The municipalities of Stari Grad Sarajevo, Drvar, Tešanj, Foča, Velika Kladuša and Sapna and the cities of Visoko and Konjic were denied a request for exemption from the application of the provisions of Article 18 of the Law on Internal Trade, i.e. the abolition of the non-working Sunday in the manner approved by Orašje.
The decision was adopted by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina at today’s session, on the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Trade.
The proposer explained that based on the submitted data of the municipalities and cities, the key objective criteria for exemption from the application of this article of the law prescribed by the decree were not met.
The decisions stipulate that the municipal and city councils have the right to submit a new proposal only after the expiration of a period of six months from the date of entry into force of these decisions.
As explained by the proposer, Article 18, paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of the Law on Internal Trade prescribes that the working hours of sales facilities are determined by the retailer in the period from Monday to Saturday, for a total duration of up to 90 hours per week, which the retailer allocates independently, as well as that sales facilities are closed on Sundays and holidays.
Paragraph (10) of the same article of the Law stipulates that exceptionally, upon the proposal of the city/municipal council, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina may make a decision determining that sales facilities in the territory of the city/municipality may be exempted from the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this article, while paragraph (11) stipulates that the proposal must be submitted through the Federal Ministry of Trade.
In the explanation, the proponent states that Article 5 of the Regulation prescribes the criteria for the application of the provisions of Article 18, paragraph (10) and (11) of the Law, namely that the proposal must contain objective reasons and a detailed explanation for the reason why an exemption is requested, and in particular data on the impact on the decline in turnover in trade activities at the local community level, compared to the same period in 2023, the impact on the decline in the number of employees in trade activities at the local community level, in relation to the same period in 2023 and justifications for proposals of a seasonal nature and the period of exemption in the case of a request for a seasonal exemption.
An integral part of the Regulation consists of forms that proposers are required to fill out and submit with the proposal.
The proposer explained that from the submitted forms it was recorded that the key objective criteria from Article 5, paragraph (1) points a) and b) of the Regulation were not met.
