A monetary fine is one of the five penalties prescribed by the Criminal Law of the Republic of Serbia, and it is certainly one of the most frequently imposed penalties in practice. Unlike imprisonment and life imprisonment, which can only be imposed as primary penalties, a monetary fine can be imposed both as a primary penalty and as a secondary penalty. Additionally, in cases involving criminal acts committed out of personal gain, a monetary fine can be imposed as a secondary penalty, even if it is not prescribed for a specific criminal act or is provided as an alternative to imprisonment, where the court has imposed imprisonment as the primary penalty.
A monetary fine can be determined and imposed either in daily amounts or in a specific, fixed amount.
Monetary Fine in Daily Amounts
A monetary fine in daily amounts is determined by first establishing the number of daily amounts, and then determining the value of one daily amount. The total amount of the monetary fine is calculated by multiplying the established number of daily amounts by the established value of one daily amount. The number of daily amounts cannot be less than 10, nor greater than 360, and is determined depending on the severity of the committed criminal act and the prescribed penalty. The value of one daily amount cannot be less than 500 dinars, nor greater than 50,000.00 dinars. The daily amount is determined by dividing the difference between the perpetrator’s income and necessary expenses in the previous calendar year by the number of days in the year. If reliable data about the perpetrator’s income and expenses cannot be obtained, or if they do not have any income, the court will determine the value of one daily amount based on available data and its discretion.
Monetary Fine in a Specific Amount
When determining and imposing a monetary fine in daily amounts is not possible or would significantly prolong the criminal procedure, the court will impose a monetary fine in a specific amount within the prescribed minimum and maximum amount of the fine. The monetary fine cannot be less than 10,000.00 dinars. The monetary fine cannot exceed 1,000,000.00 dinars, and for criminal acts committed for personal gain, it can exceed 10,000,000.00 dinars. The amount of the imposed fine is determined based on the severity of the criminal act and the prescribed penalty for that act.
Enforcement of the Monetary Fine
The judgment specifies the deadline for payment of the monetary fine, which cannot be shorter than 15 days or longer than 3 months. In justified cases, the court may allow the convicted person to pay the fine in installments, with the payment period not exceeding 1 year. If the convicted person does not pay the monetary fine within the specified time frame, the court will replace the monetary fine with imprisonment, where for each 1,000.00 dinars of unpaid fine, 1 day of imprisonment will be imposed. However, the imprisonment cannot exceed 6 months, and if the imposed fine is greater than 700,000.00 dinars, the imprisonment cannot exceed 1 year.
An unpaid monetary fine can be replaced, instead of imprisonment, with community service, where for each 1,000.00 dinars of unpaid fine, 8 hours of community service will be imposed, but community service cannot exceed 360 hours.
After the death of the convicted person, the monetary fine will not be enforced.