• BAM 628 million for financing the functioning of state institutions


• BAM 2,333 billion to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which included BAM 66 million of road taxes which is by 10% higher than in the same period in 2009


• BAM 1,161 billion to the Republic of Srpska, and BAM 44 million of road taxes which is by 10,8% higher than in the same period in 2009


• BAM 131 million to the Brčko District (which included BAM 2 million of road taxes for the highway construction) which is by 10% higher than in the same period in 2009.

November 10,2010.


In 2010 the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina intensified its cooperation with the Directorate General for Enlargement - Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) in order to prepare for harmonisation of the national VAT legislation with the EU and for implementation of other important activities.

As a result of our cooperation there was held a workshop on “Change of place of supply of services in line with the Council Directive 2008/8/EC of 12 February 2008 amending Directive 2006/112/EC”, in the period 27 – 28 October 2010, in Sarajevo. The workshop was attended by the ITA officers who will be responsible either for proposing the amendments on VAT or their enforcement.

This workshop was held by the experts from the EU, Ms. Grethe Christensen from the Ministry of Taxation (Denmark) and Mr. Stephan Foessel from Regional Tax Administration of Bavaria (Germany).

The participants had the opportunity to exchange with the European experts their views on the topic concerned and to learn about the modifications in the European VAT regulations.

September 01, 2010 - In August 2010 the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina collected the gross revenue of BAM 506 million paid into the Single Account.This amount is higher by 10% or BAM 44 million than the amount collected in the same period last year. Also, for the first time after 21 months the collected revenue exceeded half billion BAM.

In August some BAM 61 million were paid for VAT refund. The net revenue collected in August totaled BAM 445 million and it was allocated to the beneficiaries (state, entities, Brčko District).


REVENUE ALLOCATION AMONG THE BENEFICIARIES:

During eight months of 2010 some BAM 3 billion from indirect taxes including BAM 80 million of special road tax aimed at highway construction were allocated to the beneficiaries of the revenue paid into the ITA Single Account. Compared to the same period last year, this amount is higher by BAM 233 million.


The revenue was allocated as follows:

• BAM 455 million for financing the functioning of state institutions


• BAM 1, 637 billion to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including BAM 42 million of road taxes which is by 10% higher than in the same period in 2009


• BAM 815 million to the Republic of Srpska, including BAM 28 million of road taxes which is by 11% higher than in the same period in 2009


• BAM 91.5 million to the Brčko District (including BAM 1,5 million of road taxes for the highway construction) which is by 9% higher than in the same period in 2009.

July 07, 2010 - The Republic of Serbia Tax Administration pad a two-day working visit to the Indirect Taxation Authority.They have exchanged experiences in the field of Law on VAT enforcement and also agreed upon models for future cooperation.

The main topics of discussion during the visit of the Republic of Serbia Tax Administration Delegation were the methods of fraud in the VAT system and exchange of experiences between these two tax administrations. How to identify fictitious enterprises in the VAT system and how to establish “tools” and risk analyses methods good enough to ensure detection of all so-called “fictitious” participants in the process of supply of goods and services – those are issues that always need further clarification. The VAT system was introduced in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 January 2006 while in the neighbouring Republic of Serbia it was done in 2005. During the two-day working meetings there were discussed the competent judicial authorities and prosecution of detected cases of tax evasion. The Delegation of the Republic of Serbia Tax Administration was headed by Mr. Dragutin Radosavljević, Director General, and it consisted of his closes associates and heads of the Serbia Tax Administration sectors. The Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina was represented by Mr. Kemal Čaušević, Director General, and the Assistants Director General.

At the end of the visit there were outlined the proposals and agreed models for future cooperation and exchange of information that might be useful for the future activities of the Tax Administrations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia.

July 05, 2010 - In June 2010 the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina collected the gross revenue of BAM 460 million paid into the Single Account.This amount is higher by 8.3% or BAM 35 million than the amount collected in the same period last year.
In the same month some BAM 49.5 million were paid for VAT refund and this amount is less by BAM 13.4 million than the one paid for VAT refund in June 2009.
Thus the net revenue allocated to the beneficiaries (state, entities, Brčko District) in June this year totaled BAM 410,5 million and is higher by BAM 49 million or 13.4% compared to June 2009.

REVENUE ALLOCATION AMONG THE BENEFICIARIES:

During the first six months of 2010 some BAM 2,230,000,000 billion from indirect taxes including BAM 57 million of special road tax aimed at highway construction were allocated to the beneficiaries of the revenue paid into the ITA Single Account.

Compared to the first six months last year, this amount is higher by BAM 181 million. The distribution is regulated with the Law on Payments into the Single Account and Distribution of Revenues, as well as with the Decisions brought by Governing Board on partition coefficient.


Therefore the net revenue collected from indirect taxes was allocated as follows:

• BAM 338 million for financing the functioning of state institutions


• BAM 177 million to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including BAM 30 million of road taxes which is by 10.8% higher than in the same period in 2009


• BAM 586 million to the Republic of Srpska, including BAM 20 million of road taxes which is by 11.7% higher than in the same period in 2009


• BAM 66 million to the Brčko District (including BAM 1 million of road taxes for the highway construction) which is by 9.7% higher than in the same period in 2009.

June 10, 2010 -Yesterday Mr. Gürbüz BAHADIR, newly appointed Director of SECI Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime, together with his associates, paid a courtesy visit to the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The SECI Center Headquarters is in Bucharest, in Romania. It was established in 1995 to provide support and assistance in the field of law enforcement to all police and customs agencies in the southeastern Europe, members of the SECI (13 of them).

The newly appointed Director of SECI, who took over his duties early this year, has already paid visits to Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Macedonia. After he finishes his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina he will pay a visit to Turkey.

The aim of the visit to the member countries is to learn about police and customs agencies taking part in the SECI Center activities, to assess the past results of joint operations in the region as well as to plan future activities referring to carrying out joint operations of competent police and customs authorities.

So far the Indirect Taxation Authority has participated in all operations coordinated by the SECI Center from Bucharest related to prevention of customs fraud and smuggling. At this meeting the ITA expressed willingness to participate in all future joint operations aimed at prevention of illegal trade, as well as to enhance cooperation with the customs authorities in other countries through exchange of information coming within their competences.

In this context there was announced the forthcoming meeting on anti-smuggling and prevention of customs fraud to be held in Albania.

July 03, 2008 - In first 6 months of 2008 the Indirect Taxation Authority distributed BAM 2.794 billion from the Single Account. This amount is by 15% or BAM 365 million bigger than the amount distributed in the same period last year.
After deduction of BAM 440 million that the ITA paid to the taxpayers who had the right to the VAT refund, the amount of revenue distributed to the state, entities and Brčko District in the first half of this year was BAM 2.354 billion. This amount is by 8% or BAM 168 million bigger than the amount distributed to them in the first half of 2007.

Distribution to the beneficiaries:

Some BAM 330 million was allocated in first 6 months of 2008 for the purpose of financing the state institutions functioning. This amount is by 6.4% or BAM 20 million bigger than the amount allocated for that purpose in the same period last year.
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was allocated BAM 1.307 billion in the first half of this year. This amount is by 7.2% of BAM 88 million bigger than the amount allocated to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of 2007.
The Republic of Srpska was allocated BAM 645 million in first 6 months of 2008. This amount is by 9% or BAM 53 million bigger than the amount allocated to the Republic of Srpska in the same period last year.
The Brčko District was allocated BAM 72 million from the Single Account in the first half of 2008. Compared with the amount allocated to Brčko District last year, this year the amount is bigger by 11% or BAM 7 million.
The planned 2008 net revenues to be paid into the Single Account in 2008 are BAM 4.830 billion. It is expected that the Indirect Taxation Authority will have collected BAM 5 billion by the end of this year.

July 01, 2008 - Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Community was signed on June 16, 2008 in Luxembourg. This Agreement will enter into force after its ratification by the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, European Parliament and authorities of 27 European Union member countries.
Aiming to ensure fast development of trade links the Interim Agreement on Trade and Trade-related matters between Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Community, also signed in Luxembourg, entered into force on 1 July 2008.
English version of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement as well as Interim Agreement with Annexes and Protocols, are available on the link on the left-hand side on first the page and on the link of Customs sector.

June 12, 2008 - Delegation of European Commission to B&H led by Mr. Dirk Lange, Head of Unit for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina within the European Commission Directorate General for Enlargement, visited today the Indirect Taxation Authority of B&H. ITA’s readiness to implement a part of Stabilisation and Association Agreement referring to the customs legislation was discussed at the meeting. Director General of the ITA, Mr. Kemal Čaušević reported to the EC representatives on the wide-scale preparations being conducted by ITA officers. He also confirmed that the ITA would be ready, fully and on time, for the new customs regime with the EU countries which will enter into force on 1 July 2008.
Photos of the meeting:

Working meeting (photo 1)

Working meeting (photo 2)

Working meeting (photo 3)

June 02, 2008 - On 29 - 30 May 2008 a seminar on “Strengthening the export control of dual-use goods –role of the ITA in control procedure” was held in the ITA headquarters in Banja Luka. This seminar is a part of a pilot project founded by the European Union including 15 south-eastern European countries wishing to strengthen dual-use export control. The Project is implemented by BAFTA (German Office for Economics and Export Control) and SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). The representatives of ZKA (German Customs Criminological Office), Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Realtions of B&H and Customs Authority of Republic of Slovenia also attended the seminar. The ITA officers emphasised that current activities of the ITA on monitoring and control dual-use goods export are conducted as a part of control of military equipment and arms. Therefore this issue is of high importance for our administration and our main goal is to precise and identify timely this kind of export goods.
Photos of the seminar:

Seminar (photo 1)

Seminar (photo 2)

Seminar (photo 3)

May 28, 2008 - As a part of working visit to Bihac municipality, High Representative of International Community in B&H and EU Special Representative Mr. Miroslav Lajčak visited border crossing point Izacic on Wednesday, 28 May 2008. Mr. Lajcak made a tour of the BCP Izacic buildings which is one of the modern and best equipped BCPs in our country. Talking to our officers and colleagues from the State Border Police Mr. Lajčak was interested in working conditions, security situation, inter-institutional and cross-border cooperation.
The ITA and SBP officers emphasized the importance of further financial and technical support of European Union to the projects such as "Integrated Border Management" because their implementation would significantly improve and facilitate work of all border services. High Representative gave his support to the requests of those civil servants refering to changes of the proposed Law on Salaries of Civil Servants. One more Parliamentary debate on this Law is forthcoming. HR emphasised joint attitude of the international community in B&H that civil servants should be paid according to their duties and complexity of their jobs. Classifying all servants in the same category could be an inappropriate message to the servants performing the most responsible tasks which directly influence on security of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Photos of working visit:

Working visit (photo 1)

Working visit (photo 2)

Working visit (photo 3)

May 19, 2008 - Today the officers of the ITA’s Regional Centre Banja Luka temporarily seized some 2,200 spare parts for the Volkswagen and Škoda motor vehicles and thus prevented an attempt of illegal importation.
Following request of the authorised dealer submitted to the Indirect Taxation Authority, provisions of Law on Intellectual Property and instructions of the competent prosecutor on preliminary proceedings, the ITA officers temporary seized the mentioned spare parts. The market value, obviously very high, is still being estimated.
Counterfeit spare parts were declared for customs clearance procedure. Further criminal processing will continue according to the instructions of the competent prosecutor.
During first four months of 2008 the ITA’s officers submitted 212 requests for minor offences procedure. The total value of the temporarily seized goods in the first 4 months of 2008 is 2.658.026,64 BAM.
Photos of the seized spare parts:

Seized spare parts (photo 1)

Seized spare parts (photo 2)

April 04, 2008 - During the first three months of 2008 the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina collected to the Single Account BAM 1,317 billion that is 19 % more compared to the first three months of the previous year.
Total amount of tax refunded in the first quarter is BAM 210 million and net revenues distributed to the beneficiaries were BAM 1,107 billion. This means that the beneficiaries have on disposal 15% of financial assets more than in the first quarter of 2007.
Single Account revenues are distributed according to the Law on Payment into the Single Account and Distribution of Revenues and decisions of the ITA Governing Board that set up the distribution coefficients. After the minimum reserves and VAT refunds are allocated, distribution of revenues to the state institutions is the next step. According to the Budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2008 during the first three months BAM 165 million was allocated to the state institutions.
The remaining amount of the revenues is shared among the Federation of BiH - BAM 608 million; Republic of Srpska – BAM 300 million and Brčko District - BAM 34 million.

February 25, 2008 - Today the Governing Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority of B&H has made decision on allocation of indirect taxation revenues based on which revenues will be allocated to the entities in the following four months.
Coefficients for March, April, May and June 2008 for the Federation of B&H will be 64.58% and for Republic of Srpska 31.87%. Brcko District will receive 3.55% of Single Account revenues in the next four months keeping the same coefficients as in the previous period. On today’s session Governing Board confirmed repeatedly that the ITA will give priority to tax refund to VAT taxpayers. After all obligations to taxpayers are fulfilled, the remaining revenues will be allocated to the beneficiaries: state level institutions, entities and Brcko District.
Based on the proposal of Council of Ministers of BiH, Governing Board decided to give its final opinion regarding the Law on Amendments and Addenda to the Customs Tariff Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Law on Excise. Governing Board is of the opinion that current Customs Tariff does not match recent needs of BiH economy, neither from the point of proper protection of domestic production, nor regarding the needs for raw materials import liberalisation due to shortage of raw materials on the home market. Lower import duties for these materials are necessary to enable competitive production for home market and to increase competitiveness on foreign markets.
Expected decrease in customs revenues should be followed by increase in excises duties for luxury goods as tobacco, ensuring additional revenues and stability of the Budget. Final proposals of Law on Amendments and Addenda to the Customs Tariff Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Law on Excise, which will be supported by the Governing Board and adjusted to the proposal of Council of Ministers of BiH, shall be announced in ten days.

February 18, 2008 - ITA’s officers prevented on border crossing point Klobuk an attempt of illegal import of goods of Chinese origin with the market value of BAM 400,000.
During detailed inspection of a container shipment which transported goods of Chinese origin through border crossing point Klobuk, it was discovered that shipment contained much more goods than declared on the invoice. Further inspection helped to find quantities of different cosmetic products of well known brands, sun glasses, wallets and girdles. There were also found quantities of golden jewellery, toys and technical equipment. Estimated total market value is BAM 400,000. The officers of ITA’s Regional Centre Mostar temporarily sized these goods and initiated legal proceedings.
Photos of seized goods:

Seized goods (photo 1)	Seized goods (photo 2)	Seized goods (photo 3)
Seized goods (photo 4)	Seized goods (photo 5)

January 24, 2008 - Today the representatives of the Customs Authority of Republic of Serbia and ITA’s Law Enforcement Sector held a meeting in the ITA premises in Banja Luka. Meeting was supported by the U.S. Embassy in BiH.


The aim of the meeting was strengthening regional cooperation in export control, dissemination of intelligence data and exchanging experiences in the field of anti-smuggling activities. There were also discussed future joint activities in 2008.


Assistant Director General in Law Enforcement Sector Mr. Saudin Terzic presented both ITA’s activities and those of his Sector. He proposed future joint activities emphasising importance of improvements in dissemination of information among two administrations.