Installation of vehicle tracking GPS devices by licensed companies only – Penalties up to RSD 1 million

Source: eKapija Monday, 10.07.2017. 14:56
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(Photo: Milos Muller/shutterstock.com)
Between 20,000 and 25,000 vehicles in Serbia are equipped with satellite tracking GPS devices, according to estimates, although Serbia doesn't have precise data on this. New regulations regarding these services came into effect on January 1, 2017. A full implementation of The Law on Private Security started on that date, and the latest amendments have also introduced GPS vehicle tracking in the technical protection systems.

Transport companies or companies owning a considerable number of official vehicles need to know at any moment where their vehicles are, what their route is, whether they have enough fuel, how much fuel they're spending... Satellite tracking GPS devices enable this, but companies need to be careful in choosing the service provider. In practice, this means that there needs to be an agreement signed with the company which installs the GPS tracking in the vehicles belonging to your company's fleet, and they invariably need to be licensed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Otherwise, the company using the services can also be penalized by as much as a million dinars! According to the Association for Private Security of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, when it comes to GPS vehicle tracking, only a few companies have the license.

For a long number years, Serbia used to be without regulations in the field of private security, a sector which currently employs more than 30,000 people. After two decades of waiting, the new law covers a remarkably wide area – everything within the system of protection of persons, property and business activities.

Increasing number of companies requiring licenses for inspection


If a company equips its trucks with satellite tracking GPS devices and hasn't signed a contract with the provider of the system, or if the provider doesn't have the said license, the penalty is 100,000 to 1,000,000 dinars. Penalty measures are needed so that order would be instilled in this field, Slobodan Maksimovic, chairman of the Technical Protection Group of the Association for Private Security of the CCIS, says in his interview for eKapija.

– On the one hand, service providers now need to guarantee that they will install certified equipment which meets the standards, whereas, on the other hand, purchasers are obliged to do business with legal entities and entrepreneurs licensed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that is, those who operate in line with the regulations. This is certainly in users' interest, as the number of cases of abuse, that is, the cases where a company pays the full price for the equipment and the installation and then has problems with the system's functioning, will be reduced this way. The law prevents it, as even a natural person installing the equipment needs to be licensed – Maksimovic says and reminds that, in cases of the most serious violations, the service provider in question can be temporarily banned from performing the activity.

(Photo: s_oleg/shutterstock.com)
– Since recently, everybody interested in having any kind of technical protection system installed can view the list of licensed service providers on the website of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia. As far as I know, at the moment, when it comes to GPS vehicle tracking, only two or three legal entities are licensed – Maksimovic says.

On the other hand, representatives of the transport companies we've talked to are quite reserved regarding the benefits the new law is expected to bring. Some of them have their systems provided by companies with a foreign license, whereas some other wonder if a sufficient amount of information has been provided.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs says that there was plenty of time to harmonize with the new regulations.


– A full implementation of the Law on Private Security started on January 1, 2017, but the law was adopted back in 2013, whereas the amendments were adopted in 2015. Accordingly, all legal persons, entrepreneurs and natural persons dealing in private security had plenty of time to harmonize their operations with the regulations – the Ministry of Internal Affairs points out for eKapija.

Companies which had their GSP tracking devices installed by unauthorized service providers in the past years are not exempt from the new rules either. If the installation was performed prior to January 1, the user is obliged to sign an agreement on service provision and equipment maintenance with a licensed service provider.

– The Law on Private Security has been enforced for six months now, so anyone hoping that the Ministry of Internal Affairs will issue a warning instead of a penalty is doing so at their own risk – Slobodan Maksimovic says in his interview for eKapija.

Increased safety


In 2016, a total of 7,360 licenses were issued for all physical and technical protection jobs, and the number has already been exceeded in these several months of 2017.

An increasing number of companies are recognizing the fact that legal persons and entrepreneurs, who have made an effort, passed the professional exam and obtained the license, can certainly provide more than those who didn't wish to enter this process, Maksimovic says.

Penalties for service providers too

Legal persons without a written contract signed with the users of the services of GPS satellite tracking are also subject to penalties of 100,000 to 1,000,000 dinars.

– The Law doesn't feature a stipulation defining the penalty for a legal entity without a license. However, in practice, the police force submits a report to the competent prosecutor in line with several articles of the Law – our interviewee adds.

M.M.
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