Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have been ordering vitamins, minerals, supplements and certain cosmetic products from the United States of America for years without problems, are facing a new obstacle in recent months, their shipments end up being returned to senders or confiscated at the border.
Although it could be concluded that these are new regulations, the competent institutions claim that nothing has changed.
They see the reason for increased controls in the more consistent application of the rulebook, which has been in force since 2017.
The factor sent the question to the Administration for Indirect Taxation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (UIOBiH), and after waiting for an answer for almost 15 days, we were not told again why the nine-year-old rulebook is suddenly being applied in 2026, and it hasn’t been until now.
The rulebook has existed for years, its application has been tightened only now
The Administration for Indirect Taxation of Bosnia and Herzegovina states that the procedure for importing products of animal origin for personal use is regulated by the Rulebook on controls and conditions for importing personal shipments of products of animal origin into Bosnia and Herzegovina, published in the “Official Gazette of BiH” number 90/17.
That rulebook precisely defines the products that can be imported without veterinary-health documentation, as well as those for which such documentation is mandatory.
However, the fact that only in the last few months citizens have to deal with the return of shipments en masse raises the question of why the regulation that has been in place for almost a decade has only now started to be applied more strictly.
The UIOBiH states that there has been no change in the legal regulations, but that the controls are carried out in accordance with the existing regulations, with increased supervision and coordination of the customs and veterinary services.
What is disputed
According to the interpretation of the competent institutions, natural persons cannot order products of animal origin from third countries, including the USA, indefinitely.
Products that contain ingredients of animal origin, such as: fish oil, protein preparations of animal origin, honey-based products, other food supplements that may be subject to veterinary-health controls, are especially under the magnifying glass.
For such products, except in expressly prescribed exceptions, appropriate certificates and documentation are required.
The UIOBiH points out that the regulations provide for certain exemptions for small quantities of products in personal shipments, but only for products and quantities that are clearly stated in the regulations.
Citizens were left without products that they had been ordering for years
Practice shows that many citizens found out about the existence of these restrictions only after their shipments were stopped. Many of them claim that they have been ordering identical products for years without any problems, which is why they believe that there has been a kind of turnaround in the actions of the competent authorities.
IIOBiH, however, emphasizes that it is about a more consistent application of existing regulations, and not about new rules.
Dozens of shipments returned or seized
Data submitted to the BiH Veterinary Office show that during 2025 and the first three months of 2026, a total of 30 personal consignments were returned or seized from the customs territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Those shipments contained: 447.8 kilograms of meat, 204 liters of milk, 12.4 kilograms of dairy products, 115 kilograms of fishery products.
Competent institutions claim that the main goal of these measures is the protection of human and animal health and harmonization with international veterinary standards.
However, the question remains open as to why the regulation, which was adopted back in 2017, began to be intensively applied only in the last few months, as well as whether the increased controls will permanently change the way in which citizens of BiH purchase supplements and other products from abroad, writes Factor.
