Bijača Built with BiH and EU Funds: Customs Terminal Managed by Volta, a Company Close to Čović's HDZ!

The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH will soon have to resolve the issue of maintaining the customs terminal at Bijača, writes the Patria news agency. Our sources from the ITA warn that investigative authorities should also be involved in the entire case.

The project for the construction of the Bijača border crossing also includes the construction of a customs terminal for the transport of goods. The border crossing was built in two phases. The first phase of construction began in March 2013, was completed in June, and the border crossing was opened to traffic on July 1, 2013. After the opening of the border crossing, the ITA concluded a lease agreement for the space - the customs terminal (CT) plateau at this border crossing - with the private company "Volta" d.o.o. Ljubuški.

According to the business register, the founder of Volta d.o.o. is Mladen Džajić, who is close to Dragan Čović and the HDZ BiH, as evidenced by his fight for a third channel in the Croatian language. Džajić is also one of the financiers of Naša TV, which was founded in Mostar.

That not everything is above board is also shown by the fact that Volta d.o.o. was founded only a month and a half before the Bijača border crossing became operational. As Herzegovinian web portals reported at the time, Volta has only two employees, Stanko Alilović and Stanko Zelenika.

The lease agreement for the space at the customs terminal regulates the mutual relations between the ITA and "Volta" from Ljubuški, in such a way that the CT space, financed with funds from the state of BiH and the EU, is leased to the private company "Volta" d.o.o. Ljubuški for further development, placement of facilities for customs and police services, inspection bodies, freight forwarding companies, business premises, warehouses, etc.

The lessee at the Bijača border crossing, Volta d.o.o., has placed 4 containers for the customs service, 16 containers for freight forwarders (for which it charges rent), a business facility with a warehouse, sanitary facilities, and a cafeteria. The lessee invested approximately 560,000 KM in the customs terminal, while the state's investment in the border crossing amounted to approximately 18 million KM.

Although this customs terminal was built with funds from the state of BiH and EU funds, the Authority gave the customs terminal for management and maintenance to the private company Volta from Ljubuški. The best proof that the lessee has appropriated the state CT stems from the provision of the lease agreement by which the lessee is obliged to pay a fee to the state in the amount of 30 (thus 12 KM), instead of 40 KM being paid into the state account.

In this way, the state of BiH has been damaged by over 3 million KM from the collection of fees from the customs terminal for the period from 2013 to the end of 2016. The customs terminal still functions as if it were entirely built by Volta d.o.o. Ljubuški, and not with state and EU funds - reveals our source from the ITA.

- The financial resources invested by the lessee compared to the resources invested by the state of BiH in the construction of the border crossing are negligible. Also, the lessee's invested resources compared to the revenues and expected revenues from the CT are negligible. The expected revenue at this CT, which is treated as the busiest crossing with a BIP category, amounts to approximately 1.5 to 2 million annually - our source further states.

Due to the aforementioned facts, we asked the director of the ITA, Miro Džakula, as the signatory of the contract on giving the CT to a third party, under what legal basis the customs terminal owned by BiH has been given to a third party for management and maintenance from 2013 until today.

- That crossing had to start functioning before the date when Croatia entered the EU. Until then, only the most basic things were done so that the crossing could be opened. At that moment, the terminal did not exist, and it had to be given to a private company so that the customs procedure for the import and export of goods could be carried out regularly. Only later did the further construction of the crossing and terminal begin, and just now the one-year warranty period and the takeover of all necessary certificates and permits for the ITA have expired.

Therefore, in the coming period, in accordance with the valid Decision on customs terminals, a decision regarding this customs terminal will also be made. So there is no damage to the budget, because traffic had to function from Croatia's entry into the EU, and the customs terminal did not even exist, and only at the end of this year will all conditions be met for the ITA to have all the necessary permits and certificates for this customs terminal - said Ratko Kovačević, spokesperson for the ITA.

As our sources from the ITA Management Board further reveal, this case was already a topic at a meeting, and under similar conditions, an extension of the contract with Volta was sought, which some members did not accept.

Some high-ranking ITA officials believe that Džakula, by such actions, abused his official position by exceeding his authority, illegally giving a state facility to a third party for management and maintenance, and illegally constructing facilities on the state customs terminal.