As of May 23 this year, the Sarajevo International Airport does not accept import cargo deliveries declared as medicines i.e. medical equipment because there are no guarantees that deadlines of allowed storing defined by the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH will be respected.
Namely, the Sarajevo International Airport received the Opinion by the Agency for medicines and Medical devices of BiH, addressed to the Indirect Taxation Authority – Regional Center Sarajevo. According to the Opinion, due to lack of possession of the approval for executing activities of traffic of medicines and medical devices in wholesale the storing of medicines and medical devices which require the storing conditions at room temperature can be executed for no longer than 36 hours, and the storing of products which require special storing conditions is not allowed even for up to 36 hours, unless the approval for executing activities of traffic of medicines in wholesale is obtained.
“Not finding a foothold in the laws and regulations which regulate this activity in BiH, as well as considering the fact that we possess the Approval for executing activities of storing medicines and medical devices issued by the Indirect Taxation Authority – Regional Center Sarajevo, after which in accordance with the article 60 of the Law on Customs Policy a deadline for temporary storing of this kind of goods is defined, lasting for 20 days, we contacted the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH with a request for an opinion. Due to the failure of obtaining the requested opinion, a meeting was requested and held in Banja Luka with representatives of the Agency. On that occasion, reasons for this were explained, as well as the ways of temporary storing of medicines and medical devices in the Airport Cargo Center of the Sarajevo International Airport. It was also pointed to the groundlessness of the given opinion to the Indirect Taxation Authority – Regional Center Sarajevo,” stated the Sarajevo Airport.
On May 12, The Sarajevo Airport received the requested opinion according to which the Airport can store medicines and medical devices which require storing conditions at room temperature or do not require special storing conditions for up to 48 hours, and medicines and medical devices which require special storing conditions for up to 12 hours.
“Taking into consideration that two different opinions were delivered in the same legal matter, as well as the shortness of the defined deadlines which the importers – freight forwarders most likely cannot respect, and facing the possible sanctions by both the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH and the relevant Customs Substation that every deviation from the mentioned opinion will be treated as the violation of legal regulations with the imposition of adequate sanctions, the Sarajevo International Airport suspended the reception of cargo deliveries declared as medicines or medical devices until further notice, previously notifying the airline companies and freight forwarders. Aware of the consequences of such decision, we sent to the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH an act with a request for reconsideration of the given opinions both from their legal soundness and from the aspect of their effects on the threatened population of BiH – patients,” stated the Sarajevo Airport.
(Source: klix.ba/photo: faktor.ba)
