The BiH Indirect Taxation Authority gave the first approval for local import clearance in BiH to company “Grafotisak” from Grude, after the company underwent the necessary procedures and met all the required conditions. The contract signing ceremony took place on 12th September at the premises of the company.
The method represents a simplified import clearance procedure which could now be carried out within the company, and enables cost reduction and accelerates the entire process of import clearance procedure. Facilitating this process BiH has fulfilled one of its obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which commits BiH to comply its procedures with the procedures that are in force in the EU.
“This is just the beginning, all in accordance with the strategy, mission and vision of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority, which is based on the fact that we want to be a partner of neat compulsory taxation authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in this way achieve that our economy is developing in the best and fast way” said Miro Dzakula, Director of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority.
Introduction of this simplification is result of cooperation between BiH and the EU through Twinning project “Further harmonisation to EU practices and Acquis on customs and Taxation” which is also funded by the EU in the amount of 2 million EUR from IPA 2011.
“Through this project, we have created guidelines where everything is clearly laid down. Any firm can access these guidelines on the website of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority, where there is also a list of all requirements and conditions which need to be fulfilled. A firm can first check what it has to meet in order to be able to get this simplification, and then an inspection comes to asses if everything is in order, and the approval can be granted” said Boris Kastelic, Resident Twinning Adviser.
The project, which will last until the 2015 is implemented by the Agency for European Integration and Economic Development, c/o Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance in cooperation with Slovenian Ministry of Finance – Customs Administration of Republic of Slovenia.
