The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina today, in a telephonic session, approved the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Collection and Partial Write-off of Debts to Sports Teams, which will be submitted to the parliamentary procedure with the proposal that it be considered under an urgent procedure.
The proposed amendment enables the postponement of the deadline for settlement of the due and unpaid tax debt incurred until January 1, 2026. Adoption of this legal amendment in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH would create conditions for the continuation of the work of sports collectives and clubs, as well as for obtaining the necessary licenses for participation in international competitions and the representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the framework of international sports associations.
In the explanation of the proposal, it is recalled that the Law on collection and partial write-off of debts to sports collectives was adopted at the initiative of the Federal Government back in 2014, and that since then it has been amended three times, primarily in terms of extending deadlines. This enabled sports collectives to obtain confirmations from the Tax Administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and conclude a debt reprogram, which is one of the key conditions in the licensing process.
It was especially emphasized that clubs and associations that have the capacity to participate in European competitions are in an extremely difficult situation, but are faced with strict financial criteria prescribed by the rules of UEFA, FIFA, FIBA and other international sports organizations.
For these reasons, the initiative of the sports teams was launched to enable a partial write-off of tax debts, which, according to the proponent’s assessment, would also lead to the collection of part of the claims. The Government of FBiH believes that this approach is in the interest of the state as well, given that in the current circumstances there is a complete standstill in the settlement of tax obligations of sports teams due to their financial inability to pay their debts in full.
