Indirect Taxation Authority to lose 65 million KM it never had a right to!

(Patria) - The Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) of BiH could lose more than 65 million marks, as domestic mines and thermal power plants have been paying road toll for fuel their machinery uses since 2023, which was not the case until then.

Namely, the ITA's Macroeconomic Analysis Department (OMA) conducted an analysis of indirect tax revenue projections for the next three-year period, in which they also addressed potential risks that could undermine their forecasts. Among these is certainly the move by mines and thermal power plants to pay road toll for fuel since the beginning of 2023, which has resulted in lawsuits being filed against the authorities by the mines and thermal power plants. The first court proceedings have reached a conclusion, and in favor of those who filed the lawsuits.

It all started at the beginning of 2023. At that time, mining companies, which BiH had exempted from paying road toll for the fuel used by their machinery, lost that privilege because the State Aid Council determined that this aid was illegal. That relief has remained in effect only for "Željeznice Rs" and "Željeznice FBiH" since then.

Until then, BiH made a special decision every year according to which fuel poured into machinery and equipment, mainly used in mines, was exempt from the 0.40 KM road toll because it did not use public roads.

"The decisions of the BiH State Aid Council regarding the exemption of road toll for mines and thermal power plants carry certain risks for the collection of indirect taxes. According to information, some of the economic entities that were beneficiaries of the road toll exemption have initiated proceedings before the Court of BiH for compensation of damages, i.e., refund of paid road toll for 2023, and the Court has issued first-instance judgments ordering the refund of road toll to the taxpayers," stated the OMA analysis, adding that it is unknown how many economic entities have filed lawsuits for the refund of road toll, nor is it possible to predict the final outcome of the proceedings.

Considering the decisions of the State Aid Council, revenue projections from road toll for the period 2025-2028 include the collection of road toll for all taxpayers, except for the railways.