Carriers in road freight transport are unsuccessfully trying to solve the problem related to complex customs procedures, due to which they have been waiting for days at Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) border crossings. They claim that they did not come across an understanding from the authorities, which is why companies are moving out of the country, and drivers are giving up their jobs.
There is a ten-minute wait for paperwork in the European Union (EU), and three days in BiH
”The problems we face at customs terminals and border crossings in BiH you can not see anywhere in Europe. Namely, wherever you enter a factory in the EU, with the loading of goods, you get the necessary paperwork to go to your final destination in ten minutes. Problems arise when you come to BiH,” says the president of the Association of Carriers for Domestic and International Transport of Republika Srpska (RS), Nikola Grbic.
At the busiest border crossings, specifically the border crossings Gradiska, Raca, Izacic, and Brod, where large crowds are often recorded, drivers with goods in trucks wait for two or three days. Grbic states that this is a crucial factor for many drivers who leave BiH, going to work in EU countries.
Due to procedures at border crossings and customs terminals, the economy also has large monetary losses. Due to the whole situation, Grbic also re-registered part of his company in Slovenia.
No response from the authorities
He says that there is no state institution to which carriers from all over BiH have not sent a letter to resolve this situation, however, no concrete moves have been made.
”We didn’t get a single answer, they literally listened to us and it all ended there, and the solution to the problem is very simple. It is necessary for the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) BiH workers to finally start doing their job adequately, and for the engagement of competent inspectors related to customs clearance to be more important because their working hours are not the same as for customs, which is incredible,” Grbic explained.
In addition to this problem, the carriers are working in very difficult conditions caused by inflation, and uncontrolled rampant prices of oil and oil products, which is why they recently held a demonstration in Banja Luka.
On the other hand, the employees of the ITA BiH are not satisfied with the conditions in which they work, which is why they started a multi-day warning strike at the beginning of April, eKapija writes.
E.Dz.
