Convenció internacional i procediments duaners a Bòsnia i Hercegovina

International Economic Cooperation

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and has signed a Free Trade Agreement with Turkey. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina went into effect on 1 June 2015. The SAA Agreement is a commitment to further the relationship between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina and will complement the existing interim trade agreement. Bosnia and Herzegovina also has preferential regimes with the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Japan and Canada.

Non Tariff Barriers

In moving forward to gain membership into the WTO and the EU, the Bosnian Government has taken significant steps to liberalise its trade policy. This includes the elimination of import quotas, reduction of import licensing and the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers. There is no longer a need for special approval or administrative procedures for conducting re-export transactions. However, there are still barriers to entry with regards to the manufacturing and exporting of arms.

Customs Duties and Taxes on Imports

Import customs rates according to the customs tariffs are: 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%, while 1% of customs value is paid for the purpose of customs registration. The average customs tariff is 1.09 according to the World Bank. This is significantly lower than most of the world. The variation of custom tariffs is dependent on the product. The administration in charge of customs duty is the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Customs Classification

Bosnia and Herzegovina passed the 2015 Customs Tariff to harmonise its customs classification with the EU to comply with its ratification of the Stabilisation and Accession Agreement.

Import Procedures

Imports must be accompanied by a customs declaration, completed in one of the three official languages of BiH (Bosnian, Serbian, or Croatian), and submitted by the person named on the waybill or an authorized representative.  The declaration must be accompanied by any relevant documents (invoice, shipping documents, and quality control certificates).  The customs office may inspect the goods and take samples to determine that the goods correspond to the information on the customs declaration.
Once the customs office determines the amount of customs duty, the importer is required to obtain a guarantee covering the customs duty with the Customs Authority in the form of a cash deposit or a bank guarantee.  The goods cannot be placed in circulation until customs duties have been paid or the payment has been guaranteed.

No customs duty is levied on equipment imported as part of the share capital. This exemption does not apply to passenger vehicles, slots and gambling machines. Foreign investors should submit a written request for custom duty exemption beforehand to the competent customs authority (according to the location of the company) with additional documentation. 

For more information, please visit the website of Customs Sector of the Bosnian Indirect Taxation Authority.

Importing Samples

Samples of goods of negligible value are free of customs.

To go further, check out our service Import Controls and Export Controls.

For Further Information

Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina