Customs office to be relocated due to planned highway: Budget to be shorted by 30 million KM

(Patria) - A group of freight forwarders continues their fight, stating that the behavior of individuals from the management of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (UIO BiH) is unacceptable and irresponsible. Namely, for a long time, the location of the customs terminal CI Bijeljina at the Rača border crossing has been questioned and attempts are being made to relocate it to Bijeljina into the building of the private company "Perić" d.o.o. Bijeljina, without any justified reason for relocating the customs office.

"The reason cited as justification is the lack of working conditions for customs officers and freight forwarders and the financial impossibility of maintaining the customs terminal and premises, which is an absolute nonsense indicating the inability of the UIO management to manage it.

The second reason mentioned is the ongoing construction of the highway, which is in its infancy and for which there is not even a serious route study yet, only an idea and a desire by individuals to build it. We note that there is no study on the economic justification of the route, nor a feasibility study for land expropriation, let alone a highway project and securing funds for its construction. If everything were in the final stages regarding the highway construction, relocating the customs office would certainly be the last step towards normalizing economic flows, by placing it along the highway route and moving it from its current location at the international border crossing Rača," they state in the letter.

They point out that the budget will be shorted by 30 million KM in the next 10 years, and their lives and businesses will be made more difficult, and some will be impossible.

"It is worth asking why something that has been working for 15 years (with difficulties in certain periods) is being changed in favor of a private company and to the detriment of the state. Whose interest is that? We have not sought such a solution to our problems, which brings us to the brink of existence," it is stated.

If the customs terminal is relocated, importers will certainly seek alternative solutions, which will lead to a reduction in business at CI Bijeljina, as well as job losses and layoffs by freight forwarders. It is estimated that up to 50% of freight forwarding companies (currently around 30) will have to reduce their operations or cease their activities.

"We emphasize that this terminal within the international border crossing Rača was built with European Union funds and according to European standards, and there are no visible justified reasons for the UINO BiH to relocate it, as GP Rača is one of the most important crossings for BiH, where all types of goods, oil and oil derivatives, as well as other high-tariff excise goods are cleared. There is a lack of consensus between the UINO BiH and the RS inspection services located at this crossing, where they have their premises, so what is the purpose of relocating the customs office when the inspection services remain at the border crossing," it is stated.