Caution When Taking Money Out of BiH: For More Than 10,000 KM in Your Bag You Need State Approval

Officers of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH stopped an attempt to illegally take cash out of BiH at Sarajevo Airport involving five individuals who were leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ITA announced, as reported by the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The ITA confirmed that at the beginning of 2015, officers of the Indirect Taxation Authority conducted enhanced surveillance and control of cash taken out of Bosnia and Herzegovina at Sarajevo Airport. On that occasion, five illegal attempts to take out money in amounts exceeding the maximum allowed amount of 10,000 KM, as prescribed by BiH legislation, were discovered.

- In all five cases, in agreement with the duty judge of the competent court, misdemeanor warrants were issued for foreign exchange violations in the amount of 1,500 KM, and the money was not allowed to be taken out. These were attempts to take out amounts ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 KM. The money was being taken out by BiH citizens as well as foreigners who were not familiar with the legal legislation regarding the export of money from Bosnia and Herzegovina - the statement said.

An individual leaving BiH can, without declaring at the border crossing, take out money or checks up to the amount of 2,500 euros or 5,000 KM. In addition to this amount, an individual in passenger traffic with foreign countries can take out money equivalent to an additional 2,500 euros, but only upon presenting proof that this money was withdrawn from their own bank account, or that these funds were purchased from an authorized bank. For any amounts exceeding this, approval from the Ministry of Finance of Republika Srpska or the Ministry of Finance of the Federation of BiH is required.

The ITA appeals to all citizens in BiH that for any amount of money taken out of the country exceeding 10,000 KM, they must have written consent from the competent entity's Ministry of Finance.

Bringing money into BiH is not limited, but it is advisable to declare the entry of a larger sum of money into the country to the customs service at the border crossing. In that case, a certificate of the money's entry is obtained, so the person can then take that money out of the country again without any problems. Otherwise, they will not have proof of the origin of the money being taken out of BiH, the ITA appeal states, as reported by NAP.