Kick off meeting of the project “Support to further EU Acquis alignment of the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, financed by the European Union from the IPA 2008 program to the tune of 2,375.000.00 Euro, was held in Banja Luka yesterday.

In the next two years, the European Union will support this project, vital for the development of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority, which should ensure that it conforms its work to European standards. The project will be performed by Austrian Agency for European Integration and Economic Development (AEI).

According to Maria Farrar-Hockley, Head of Operations Section for Justice and Home Affairs, Public Administration Reform, projects will be focused mostly on the customs. “This way the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina will get support in fulfilling its obligations in accordance with SAA”, said Farrar-Hockley.

Gerald Ebinger, representative of the Austrian Government and project’s team  leader stated that his country is involved in realisation of Twinning Programme, because “Bosnia and Herzegovina is very important to Austria as strategic partner from historical and geographical standpoint.”

“Austria is here to help Bosnia and Herzegovina to conform its legislative in the field of customs and taxation policy to the regulations of the European Union, to improve them and hence make them compatible to those in the EU, and that is our task here”, said Ebinger.

He also added that 130 thousand people from Bosnia and Herzegovina live in Austria, and that is one of the reasons why BiH representatives chose Austria as a member of the EU for a strategic partner.

Director of the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority, Kemal Causevic reminded that the European Union has been providing support for its work since 1996.

Twinning is a third project financed by  with the European Union and its goal is to organize our taxation and customs administration the way those administrations are organized in the member countries of the European Union”, said Causevic.

He hopes that after the end of this project, the BiH Council of Ministers should be able to open and close the first chapter among 35 chapters that every country opens within the negotiations for the EU membership, and that would be the chapter on customs and taxation.

Causevic clarified that there won’t be any passing of new laws, but amendments and change of laws in order to harmonize them with the EU legislative.