Country Information

Directorate of Measures and Precious Metals (DMDM) is National Metrology Institute (NMI) and national legal metrology authority in Republic of Serbia with responsibilities for control measurement instruments and precious metals articles. DMDM is a part of Ministry of Economy.

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 tasks of DMDM include type approval, authorisation and supervision of authorised bodies, verification of measuring instruments ( if there are no authorised bodies for the type of instrument), control of prepacked products, market surveillance and in-service-inspection.

The DMDM is also a designated body under the Rulebook on non-automatic weighing instruments (,,Official Gazette of the RS” No 29/18) and Rulebook on measuring instruments (,,Official Gazette of the RS” No 3/18) for conformity assessment of NAWI and MID.

DMDM has seven local metrology branches located in Belgrade, Krusevac, Nis, Novi Sad, Subotica, Zrenjanin and Uzice.

Serbia is signatory of the Metre Convention (1879) and of the Convention establishing OIML. DMDM is Member of EURAMET, IAAO 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 has been in force since  2016, while Law on control of precious metals and Law on time calculation articles have been in force since 2006.

• Material measures of length for general use
• Wire and cable length measuring machines
• Capacity serving measures
• Milk and cooling tanks
• Road and rail tankers
• Fixed storage tanks
• Compressed gaseous fuel measuring systems for vehicles
• Automatic level gauges for measuring the level of liquids
• Measuring instruments and systems for continuous and dynamic measurement of quantities of liquids other than water
• Water meters
• Gas meters
• Volume conversion devices
• Weights of classes F2, M1, M2 used in trade of products and services
• Non-automatic weighing instruments
• Automatic weighing instruments
• Sphygmomanometers which are used to protect health in health institutions
• Tyre pressure gauges for motor vehicles
• Instruments for measurement of motor vehicles braking force
• Density meters used in trade of products and services
• Alcoholmeters
• Evidential breath analyzers
• Moisture meters for cereal grains and oilseeds
• Exhaust gas analyzers
• Opacimeters
• Refractometers used in trade of products and services
• Protein measuring instruments for cereal grains
• Clinical thermometers
• Measuring transformers used for pricing electricity
• Electrical energy meters
• Regloscopes
• Taximeters
• Instruments for measurement of vehicles speed in traffic
• Heat meters
• Measurement instruments as part of medical devices

List of measuring instruments subject to legal control is given by Rulebook on measuring instruments types that are subject to legal control (,,Official Gazette of the RS” No 13/18, 45/19 and 93/20).

Type approval responsibility for measuring instruments subject to legal metrological control rests with the DMDM. DMDM has own test facilities but in some cases results of other competent laboratories may also be taken into account. 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.

New measuring instruments are subject to initial verification including measuring instruments that have not been verified before. National manufacturer, authorized importer or authorized distributor may submit measuring instrument to be initially verified. 

Initial verification of measuring instruments is performed by authorized bodies for tasks of verification of measuring instruments, or DMDM for those measuring instruments for which verification no authorized body exists. 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.

Measuring instruments in use shall be subjected to periodical verification. Periodical verification of a measuring instrument is carried out periodically, at specified intervals for certain kind of measuring instrument. Measuring instrument shall be submitted for periodical verification by its owner or its user. Periodical verification of electrical energy meters,  water meters, gas meters and measuring instruments that correct the volume of fluid or gas, correctors and thermal energy meters shall be a responsibility of persons that sell water or persons responsible for measurement of electrical and thermal energy and natural gas in accordance with the provisions regulating these fields.

Extraordinary verification applies to the measuring instruments, which were, due to the failure or other technical deficiencies, within the validity of the state mark, repaired, as well as the measuring instruments for which the periodical verification is not done within the prescribed period. The person who repaired the measuring instrument shall submit a measuring instrument for the extraordinary verification.

Inspection activities are carried out by Department for Metrology Control and Supervision in DMDM and its seven local metrology branches.

Inspection comprises market surveillance, supervision of companies manufacturing pre-packages, measuring container bottles and capacity serving measures, as well as inspection of measuring instruments in use. Inspection is periodically performed by inspection officers. There are no statutory periods of inspection provided in the legislation.

Typical reverification intervals are:

• Weighing instruments used in trade: 2 years
• Petrol pumps: 1 year
• Cold water meters: 5 years
• Gas meters: 5 years
• Electricity meters: 12 years
• Taximeters: 1 years

DMDM has 103 employees. Most of them are engineers with technical background.

Sanctions are based upon a system of law penalties. Inspectors initiate misdemeanour proceedings and the misdemeanour court decides on penalties.

The Rulebook on non-automatic weight instruments was published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia" No. 29/18 of 13, April 2018. This Rulebook was adopted with the aim to harmonizing national legislation with all the principles and essential requirements of Directive 2014/31 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26^th February 2014 on non-automatic weighting instruments.

The Rulebook on non-automatic weighting instruments prescribes requirements for non-automatic weighting instruments that must be fulfilled for their placing on the market and / or use, conformity assessment procedures, marking, documents of conformity and other documentation accompanying these weighting instruments, as well as the conditions that must be fulfilled by the designated body that performs the conformity assessment procedure.

Directive was transposed first time by Regulation on Measuring Instruments in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia" No. 63/13 of 19. July 2013.

Rulebook on measuring instruments "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 3/18" from January 2018. was adopted with the aim to harmonizing national legislation with all the principles and essential requirements of Directive 2014/32 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on measuring instruments.

The Rulebook on measuring instruments prescribes requirements for measuring instruments covered by MID that must be fulfilled for their placing on the market and / or use, conformity assessment procedures, marking, documents of conformity and other documentation accompanying these measuring instruments, as well as the conditions that must be fulfilled by the designated body that performs the conformity assessment procedure.

The accreditation of calibration laboratories, Authorized bodies, testing laboratories, certification bodies and inspection bodies is the responsibility of The Accreditation Body of Serbia (ATS)  https://www.ats.rs/

The DMDM is committed to providing quality service to all users and other interested parties in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Serbia and the highest standards, taking into account the continued commitment and prevention of environmental protection and safety and health protection at work. Directorate demonstrates its commitment to maintaining and improving the integrated management system through the maintenance and improvement of a self-declared and accredited management system in accordance with the requirements of standard SRPS ISO / IEC 17025, as well as certified management system, in accordance with the requirements of standards SRPS ISO 9001, SRPS ISO 14001 and SRPS OHSAS 18001.

The integrated management system supports the measurement and calibration capabilities Directorate provides to its users, which are confirmed and published in the BIPM - International Bureau of Weights and Measures database or through the accreditation process by the Accreditation Body of Serbia. All services are available in the service catalog. Directorate is accredited by the Accreditation Body of Serbia for the testing of electrical energy meters; non-automatic weighing instruments; taximeters and items made of precious metals; and for the calibration of: length gauge blocks; Pressure gauges Vacuum gauges, Pressure-Vacuum gauges, Transmitters and Transducers, Pressure Balances and rotameter for measuring flow of liquid.

Rulebook on pre-packaged products ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 43/13 and 16/16), which is in compliance with all the principles and requirements of Council Directive 76/211 / EEC of 20 January 1976 prescribes the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the manufacture of certain pre-packaged products with a mass or by volume, as amended by: Commission Directive 78/891 / EEC; Directive 2007/45 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Council Directive 75/107 / EEC of 19 December 1974 laying down the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to bottles used as measuring vessels. In the development of this Regulation, in addition to the aforementioned EU Directives, the provisions from the EU reference regulations in the field of technical legislation, and in particular the Decision of the European Parliament and the Council on a common framework for trade in products No. 768/2008, as well as solutions in comparative legal practice in the region. The Regulation prescribes requirements for pre-packaged products and measuring bottles, or bottles used as measuring vessels. The full implementation of the Rules on pre-packaged products started on January 1, 2016.