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The signature requirements pertain the legal or contractual requirements in order to make a legally effective declaration of intent or a legally binding contract.
Possibility to replace a specific formal requirement of making a binding declaration of intention
The Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in Electronic Business regulates electronic document and electronic signature. This law specifically confirms that an electronic form of a document shall be deemed equivalent to its written form, provided that the data in an electronic form is accessible and suitable for subsequent reference. In certain cases, the law explicitly excludes the equivalence of an electronic form of a document with a written form. Such cases include: legal transactions by which property rights to real estate are transferred or by which some other real right to real estate is established, including mortgage and loan agreements; cases regulated by the inheritance law, such as a testament; agreements regulating property relationships between spouses; and other agreements that are to be concluded in the form of a notarial deed (e.g. share pledge agreements, share purchase agreements, etc.).
Presence of any specific formal requirements to effectively conclude a loan agreement
The law differentiates between credit and loan. Granting of credits is a regulated activity that can be performed in Serbia only by the locally licensed banks (and, to a limited extent, by the locally licensed payment institutions). Under contract law rules, granting of loans is a separate type of transaction which is not subject to the licensing.
Credit agreement must be concluded in written form. The applicable rules do not require a written form in case of a loan agreement. However, loan agreements are in practice concluded in written form.
Process of conclusion of a contract by using a qualified electronic signature in practice
Under the Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in Electronic Business, qualified electronic signature is explicitly given the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. Qualified electronic signature can be issued only by the local entities registered with the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications (including the Post Office, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Halcom and E-Smart Systems).
Legal consequences to a contract in case of not fulfilling formal requirements
The agreement which is not concluded in the legally prescribed form or in the form agreed by the parties does not have a legal effect.
Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2B sector
In B2B sector, the agreements are usually signed by exchanging scanned copies of the hand-signed agreement and subsequent exchange of originals. Increased use of electronic signatures can also be noticed.
Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2C sector
In B2C sector the agreements are usually signed with a handwritten signature.