Prosecutor's Office of BiH suspends investigation against members of Indirect Taxation Authority Management Board: No elements of criminal offense

(Patria) - The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically prosecutor Bojana Jolović, has issued an order not to conduct an investigation against Srđan Amidžić, Toni Kraljević, Zora Vidović, Dalibor Tomaš, and Zijad Krnjić, members of the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority (UIO) of BiH, who were reported on suspicion of abuse of position or authority.

A criminal complaint was filed on October 3, 2024, by representative Šemsudin Mehmedović, stating that the UIO Management Board adopted a decision on temporary coefficients for revenue distribution of indirect taxes in September 2023, which were applied in subsequent quarters without new decisions. According to the complaint, this allegedly caused damage to the Federation of BiH in the amount of at least 70 million KM, as new coefficients proposed by the Department for Macroeconomic Analysis were not applied.

Mehmedović also stated in the complaint that the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, despite adopting an initiative for external audit engagement in February 2024, did not see its realization by the Management Board, and that revenue distribution has been to the detriment of the Federation of BiH and in favor of Republika Srpska for years.

However, from the findings of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, which also relied on the report of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) submitted on September 6, 2025, it follows that there are no grounds for criminal liability of the reported individuals. As determined, the coefficients for distribution and settlement were made in accordance with valid legal and sub-legal acts, and the negative difference of approximately 73 million KM should be returned to the Federation of BiH within the framework of regular settlements between the entities.

The report also states that the Management Board did not make new decisions due to the lack of consensus, and that in such situations, in accordance with the Rulebook, it applied the coefficients from the previous quarter. The Department for Macroeconomic Analysis regularly provided data to the board members, which are drawn directly from VAT returns through the software system.

It was also established that the Management Board did, in April 2025, adopt a decision to engage an external audit for the period from 2018 to 2023, and that similar situations regarding the application of coefficients occurred in previous years.

Based on all of the above, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH concluded that the actions of the reported individuals do not contain the elements of the criminal offense of abuse of position or authority from Article 220 of the Criminal Code of BiH. The decision was signed by prosecutor Bojana Jolović.

The complainant has the right, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH, to file a complaint with the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH within eight days of receiving the notification.