300 Million KM Awaiting: UIO Board Adopts Mehmedović's Initiative for External Audit of Revenue Collection and Distribution

(Patria) - 300 million KM from road tolls is still in the account of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, and the UIO BiH Management Board cannot reach an agreement on the distribution methodology for a long time.

UIO Management Board member Zijad Krnjić told Oslobođenje that the entire amount should go to the Federation of BiH because the distribution since 2009 has been to the detriment of the Federation of BiH, as the money was divided in a ratio of 59:39:2 (FBiH-RS-Brčko District).

“I proposed a methodology that boils down to distribution based on the principle of participation in final consumption, as other indirect taxes are distributed, with application from the beginning of the law's application, since 2009. In the last few sessions, the chairman regularly puts the distribution proposal agreed upon in Bakinci on the agenda, and it is to temporarily distribute the retained funds, now over 300 million, again according to the 64:36 formula, and Brčko District 0. The result is that Minister Kraljević (Toni, op. a) and I are against it, and the representatives from RS are for it. Chairman Srđan Amidžić is seeking distribution based on a political agreement, which is greatly to the detriment of the Federation of BiH, so I don't see prospects for this to be resolved soon, unless the UIO members from RS suddenly agree to objective criteria. In the current structure of the UIO, politically agreed solutions to the detriment of the Federation of BiH will not be voted on,” said Krnjić.

Milorad Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska, also spoke about this money in recent days, stating that the coalition had reached an agreement on the distribution of these funds at several meetings, but that it was not honored. He even requested that the money for the Viaduct lawsuit, which has become due, be compensated from this money, and the debt has already exceeded 110 million KM due to daily interest. The state is obliged to pay this debt, but the entity of Republika Srpska, which caused the Viaduct lawsuit before the arbitration court, will have to return all the money. Due to this lawsuit, the Draft Budget of BiH Institutions and International Obligations was also changed and sent to the Presidency of BiH, which is the formal proposer of the Budget.

Hearings of members of the UIO Administration and the Management Board were held before the Commission for Finance and Budget of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in April. At that time, only the Director of the UIO BiH, Zoran Tegeltija, and Krnjić responded.

Finance Ministers Srđan Amidžić, Zora Vidović, and Toni Kraljević reported that they were on an official trip outside BiH, and the expert from RS, Dalibor Tomaš, resigned from his membership in the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH. The continuation of the hearings is scheduled for May 8.

In the meantime, the Management Board of the UIO BiH met and, at its session on April 14, adopted the initiative of state representative Šemsudin Mehmedović regarding the engagement of an external audit to examine the collection and distribution of revenues.

“It was determined that an external professional body will be engaged to conduct an examination of the collection and distribution of revenues carried out by the UIO for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 (external audit). The UIO Management Board will decide on the subject, content, and scope of the audit,” the decision states.