The Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Chairman of the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Administration of BiH, Srđan Amidžić, is trying to mislead the public by accusing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina of obstruction when it comes to the adoption of the Rulebook on the refund of VAT for the purchase of the first real estate, the Office of the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced. They add that this is another failed spin of the minister who boasts that he is blocking the funding of cultural institutions of importance for BiH, BHRT or the funding of the election process and the procurement of modern technologies.
- Claims that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is obstructing the adoption of regulations are simply not true. It is true that the blockading and idle minister has a problem with the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because at the moment there is a dispute before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the lawsuit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Republika Srpska and the Management Board of the ITA of Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the multi-year failure to adopt decisions on settlement and distribution of income from indirect taxes. In this procedure, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks protection of its financial rights after the settlements provided for by law have not been carried out for years, and estimates show that the Federation’s budget has been damaged by more than 150 million KM as a result – they state in the statement.
This particular case shows that the problem is not in the Federation of BiH, but in the fact that decisions that should be regularly considered and adopted within the Management Board of the ITA of BiH are postponed for months, even years, or are not put on the agenda.
- To be clear, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina supports any legal solution that makes it easier for citizens to solve the housing issue, and it is in our interest that all citizens who meet the legal requirements exercise their right to a VAT refund for the purchase of their first property as soon as possible. We remind you that the legal solution was passed in April last year, and among the proponents were our people – it was stated.
- However, the public is right to question why the ordinance was not adopted even more than a year after the law entered into force and why excuses for the delay are only now being sought.
In the press release, they remind that the Steering Committee of the BiH Indirect Taxation Administration is chaired by Minister Amidžić, and that the responsibility for the timely initiation and completion of the procedures for passing by-laws rests primarily with those who manage this process.
Instead of unsuccessfully trying to mislead the public that someone else is stopping the beginning of the payment of VAT refunds to those who bought their first real estate since its entry into force until today, Amidžić should explain why the rulebook stood for months after the public hearing ended and why he did not put it to a vote. The same question applies to raising the limit from 30,000 to 45,000 KM for the purchase of a car without taxes and customs duties for people with disabilities – the Office of the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina points out.
They emphasize that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve answers, not political spin.
They deserve an explanation as to why the implementation of the law that enables them to recover VAT is delayed, as well as why the issues of revenue distribution, which directly affect budgets and public services in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, have not been resolved for years, and why the SNSD, which boasts of the financial stability of the RS, refuses to return money to the citizens of the federation who illegally embezzle it – they state in a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Government of the Federation of BiH remains committed to full enforcement of laws, protection of citizens’ interests and transparent work of institutions.
That is why we call on the Chairman of the Management Board of the ITA BiH to stop looking for the culprits at other addresses and to ensure, within his legal competences, the immediate adoption of the settlement decision and regulations so that the citizens can finally realize the right that the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina has already granted them. Citizens do not need new promises, they need the application of the law – announced the Office of the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH.
