At their thirteenth meeting held today, the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare considered the following four items of the agenda:

1. Getting acquainted with the subject – VAT in games of chance;
2. Getting acquainted with the subject – Request for urgent intervention regarding implementation of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax;
3. Amendment by the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare of the Parliament of Montenegro to the Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Drug Abuse;
4. Amendments (2) by the MPs Mr Goran Tuponja and Mr Srđan Perić to the Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Drug Abuse.

Chairperson of the Committee Mr Zoran Jelić informed the members of the Committee on the subject that the Committee received from the Association of Gaming and Betting Operators “Montenegro Bet”: VAT in games of chance. Members of the Committee got acquainted with the subject.

Additionally, the Chairperson of the Committee informed the members of the Committee on the Request for urgent intervention regarding implementation of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax. Members of the Committee got acquainted with the Initiative, also received from the Association of Gaming and Betting Operators “Montenegro Bet”.

Upon the proposal by a member of the Committee, Mr Neven Gošović, the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare of the Parliament of Montenegro submitted an amendment (1) to the Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Drug Abuse, which reads as follows:

- In the Article 16 of the Proposal for the Law, amending the Article 52 of the current law, in the amended Article 52 paragraph 1, after the item 7, a new item is added, which reads as follows:

“8 expose another person to the effects of drugs, except in case of prescribed medical treatment (Article 45a).”

Amendment submitted by the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare of the Parliament of Montenegro was accepted by the representative of the proponent of the Proposal for the Law and thus it became an integral part of the Proposal for the Law.

The Committee considered (2) amendments to the Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Drug Abuse, submitted by the MPs Mr Goran Tuponja and Mr Srđan Perić.

Amendment (1) submitted by the MPs Mr Goran Tuponja and Mr Srđan Perić was accepted in its amended form by the representative of the proponent of the Proposal for the Law and thus it became an integral part of the Proposal for the Law. Amendment (1) reads as follows:

- Article 12 is hereby amended as follows:
- Article 43 is hereby amended as follows:

 “A person crossing the state border may possess a medicine that contains drugs in the amount needed for personal therapy for the period not exceeding 30 days on the basis of a receipt (report) of the selected doctor or a medical doctor, specialist in the field of mental health.

A person crossing the state border may possess a medicine that contains drugs in the amount needed for therapy of the animal travelling with him/her, for the period not exceeding 30 days, on the basis of a receipt (report) of the doctor of veterinary medicine.

When crossing the border, a person referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be required to possess a receipt (report) on the necessity of the medicine.
When crossing the border, a person referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall report to the customs authority a receipt on the necessity for possession of the medicine. “

Amendment (2) submitted by the MPs Mr Goran Tuponja and Mr Srđan Perić was accepted by the representative of the proponent of the Proposal for the Law and thus it became an integral part of the Proposal for the Law. Amendment (2) reads as follows:

- Article 17 is hereby amended as follows:
- After Article 52, a new Article is inserted and reads as follows: Article 52a

 “Fine in the amount of 100 euros will be charged for a misdemeanour to a natural person if, during their crossing of the state border, they do not report to the customs authority the receipt on the necessity for possession of the medicine containing drugs issued by a doctor of veterinary medicine (Article 43 paragraph 2 and paragraph 4). “

Chairperson of the Committee and members of the Committee decided to hold a theme meeting on the topic of Voluntary Blood Donation in mid-July when there is a sitting of the Parliament. The Chairperson of the Committee emphasised that the MPs, the employees in the Service of the Parliament of Montenegro, and the Union members should be notified of this, in order to support this humanitarian action.

The Committee unanimously approved minutes from its eleventh and twelfth meeting, as well as minutes from the joint meeting of the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare and the Committee on Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Parliament of Montenegro.