The rulebook that regulates the refund of value added tax (VAT) on the purchase of the first real estate will soon be submitted to the adoption procedure, and all citizens who registered their real estate after April 12, 2025 will have the right to a refund.
This information was confirmed by the Minister of Finance of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Srđan Amidžić. At a joint conference with Republika Srpska Finance Minister Zora Vidović in Banja Luka, he said that the rulebook has been agreed and that, despite the delay, no citizen will be harmed.
“Everyone who was registered after April 12 of last year will have the right to a VAT refund, regardless of the fact that the rulebook was not adopted earlier. This means that no one will lose their right,” Amidžić emphasized.
He added that it is a complex process that involves connecting several institutions, including tax administrations, geodetic administrations and registry offices in both entities, but that there is no reason for further delay.
“We don’t want to wait any longer. We will submit the rulebook to the procedure, so any opponents who put everything in a political context and have political motives, such as blocking the opening of the border crossing in Gradiška, will have to publicly explain their positions. We believe that institutions should adapt to citizens, not the other way around,” Amidžić pointed out.
RS Finance Minister Zora Vidović emphasized that RS is ready to implement this measure and that its goal is to facilitate the solution of the housing issue, especially for young people.
“This measure will cost the budget several tens of millions of marks, but the benefit for citizens is much greater. Along with lower interest rates and subsidized loans, the return of VAT will further improve the position of those who solve the housing issue,” said Vidović.
She added that the rapid implementation of this measure could have broader social effects, including retaining young people and encouraging the birth rate.
At the conference, it was said that it is expected that the session of the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Administration, where the rulebook should be discussed, could be held in the next ten days.
By the way, Amidžić and Vidović are also members of the Board of Directors of ITA BiH as relevant ministers.
Answering the questions of journalists, Amidžić said that he does not expect that Bosnia and Herzegovina will have significant consequences if it finds itself again in the so-called to the gray list of Moneyvala, stating that such status may increase costs in the banking sector, but that it does not threaten the financial system.
Vidović pointed out that global inflation is expected to rise due to geopolitical trends and the rise in energy prices, and that small economies like the domestic one have limited influence on such trends.
For this year, the projected annual inflation rate in the RS is three percent, and currently it is 4.9 percent.
“I would like to see that economist who can project inflation right now when one statement by Donald Trump opens or closes the stock market,” she added.
Speaking about debt, Vidović claims that the RS currently borrows on more favorable terms than before, and that the funds are used for investments, stressing that projects worth several billion marks are being implemented, he writes Klix.
