September the 4th, 2021 - One thing which has always fascinated and baffled me, despite many years in Croatia, is the need for tax stamps. You needed to buy them to do just about anything administrative and let's be honest, it's archaic and amusing. Don't tell that to the clerk who is very seriously asking for one, though. Croatian tax stamps are now finally binned and resigned to the history books as the country finally steps out into the 21st century.
Seing your documents get stamped by hand by someone who really couldn't look less interested and then handing over some tax stamps really makes a person feel like they've stepped back in time, and it will come as a pleasant surprise to many when issuing documents that they're no longer needed.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in the Republic of Croatia, for the issuance of as many as 177 documents, Croatian tax stamps had to be purchased all the way from the dark ages (kidding, but maybe not) until September the 1st, 2021, along with all of the other bizarre paperwork that clerk wanted. They're thankfully no longer required.
As of the 1st of September, Croatian tax stamps have no longer needed to be purchased for the issuance of driving licenses, passports, birth certificates and a whole range of other documents.
Namely, the new Regulation on the Tariff of Administrative Fees entered into force on the 1st of September. The Tax Administration confirmed for RTL that it is expected that 80 million kuna less per year will be paid into the state budget owing to the removal of the need for Croatian tax stamps.
The assistant head of the Zagreb City Administration office, in the civil status sector, said that everything would now be easier for everyone.
"It simply means that it's all going to be easier for people, and for us in some way. So, all documents and certificates from the state registers and the book of citizens such as from the voter list, when we talk about the area of our city office for general administration, are exempt from the payment of administrative fees,'' said Asja Ettinger.
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