On April 21st, the Indirect Taxation Authority issued a Decision on Public Enterprise Highways of FB&H entering the Unified Register of Indirect Taxpayers in respect of VAT. The rights and obligations entered into force on April 1st. Although the profit of this enterprise will be significantly reduced after this move, the price of tolls will not be increased, since the Highways of FB&H will take the burdain of the cost of VAT.
The PE Highways of FB&H addressed two letters to the Prime Minister of FB&H and to the Federal Ministry of Transport and Communications about the new situation, since the Government of the FB&H makes a decision on the tolls prices. The meeting should be held on Wednesday.
„The management of the PE Highways of FB&H has taken all the necessary precautions regarding the standard of our citizens, and we believe that the price of the toll should not go up. As a company, we decided to pay the VAT from our own resources on a monthly basis. Thus, the toll price will not be increased. We will pay the VAT for April from our own resources, until the Government of the FB&H issues a final decision“, said Ensad Karić, the Director of the PE Highways of FB&H.
Currently, the toll price is about 10 fenings per kilometer, and when VAT is taken into account, it is the lowest toll price in the region. Consequentially, the profit of the PE Highways of FB&H will be reduced by five million BAM annually, after entering the VAT system.
According to the Law on Roads and the Regulations on the toll billing system on motorways, the institutions and individuals who are exempt from paying the tolls are specified. These include firefighters, police, humanitarian organizations, and people with 80 percent of disability. However, the PE Highways of FB&H will have to pay taxes for them as well. From this company it was pointed out that it is necessary that the Government of the FB&H alters the Regulations on the billing and reimbursement of the utilization of the Highways, the Regulations on fees for extraordinary transport, and the Ordinance on the system of toll billing on highways as soon as possible.
“It was said from Indirect Taxation Authority that the PE Highways of FB&H have an income exceeding 50 000 BAM, and therefore we must automatically enter the VAT system, since the PE Highways of RS entered the VAT system already. I must stress that in February 2011, when the company was founded, we sent a letter to the ITA asking whether our income is taxable. Back then, we got the answer that we are not in the VAT system. Now unexpectedly, this sudden decision is brought and explained by the entering of the PE Highways of RS in the VAT system. I do not know what does that have to do with us, and we will appeal on this decision”, said Karić.
(Source: klix.ba)
