Montenegro collected over €2.3 million in online shopping taxes in the first five months of 2025, thanks to faster customs processing enabled by digitalization and international cooperation, the Customs Administration announced.
Since January 1, Montenegrin citizens are required to pay value-added tax (VAT) on all online shipments, regardless of their value. Changes to the VAT law removed the previous €75 threshold below which shipments were not taxed.
Between January and May, Montenegro received 378,120 online parcels valued up to €75, on which VAT amounting to €2.31 million was charged. In the same period last year, only 10,250 such shipments arrived and were not subject to VAT.
The Customs Administration, in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), developed the E-manifest application to pre-notify shipments before arrival. This tool allows customs officials to analyze shipments in advance and select those requiring inspection, enabling faster release of parcels that don’t need checks.
Despite the VAT law changes, online shopping continues to grow in popularity, with no decline in parcel volume observed. Increasing numbers of operators, especially those using the TEMU platform, are interested in adopting the E-manifest system.
