Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH’s) Indirect Taxation Authority seized on Sunday a record amount of merchandise over “intellectual property rights and trademark violations”.
“In Tuzla customs office, located 120 kilometers northeast of the capital Sarajevo, a total of 19,661 pieces of sweatshirt marked ‘C&A’ were seized over the intellectual property and trademark violation,” Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) stated in a press release. Also seized were 540 women’s bags, out of which 307 bags of ‘Louis Vuitton’ brand, 160 ‘Michael Kors’ bags and 73 ‘Guess’ bags, and 960 pieces of socks marked ‘Hello Kitty’.
On the same day, in Gradiska customs office some 260 kilometers northwest of the capital, 234 pieces of sweaters, 3,184 pieces of sweatshirts and jerseys, 405 pieces of hand watches, 720 pairs of shoes, 593 pieces of shirt, 1,112 pieces of handbags, 118 scarves and 82 pieces of jacket worth of several hundred thousand KM were seized, ITA added in the release.
If the customs authorities suspect that certain goods imported into BiH are counterfeits of well-known world brands, they have the right to seize the goods, and request an expert assessment of whether goods are falsifications, the ITA explained.
Since the brands of goods are protected in BiH, ITA has the right to keep the merchandise until the completion of the proceedings before the competent court, Xinhua reports.
