UIO: Tax Administration of FBiH is causing citizens to incur costs for acquiring new qualified certificates

(Patria) - The Indirect Taxation Authority has issued a statement regarding the statement of the Tax Administration of FBiH on digital
qualified certificates (DKP) of the Indirect Taxation Authority (UIO) and IDDEEA.

"The Indirect Taxation Authority considers it unacceptable that the business community in BiH, as well as all individuals who have already obtained a digital qualified certificate from the UIO, are additionally exposed to costs for acquiring new digital qualified certificates from other certifiers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, due to the unwillingness of the Tax Administration of the Federation of BiH.

We remind the public that the UIO became a certified body for issuing digital qualified certificates in BiH in May 2021, after meeting all international security standards, and was registered as the first state qualified certifier in BiH by a decision of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of BiH. To date, the UIO has issued slightly more than 22,000 digital qualified certificates in BiH, and they are successfully used even in some countries in the region.

In the past few years, the UIO has held several meetings with the Tax Administration of FBiH, with written and telephone correspondence, and on each occasion, the officials at the Tax Administration of FBiH have been explained what they need to do in their information system so that taxpayers who have received a qualified electronic certificate from the UIO can also use it with this entity tax administration. Unfortunately, to date, the Tax Administration of FBiH has not adapted its information system as legally required.

Qualified electronic certificates issued by the UIO do not contain the personal identification number (JMB) of the individual holder of the qualified electronic certificate in their structure, as prescribed by the UIO's bylaws. When introducing electronic services, the UIO itself encountered limitations in processing personal data (especially JMB), in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection and the Law on the Unique Master Number, and for this reason, the UIO's qualified electronic certificate does not contain the personal identification number of the individual, which is currently required by the Tax Administration of the Federation of BiH.

In the latest document from the UIO, sent on December 4, 2025, to the Ministry of Transport and Communications of BiH, and through it to the Tax Administration of FBiH, it was pointed out once again that the UIO supports the initiative to resolve this issue and if there is a satisfactory formal legal solution that is in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection and the Law on the Unique Master Number (with prior positive opinion obtained from the competent authority – the Personal Data Protection Agency by the Tax Administration of the Federation of BiH), the UIO will be available for any further cooperation.

After the statement from the Tax Administration of FBiH, the question arises as to how the other two certifiers for issuing digital qualified certificates in BiH can use the personal identification numbers of individuals on their qualified electronic certificates and whether they all have obtained a positive opinion from the Personal Data Protection Agency of BiH!", stated the UIO.