Copy, pro forma and training: three receipt types a Serbian register issues that are not fiscal receipts, and when each is used

A register does not issue only fiscal receipts. It also issues documents that look almost the same, have a PFR number, a counter and a QR code, and are still not a fiscal receipt. The law and its bylaws allow them, on condition that the difference is obvious to anyone holding the document. When you know what each is for, there are no mistakes; when you do not, the mistakes tend to be expensive, because a pro forma gets handed to the buyer instead of a receipt.

Five receipt types and two transaction types

The rulebook on receipt types, transaction types, payment methods, references to other documents and the other elements of a fiscal receipt, together with the Tax Administration's technical guide, works with two axes. Receipt type, as the technical guide lists it: normal, advance, copy, pro forma, training (only normal and advance are fiscal receipts). Transaction type: sale or refund (the rulebook says "refund, that is cancellation of a receipt"). Every combination has its own mark in the receipt counter, so the paper itself shows what the document is: counter 42/97ПП means normal-sale, 12/83АП advance-sale, 8/82ОП training-sale, 7/81РП pro forma-sale, and a copy of a sale carries КП.

The header line says the same in words: ПРОМЕТ - ПРОДАЈА, КОПИЈА - ПРОДАЈА, ПРЕДРАЧУН - ПРОДАЈА, ОБУКА - ПРОДАЈА. Everything else on the receipt is explained line by line in What a Serbian fiscal receipt must contain.

Copy: the same receipt, a second time

A copy is a repeated print of an already issued receipt. It is issued from the existing receipt, references its PFR number in the reference document field, and gets its own PFR number and a counter marked К. A buyer asks for a copy when the original is lost; an accountant when a second print is needed; the seller when the paper jammed in the printer.

• A copy does not change turnover: the amount was already recorded by the original.
• A copy can be issued of a refund as well, and then it repeats the refund.
• On paper it carries the notice ОВО НИЈЕ ФИСКАЛНИ РАЧУН, because the fiscal receipt is the first one; the copy repeats what it says but does not itself confirm that the sale was recorded.

Pro forma: an offer before the sale

A pro forma is a document the register issues before any turnover has happened: a quote from a workshop, a specification for a buyer who will pay by transfer. It goes through the PFR, has a number and a counter marked Р, but records no turnover, because there is none yet.

This is also where the biggest mistake in practice lives. When the buyer pays, the pro forma does not become a fiscal receipt by itself: the seller must then issue a fiscal receipt, a normal receipt if the goods or service go to the buyer now, or an advance receipt if they will be delivered later. A good register does that in one move, by converting the pro forma into a normal receipt with the same items; the bad practice is that the buyer walks away with the pro forma in hand and the turnover is never recorded. A pro forma handed over instead of a receipt for goods that were paid for is unrecorded turnover, with every consequence the Law on Fiscalization attaches to it.

Training: for the cashier, not the buyer

A training receipt is for practice. A new cashier enters items, picks a payment method and issues a receipt, and the system accepts all of it and marks it as training: a number and a counter marked О, the notice ОВО НИЈЕ ФИСКАЛНИ РАЧУН, no turnover recorded. It exists so that mistakes are made in training rather than in turnover.

A training receipt is not given to a buyer. A training receipt issued in a real sale is the same problem as a pro forma instead of a receipt: money received, turnover unrecorded.

How they differ on paper

What a buyer should check

If a document says ОВО НИЈЕ ФИСКАЛНИ РАЧУН, it is not proof that the turnover was recorded. A copy is fine if you need it as a duplicate and it references the original; a pro forma is fine until you pay; after paying, ask for a receipt of the normal type. A fiscal receipt can be verified by scanning its QR code on the Tax Administration portal suf.purs.gov.rs: How to check whether a fiscal receipt is genuine.

Short version

• Two fiscal receipt types (normal and advance) and three documents that are not (copy, pro forma and training).
• The three non-fiscal documents have a number and a counter but record no turnover and carry the notice ОВО НИЈЕ ФИСКАЛНИ РАЧУН.
• When money is received, a normal or advance receipt is issued. Pro forma and training never go with money.
• The type is visible in the counter (П, А, К, Р, О) and in the header line.