Republic of Serbia is a democratic state of all its citizens with a population of 7.5 million. Belgrade is capital with a population of 1.6 million; it is country's administrative, economic and cultural centre. The Republic of Serbia is divided into 29 districts. The country covers a land area of 88,361 km2.
President of the Republic is elected by a direct and general election. Legislative power rests with the unicameral National Assembly. Deputies in National Assembly elect Government, which, together with President of the Republic, represents the country's executive authority. The judiciary is independent. Supreme Court of Serbia decides on legal remedies instituted against decisions of all courts in the Republic of Serbia.
Directorate of Measures and Precious Metals (DMDM) is the National Metrology Institute (NMI) and the national authority on legal metrology in Serbia. Being the Central Metrology Authority (CMA) it is also responsible for control of precious metals articles. The DMDM is a part of Ministry of Economy and Regional Development.
As NMI the DMDM has task to maintain national measuring standards of SI units, perform their international comparisons and disseminate legal units of measurement by calibration of measuring standards and instruments.
As legal metrology authority the tasks of DMDM comprise type approval and verification of measuring instruments, control of prepacked products and metrological supervision. In field of legal metrology DMDM operates through its six Measures Control Departments - Local Metrology Authorities (LMAs) that are located in Belgrade, Krusevac, Nis, Novi Sad, Subotica, and Zrenjanin.
Serbia is signatory of the Metre Convention (1879) and of the Convention establishing OIML. DMDM is Member of EURAMET and Associate Member of WELMEC, and signatory of the CIPM-MRA and OIML-MAA (DoMCs).
By the first Law on Measures in 1873, the metric system was introduced and the Office for control of measures and comparisons of prototypes used in control of measures was founded. The present Law on Metrology and Law on control of precious metals articles have been in force since 2006 and 1984, respectively.
- Simple length measures and length measuring instruments
- Area measuring instruments
- Liquid volume measures
- Capacity measures (tanks)
- Liquid volume metering instruments for commercial use
- Gasoline, diesel
- Liquefied petroleum gas
- Heating oil
- Liquids other than water
- Gas volume meters
- Gas volume correctors
- Cold water meters
- Warm water meters
- Heat meters
- Electricity meters
- Measuring transformers
- Weights
- Non-automatic weighing instruments
- Automatic weighing instruments
- Discontinuous totalising
- Continuous totalising (beltweighers)
- Gravimetric filling
- Rail weighbridges
- Catch weighers
- Checkweighers
- Weight graders
- Weigh/price labeller and weigh labeller
- Control weighing instruments
- Instruments for measuring the hectolitre mass of cereals
- Moisture meters for cereal grains and oilseeds
- Density meters
- Refractometers
- Alcoholmeters
- Manometers
- Blood pressure measuring instruments
- Thermometers
- Spectrophotometers in medical labs
- Luxmeters
- Taximeters
- Chronotachographs
- Traffic speed measuring instruments
- Tyre pressure gauges
- Breath analysers
- Exhaust Gas Analysers
- Opacimeters
- Dosimeters
- Activity meters
- Sound level meters
- Audiometers
- Electrocardiographs
Instruments are generally subject to type approval, initial verification and mandatory reverification unless otherwise stated. List of measuring instruments subject to legal control is given by Decree on measuring instruments subject to mandatory verification (list updated in 2002).
Type approval responsibility rests with the DMDM for measuring instruments subject to legal metrological control. It has its own test facilities but may use other test laboratories. DMDM maintains a national database of type approvals. Fees are calculated on the basis of man-hours and material costs for any individual type approval. Fees are defined by legal ordinance. Type approval certificates and test results are issued in Serbian although official translations may be provided on request. The most numerous measuring instruments for which type approvals are issued are non-automatic weighing instruments, followed by liquid volume meters other than water, water meters, and electricity meters.
Initial verification of measuring instruments is performed by six local verification offices - Measures Control Departments of DMDM. Local offices perform verification of the majority of measuring instruments and DMDM itself verifies special instruments. Initial verification procedure is specified by regulation. In situ verification may be required where instruments are designed to be used in a permanent location. Verification fees are stipulated by ordinance.
A mandatory reverification system operates in Serbia, supplemented by random inspection. These procedures are applied by DMDM and its local verification offices.
Typical reverification intervals are:
weighing instruments in trade use 2 years petrol pumps 1 year cold water meters 5 years gas meters 5 years electricity meters 12 years taximeters 1 years law enforcement instruments 1 years Fees for reverification are the same as those for initial verification. Error allowances in service are generally mpe x 2 for weighing instruments. There is no provision, which permits repairers to reverify instruments.
Directorate of Measures and Precious Metals (DMDM) has approximately 140 employees, about 30 of them scientists and engineers with an university degree engaged in type approvals but also occupied with fundamental metrology and calibrations as well. Another 76 people – of them 25 engineers and 43 being technicians – are employed at the local verification offices. All engineers and technicians are given one year post entry training on the job provided by DMDM followed by an examination. Some short courses follow for supplementary training.
Verification officers are not involved in providing any consumer protection service other than that relating to legal metrology. They advise to businesses on legal requirements and investigate consumer complaints concerning inaccurate equipment.
Sanctions are based upon a system of administrative penalties. A preventative enforcement policy is applied. Prosecutions are brought before a municipal authority for adjudication. Only cases involving fraud are generally subject to prosecution in the courts.
Instruments, found to be infringing legal requirements, will be prohibited from further use and may be sealed. In case that repair is not achievable instrument will be prohibited from further use everlastingly.
The national regulation concerning non-automatic weighing instruments has been adapted to technical requirements of Directive 90/384/EEC and standard EN 45501 (which is identical with OIML Recommendation R76). The weighing instruments mentioned in Article 1.2(a) of the Directive are subject to national metrological controls.
No specific requirements have been implemented as regards the gravity value.
Updated July 2008