The Public Procurement Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted the first comprehensive analysis of the application of the exemption from the Law on Public Procurement (Article 10a), including the period from 2023. until 2025. years.
The results are worrying: more than 2 billion KM of public money was spent without the application of the basic principles of transparency, competition and equal treatment.
This analysis is a key step in the preparation of a new Law on Public Procurement, which will adopt stronger control mechanisms and greater responsibility in spending public funds.
In 2023. Almost 19,000 exemptions were recorded, the total value of around 660
Million KM. In 2024. The number of exemptions was reduced to 14,399, but the value increased to 1.14 billion KM.
In the first five months of 2025. An additional 160 million KM was implemented through exemptions.
The largest amounts are related to loans, concessions, legal services and certain infrastructure
Areas.
“A significant part of the exemption refers to large entities and sectoral contracting authorities, which
indicates system practices. What do these data tell us? This trend indicates regulatory gaps that open the space for corruption risks, weak market competition and question effective public asset management. The public has the right to know how to consume any convertible fening from the budget, “they order from the Agency.
Measures supported by the Agency in the new law:
- Obligation to publish a special exemption procurement plan, in addition to the regular public plan
Procurement. - The obligation to publish the report on the implementation of the exemption, for full transparency.
- Special control mechanisms for high value exemptions.
- Clearer delimitation between public procurement and contracts under special regimes (concessions, PPPs), with greater supervision.
“This is the first time that exemptions to the comprehensive way is in this way, the Agency will incorporate the Agency to ensure that no segment of excessive reliance on exemptions. Public funds must be spent clearly, responsibly and in the interest of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Agencies.
