The House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament approved the Bill on Internal Payment System which has the basic goal of creating a new legislative foundation for the advancement of the existing payment system in accordance with international standards.
Hence, the reason for adopting this law is that the legal framework which determines the payment system in FBiH has not been upgraded since 2001, namely, the transfer of operations of the payment system from the Payment System Institute to commercial banks and the BiH Central Bank (at the beginning of 2001) and besides present problems and the lack of its functioning in practical terms.
That is why the FBiH Government agreed upon and forwarded into parliamentary procedure the Bill on Internal Payment System.
Competent organizations for conducting payment systems are, according to the Bill, banks seated in the Federation, subsidiaries of banks in Republika Srpska and Brčko District which have a license from the FBiH Banking Agency and other facilities which conduct internal payments systems for competent organizations in line with law.
Apart from them, the BiH Central Bank conducts the internal payment system of JP BH Pošta d.o.o. Sarajevo (BH Post Office) and Hrvatska pošta d.o.o. Mostar (Croatian Post Office in Mostar) via its organizational parts
This is harmonized at two meetings of the representatives of the FBiH Government, the BiH Central Bank, BH Post Office and Croatian Post Office after the earlier Bill on Internal Payment System was withdrawn from parliamentary procedure.
The most significant deficiencies in the performance of the existing payment system refer to the non-existence of systems for efficient forced payments from the account of the debtor, that is payment on the basis of court decisions and orders for the payment of legal obligations and public revenues according to the order of the creditor security instruments maturing securities, promissory notes and other grounds for charging payments. This complicates the collection of receivables and thereby contributes to financial indiscipline. In this way, it does not ensure the protection of the creditor, but the debtor.
Hence, the new law should necessarily regulate and advance the procedure of forced payment.
“It is necessary to advance the procedure of forced payment and establish a mechanism which will enable a blockade of all assets of the debtor on the accounts at competent organizations until all debts have been settled,” the FBiH Finance Minister Ante Krajina said.
He said that this law predicts that all orders for forced payments are on the main account of the business entity and they are delivered to be executed at the bank which in which the account has been opened.
“When assets are lacking on the main account and that bank sends a request to other banks for blocking all accounts of the debtors in KM and foreign exchange until debts have been repaid and account is unblocked,” Krajina said.
The solution for forced payment is found in the already existing payment system in commercial banks and does not request establishing new institutions which would be in charge for that.
During the formulation of provision of the Bill, regulations and good practices in regional countries have been reviewed and principles of forced payment, adjusted to conditions on the domestic market, have been established.
Also, solutions from the EU legislative on payment system have been implemented.
This Bill must also gain the support of the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament in order to be implemented.
(Source: Fena/photo abc.ba)
