Customs office Bosanski Šamac: Onions declared, potatoes smuggled

(Patria) - Officials of the Indirect Taxation Authority (UIO) of BiH at the Customs office Bosanski Šamac seized 18,000 kilograms of potatoes that were attempted to be smuggled into Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the Customs office Bosanski Šamac, the importer declared a shipment of red onions in the amount of 23,000 kilograms for import customs clearance.

During the review of the submitted documentation, doubts arose regarding the type and quantity of goods, and a detailed inspection of the shipment was carried out, after which it was determined that, in addition to the regularly declared goods, there were also goods in the truck for which no import customs documentation was provided.
The undeclared goods were hidden in such a way that red onions were loaded onto the four rear pallets, and in the rest of the shipment, deep within the cargo space, inaccessible without detailed unloading, 18 pallets of consumption potatoes with a total mass of 18,000 kilograms were found.

It is assumed that the substitution of goods was carried out because an additional fee of 0.10 KM per kilogram is paid when importing potatoes from EU countries into BiH, which is not charged when importing red onions.

The person who committed this customs offense accepted responsibility, a penalty order was issued, and the goods were permanently confiscated and will be sold at a public auction organized by the UIO.

The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH calls on all citizens to report any form of customs or VAT evasion, or illegal sale of excise goods, to their open line 080 02 06 07. All calls are free and completely anonymous.