Business entity registration still not working: Will Minister Škobić resign?

(Patria) - The Federal Ministry of Justice has still not resolved the issue of the halt in the operation of the business entity register across the entire Federation of BiH.

This system collapse has negatively impacted the operations of entrepreneurs throughout the FBiH, reports Vijesti.ba.

In serious countries, such systemic failures in the functioning of key registers would be considered an unacceptable oversight, for which the minister of the relevant department would immediately resign.

However, the relevant federal minister Vedran Škobić (HDZ BiH) does not even deem it appropriate to address the public.

Let us recall, the Municipal Court in Sarajevo confirmed that the system's operation has been slowed down in the process of establishing branches of companies founded before June 2024.

At that time, they stated that the Federal Ministry of Justice is responsible in all courts in the FBiH for concluding contracts for the functioning and maintenance of the system for establishing business entities and their branches.

After that, business entities from the Tuzla Canton (TK) also pointed out that they are facing the same problem.

The portal Vijesti.ba contacted the Federal Ministry of Justice, which today issued a statement claiming that it is undertaking all activities to restore the operation of the server for the registration of business entities in the FBiH.

However, as stated by the Ministry, these efforts are hampered by the fact that the server for the registration of business entities in the FBiH has been located for many years in the premises of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, and that the system for registering business entities uses exclusively the internet protocol address (IP address) of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo.

"In the meantime, the Federal Ministry of Justice is undertaking all activities to, within its competence, ensure conditions for the renewed functioning of the server, and in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is intensively working on establishing a new technical solution that will ensure an advanced system for registering business entities in the FBiH," they state from this Ministry.

Although they have presented a series of justifications and attempts to shift responsibility between various institutions, business entities are increasingly unwilling to listen to such excuses.

For entrepreneurs, the most important thing is that the system functions efficiently and enables them to conduct simple and fast business operations.

Given that it is precisely from their revenues that the aforementioned institutions are financed, they have the right to demand reliable and transparent service, without prolonged delays and bureaucratic obstacles.

It is time for concrete and efficient steps, not shifting responsibility from one institution to another.

The Federal Ministry of Justice must resolve the issue of the halt in the business entity register as soon as possible and take responsibility for the situation. If it does not do so, the only correct solution would be for the minister to resign.