The new calculation of value added tax (VAT) for prosumers reduced their January bills by about ten percent more, on top of the 20–30 percent they were already saving compared with the time before they installed solar panels. They could not actually see it on their bills, because electricity became about 13 percent more expensive in the meantime, but it means they did not feel this price increase at all.
The first prosumers (customers who also produce electricity) in Serbia appeared in the middle of last year, but from the very beginning they struggled with how VAT, excise duties and fees were calculated on the bills they receive from Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), all because of the Ministry of Finance's interpretation.
As a result, their bills after installing solar panels were not reduced as much as they expected, or as foreseen by the Decree on the criteria, conditions and method of calculating receivables and liabilities between prosumers and suppliers, prepared by the Ministry of Mining and Energy.
At the time there was talk of a 50 percent reduction, but their bills were 20–30 percent lower. With the latest amendments to the VAT Law prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the reduction increased by about ten percent from 1 January, depending of course on consumption patterns before and after installing solar panels.
Nenad Maričić, one of the first prosumers, told Balkan Green Energy News that since 1 January VAT has been calculated on the difference between the electricity the prosumer produced and delivered to EPS and the amount drawn from the grid. Before that, it was calculated on all electricity taken from EPS.
The bottom line is that prosumers did not feel the 13 percent electricity price increase from 1 January, he stresses, adding that his bills in December and January were almost the same.
The benefits for prosumers are best seen in the table below (approximate amounts), which shows electricity prices at the higher tariff in the green, blue and red zones for ordinary customers and for prosumers.
The table once again confirms the rule that solar panels bring the greatest savings to those who use more than 1,600 kWh, that is, whose consumption reaches the red zone.
Maričić says that every further price increase, and there will be three more by May 2024, will affect prosumers less than other customers.
Solar panels on the roof of Nenad Maričić's house (photo: Nenad Maričić)
Source: Balkan Green Energy News (in Serbian)
👉 See other solar power plants we have built
Would you like to cut your electricity costs too?
👉 Contact us and we will prepare an offer tailored to your needs.
We guide you through the whole process of signing a prosumer contract, so that you can hand your surplus electricity to EPS for storage and later use it to reduce your electricity bills. To learn more about the prosumer model in advance, see the official brochure of the Center for the Advancement of the Environment (in Serbian).
