art. 418)
"I. BASIC PROVISIONS
Purpose and subject of editing
Article 1.
This law regulates:
1) granting permission and conditions for carrying out activities of investment companies, market organizers, data delivery service providers and other capital market participants;
2) conditions for public offering of securities and inclusion of securities in trading on the regulated market;
3) regulated market, multilateral trading platform, organized trading platform and OTC markets in the Republic of Serbia;
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This law applies to:
1) investment companies;
2) market organizers;
3) data delivery service providers;
4) foreign companies that provide investment services or perform investment activities through a branch established in the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Republic);
5) credit institutions that have received a license in accordance with the law regulating banks, i.e. in accordance with the law regulating credit institutions.
Investment services and activities from Article 2, paragraph 1, item 2) and 3) of this law in the Republic may perform:
1) an investment company that received the Commission's permission in accordance with this law;
2) a credit institution established in accordance with the law governing banks, that is, in accordance with the law governing credit institutions, and which received the Commission's permission in accordance with this law;
3) a branch of an investment company from a third country that has received the Commission's permission to provide investment services and activities from paragraph 1 of this article through a branch.
To credit institutions of member states of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU) that have received a license to operate in accordance with the law governing the performance of activities of credit institutions and prudential supervision of credit institutions, when providing one or more investment services and/or performing investment activities the following provisions of this law apply: 
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VI REGULATED MARKETS
Market Operators
Article 106 Only a market operator headquartered in the Republic may operate a regulated market in the Republic (hereinafter: stock exchange), provided that it is authorized by the compliance with this Law and the Commission regulations. Commission, in The market operator is a legal person incorporated as a joint stock company in compliance with the law governing companies, unless otherwise provided by this Law.
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VIII. INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Conditions for obtaining a permit, establishment
Article 148.
The provision of investment services and/or the professional performance of investment activities as a regular activity or business can only be performed by an investment company that has received a permit from the Commission to perform the activities of an investment company.
As an exception to paragraph 1 of this article, the Commission issues a license to each market organizer to manage MTP or OTP, where it is necessary to check its compliance with this chapter beforehand.
Every investment company must be organized as a joint-stock company and the provisions of the law governing commercial companies are applied to it, unless otherwise specified by this law.
Every investment company with a registered seat in the Republic must have an actual seat in the Republic.
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Freedom to provide investment services and perform investment activities
Article 198
Investment companies licensed and supervised by competent authorities of other member states in accordance with EU regulations on financial instrument markets and credit institutions in accordance with EU regulations on access to the activities of credit institutions and prudential supervision of credit institutions may freely provide investment services and/or to perform investment activities and additional services on the territory of the Republic, provided that their license provides for these services and activities, and in the case of credit institutions - under the conditions prescribed by the law governing credit institutions in the Republic. Additional services may only be provided in conjunction with investment services and/or activities.
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Establishment of a branch
Article 199.
Any investment company that has been granted a work permit by the competent authority of another member state and over which it supervises, in accordance with EU regulations on financial instrument markets, may provide investment services and/or perform investment activities and additional services on the territory of the Republic in accordance with EU regulations on financial instrument markets and EU regulations on access to the activities of credit institutions and prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment companies, based on the right of business residence, either by establishing a branch or through a related representative established in the Republic, provided that their license, which is investment company or credit institution obtained in the home Member State foresees those services and activities. Additional services may only be provided in conjunction with investment services and/or activities.
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Access to regulated markets
Article 200.
Investment companies from other member states that are authorized to execute client orders or to trade for their own account have the right to become members or to access regulated markets established in the Republic in one of the following ways:
1) directly, by establishing a branch in the Republic;
2) becoming remote members of the regulated market or its remote access without establishing branches in the Republic, provided that the procedures and trading systems of the relevant market do not require physical presence to conclude a transaction on the market.
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Provision of Investment Services and Activities by Third Country Firms
Article 204 
A third-country investment firm intending to provide investment services or perform investment activities with or without any ancillary services to retail clients or to professional clients in the Republic shall establish a branch in the Republic.
The branch shall acquire a prior authorization by the Commission in accordance with the following conditions:
1) the provision of services for which the third-country investment firm requests authorization is subject to authorization and supervision in the third country where the firm is established and the requesting firm is properly authorized, whereby the competent authority pays due regard to any FATF recommendations in the context of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism;
2) cooperation arrangements, that include provisions regulating the exchange of information for the purpose of preserving the integrity of the market and protecting investors, are in place between the Commission and the competent supervisory authorities of the third country where the firm is established;
3) sufficient initial capital is at free disposal of the branch;
4) one or more persons are appointed to be responsible for the management of the branch and they all comply with the requirement laid down in Article 156 of this Law;
5) the third country where the third-country investment firm is established has signed an agreement with the Republic, which fully comply with the standards of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and ensures an effective exchange of information in tax
matters, including, if any, multilateral tax agreements;
6) the investment firm belongs to an investor-compensation scheme authorized or recognized in accordance with the EU legislation regulating investor-compensation schemes.
The third-country investment firm referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall submit its application to the Commission.
Article 205
A third-country investment firm intending to obtain authorization for the provision of any investment services or the performance of investment activities with or without any ancillary services in the territory of the Republic through a branch shall provide the Commission with the following:
1) the name of the authority responsible for its supervision in the third country concerned. When more than one authority is responsible for supervision, the details of the respective areas of competence shall be provided;
2) all relevant details of the investment firm (name, legal form, registered office and address, members of the management body, relevant share-holders) and a program of operations setting out the investment services and/or activities as well as the ancillary services to be provided and the organizational structure of the branch, including a description of any outsourcing to third parties of essential operating functions;
3) the name of the persons responsible for the management of the branch and the relevant documents to demonstrate compliance with requirements laid down in Article 156 of this Law;
4) information about the initial capital at free disposal of the branch.
Article 206
The Commission shall grant authorization to the third-country firm for the provision of any investment services or the performance of investment activities with or without any ancillary services in the territory of the Republic when it is satisfied that:
1) the conditions under Article 204 are fulfilled; and
2) the branch of the third-country investment firm will be able to comply with the provisions referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.
The Commission shall inform the third-country investment firm, within six months of submission of a complete application, whether or not the authorization has been granted.
The branch of the third-country investment firm authorized in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, shall comply with the obligations laid down in EU regulation governing capital markets and shall be subject to the supervision of the Commission.
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X. MARKET INTERMEDIARIES
Conditions for establishment
Article 244.
The market intermediary is established as a joint-stock company or as a limited liability company with headquarters in the Republic.
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XIV. CENTRAL SECURITIES REGISTER, DEPOSITORY AND CLEARING
CRHOV organization
Article 305.
CRHOV is a legal entity that is organized and operates as a joint stock company in accordance with this law and the law governing commercial companies.
The share of state capital in CRHOV cannot be less than 51%.
CRHOV shares are ordinary with voting rights.
The seat of CRHOV is in Belgrade.
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Article 418.
The provisions of Article 1, paragraph 3, point 4), paragraph 4, point 3) and paragraph 5, Article 3, paragraph 3, Article 10, paragraph 6–8, Article 72, Article 86, Article 96, para. 6–8, Article 97, paragraph 12, Article 98, paragraph 5, Article 99, paragraph 4–10, Article 100, Article 101, Article 105, Article 106, paragraph 7, Article 115, paragraph 10, Article 127, paragraph 7, 9, 11 and 19, Article 128, Article 130, paragraph 2, item 3), 4), 7), 8), 9) and 10) and paragraph 3, Article 132, para. 5 and 6, Article 135, paragraph 3, Article 139, paragraph 3, Article 140, paragraph 2, item 2) and 3) and para. 4 and 6, Article 141, paragraph 3, Article 146, Article 147, Article 149, paragraph 2, point 2) and paragraph 5, Article 153, paragraph 4, Article 156, paragraph 9 and 15, Article 169, paragraph 4, Article 170, paragraph 6, Article 172, paragraph 2, Article 173, paragraph 6–8, Article 179, paragraph 15, Article 194, paragraph 5, Article 195, paragraph 2 and 3, Article 196, paragraph 4-6. and 8, Article 197, paragraph 6, Article 198, Article 199, Article 200, paragraph 1, Article 201, paragraph 1–6, Art. 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, Article 225, paragraph 2, Art. 241, 242, 252, 253, Article 256, paragraph 2, item 5), 6) and 7), Article 267, para. 3 and 4, Article 383, paragraph 8–11, Article 387, para. 4 and 5, Art. 388, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398 and 399 of this law apply from the day of the Republic's accession to the EU. [...]" (Law on Capital Market, Adopted 28 December 2021, in force since 05 January 2022).
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Previously up to 2023
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"Article 1.
This law regulates:
1) public offering and secondary trading of financial instruments;
2) regulated market, multilateral trading platform (hereinafter: MTP) and OTC markets in the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Republic);
3) provision of investment services and performance of investment activities, including issuance of work permits and regulation of investment companies and other capital market participants in accordance with this law;
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VII. REGULATED MARKET AND MTP
Market organizer
Article 95.
The operation of a regulated market in the Republic can only be managed by a market organizer based in the Republic (hereinafter: the stock exchange), if it has a license issued by the Commission, in accordance with this law and the acts of the Commission.
The market organizer, i.e. the regulated market, is a legal entity established as a joint-stock company in accordance with the law governing companies, unless otherwise specified by this law.
The organizer of MTP can be a broker-dealer company or a stock exchange that has a license from the Commission.
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Qualified participation and control
Article 100.
Shareholders of the market organizer can be domestic or foreign persons. [...]
The Commission cannot condition the amount and percentage in relation to the participation to be acquired, nor examine the proposed acquisition in relation to the economic needs of the market.
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IX. INVESTMENT COMPANY
Conditions for obtaining a permit; Foundation
Article 147.
Investment services and activities from the provisions of Article 2, point 8) of this law, and in connection with financial instruments from the provisions of Article 2, point 1) of this law, cannot be performed without the permission of the Commission for the performance of investment company activities.
A broker-dealer company that performs operations from paragraph 1 of this article must be organized as a joint-stock company and the provisions of the law governing commercial companies shall apply to it, unless otherwise specified by this law.
A credit institution that provides one or more investment services and activities from paragraph 1 of this article must fulfill the corresponding provisions of this chapter, as well as the provisions of chapter X of this law, which refer to authorized banks.
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Request for granting a license to carry out the activities of an investment company
Article 156.
The commission prescribes the content of the request and additional documentation for granting a license to an investment company to perform investment services and activities from Article 147 of this law.
In the request for granting a license from paragraph 1 of this article, the investment services and activities for which the investment company requests a license are specified.
Along with the request from paragraph 1 of this article, the following shall be submitted:
1) general acts of the applicant of the broker-dealer company;
2) data on all persons who own a qualified participation in the applicant, including the type, amount and percentage of that participation, as well as data on persons with whom the persons who own a qualified participation are closely related and data on this connection, to other persons who are able to control or exercise significant influence over the applicant's broker-dealer company;
3) names and data on the qualifications, experience and business reputation of current and proposed directors and members of the board of directors, supervisory board or executive board of the applicant that is a broker-dealer company, i.e. an authorized bank in accordance with the provisions of Article 154 of this law;
4) data on personnel and organizational capacity and technical equipment of the applicant in accordance with the provisions of Article 151 of this law;
5) rulebook on the tariff with fees and expenses of the applicant for investment services and activities for which permission is requested;
6) proof of membership in the Investor Protection Fund;
7) data on the applicant's proposed business program, including the intended type of work and organizational structure with sufficient detail so that the Commission can determine that the applicant has established all the necessary systems to fulfill its obligations under this chapter;
8) proof of payment of the founding contribution;
9) proof of the paid fee for submitting the request in accordance with the tariff of the Commission.
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Branches of the investment company
Article 158.
The investment company is obliged to submit a request to the Commission for obtaining prior approval for the establishment of a branch in another country.
The commission prescribes in more detail the content of the request from paragraph 1 of this article, and proof is submitted with it that the competent bodies of another country allow the investment company to provide investment services and perform activities in that country.
An investment company can also perform activities within parts of that company that do not have the status of legal entities, but have certain authorizations in legal transactions, a separate calculation of business results and a separate sub-account - if those parts meet the conditions for performing the activities of an investment company.
The provisions of this law on the granting of a license to carry out the activities of an investment company shall accordingly be applied to the granting of a license to carry out those activities in a part of that company.
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XI. CENTRAL REGISTER
Organization of the Central Registry
Article 215.
The Central Registry is a legal entity that is organized and operates as a joint stock company in accordance with this law and the law governing companies.
The share of state capital in the Central Registry cannot be less than 51%.
The shares of the Central Registry are ordinary with voting rights.
The seat of the Central Registry is in Belgrade." (Law on Capital Market, No. 31 of May 9, 2011, last amended 21 December 2020 [google translation])
Law on Capital Market, Adopted 28 December 2021, in force since 05 January 2022
Law on Capital Market, No. 31 of May 9, 2011, last amended 21 December 2020 [google translation]
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