The Agency for Identification Documents, Records and Data Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IDDEEA) warned of possible serious consequences for the country’s fiscal system after the decision of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AZLP), stating that a legal challenge to the system of qualified electronic signatures could threaten the stability of public revenues and the functioning of key state processes.
In a new announcement, the IDDEEA points out that the issue of qualified electronic signatures is not limited to the work of this institution, but represents the foundation of the digital trust infrastructure on which numerous legal and operational processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina are based.
They particularly emphasize the importance of the electronic reporting system of the BiH Indirect Taxation Administration, through which taxpayers submit VAT returns, customs declarations and other fiscal documents on a daily basis. According to IDDEEA, through this system, the state generates more than 800 million convertible marks of public revenue per month.
“These are the funds from which the salaries of public sector employees, pension funds, the health system, social benefits and other basic functions of the state are financed,” the announcement states.
The IDDEEA warns that any introduction of legal uncertainty into the system of qualified electronic signatures can have consequences that go far beyond the actions of a single institution. They believe that such an action could open the issues of continuity of fiscal processes, stability of public revenues and legal security of business.
The agency reminds that it is not a new or experimental system, but a model that has been working for years and is used by institutions, business entities and citizens throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Additional weight to the whole case, they say, is given by a recent decision Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in case U-1/25, which established that the area of electronic identification and qualified electronic certificates falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
IDDEEA also warns that the issue of legal security of all previously filed electronic declarations, customs declarations and other fiscal acts that have been implemented for years through the existing system is being raised.
“If the legal basis of the system is contested today, it is legitimate to ask the question of what consequences such an interpretation can have on all previous actions that were carried out on that basis,” the statement states.
In the end, they say that the question of legality, stability and continuity of the system of qualified electronic signatures is no longer a question of only one institution, but a question of protecting public revenues, unhindered execution of legal obligations of the economy and preserving the financial security of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
