Dnevni list: In the next several days at the stands of all stores there will be groceries from Serbia and Croatia by prices higher up to 100%. Namely, according to the information we received from the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) of BiH, from June 30 at our border crossings a full custom rate is being calculated on certain commodities from Serbia and Croatia, according to the Law on domestic production protection. “Commodities constantly enter our country normally and customs are being collected by the new law. For now, we are not able to determine if it has come to the reduction of import, but we will know it at the end of the month”, has been said by spokesperson of the ITA, Ratko Kovačević.
New prices of cigarettes
Drina (all types) from 1.70 to 2.00 KM
Osmica from 1.40 to 1.80 KM
DNF from 1.20 to 1.50 KM
Tigra from 1.20 to 1.50 KM
Davidoff (classic and life) from 3.30 to 3.50 KM
West from 2.00 to 2.20 KM
Boss from 1.50 to 1.80 KM
Ronhill (all types) from 2.00 to 2.50 KM
Ronhill slims from 2.50 to 2.70 KM
Walter Wolf from 2.00 to 2.50 KM
MC from 1.50 to 2.00 KM
Higher VAT on certain products
By applying the CEFTA Agreement, only the VAT has been collected for the products from abroad, but now, besides the VAT the custom is also being collected for the products from Serbia and Croatia, depending on the type of product (custom evidence of 1%), as well as for the products which will get more expensive (0.15 to 2.50 KM per kilogram). For accisse commodity, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, besides the stated, an accisse is being paid as well.
“It is hard to calculate the percentages or how high the prices will go, but the VAT has increased as well, because before calculating the VAT the custom and everything else is being calculated in, and it all together makes a basis for VAT, which will be higher”, Kovačević has explained, by adding that the increase of prices will be hard to calculate because it is about too many producers and products.
The Ombudsman for protection of consumers of BiH, Dragan Doko says that the prices of groceries will surely get higher in several days, and that the milk and milk products will be among the first ones. “We must expect a significant increase of prices, for some groceries up to 100%. Increase of prices of gas should also be added to this. All this goes to the burden of consumers, whose buying power goes down with every day”, Doko has said. He thinks that the Law on domestic production protection is not good at all, for consumers, but for domestic economy either.
Veto on law
“This law will only produce an opposite effect. Big number of products is not being produced in our country and therefore this law has been created badly, but it is not surprise when knowing who actually created it”, Doko has said, by adding the fact that the law has not been supported by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of BiH. He is just really surprised that the Indirect Taxation Authority did not put a veto on this law. He claims that the buying power of citizens will fall down very bad, as well as expenditures, which lead to the droop of economy. The Federal Ministry of Trade thinks that the increase of price of gas in BiH due to beginning of paying the tax should not bring to the increase of prices of food. They have also announced that, if it comes to some bigger problems, the Law on price control will be used, in order to avoid the situation in which the poorest citizens cannot afford the basic groceries.
New custom rates
New custom rates on products encompassed by the Law on domestic production protection are being applied since June 30. Custom tariff for meat is 0.2; milk and milk products, eggs and honey, eatable products of animal origin 0.4; sausages and similar products 10.01; canned meat products 16.02; fruits and vegetables 20; drinks and alcohol 22.
Tirak: Inspection waits for a dictate from the Government
The inspectors of the Indirect Taxation Authority have been on the field already for two days, in order to determine a real situation and if the registered commodities in groceries stores are realistic. Crossing period is until the end of the year and by then the cigarettes with old stamps will be possible to sell, but they will be sold by new prices. There will be no other inspection supervisions for now, because the Law on free price forming is currently inuring. According to the director of the Federal administration for inspection affairs, Ibrahim Tirak, inspection will not react unless dictated by the Federal Government. He says that, as majority of citizens, he is disgusted by the fact that regulations and laws are constantly being changed in our country.