Bosnia and Herzegovina: Business registration reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republic of Srpska Entity)

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Business registration reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republic of Srpska Entity)

topic.jpg

Dajana Topic, Eurofast Global

The government of the Bosnian entity Republic of Srpska (RS) has adopted a set of laws, which constitute a legal framework for the implementation of the reform of business registration. This way the RS government tends to create the legal requirements for establishment of new companies with easier and low cost procedure. These changes are significant incentives for creating a more competitive business environment, so more companies recognise Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as a valuable place for doing a business.

The package of new measures significantly reduces the cost of starting a business. Some of the major incentives that the amendments stipulate are following:

  • Minimum capital requirement was reduced from KM2,000 ($1,300) to KM1;

  • For a limited company (one shareholder) with the minimum capital requirement, instead of the notary processing of the incorporation documents, the notary signature verification will suffice, which significantly reduces the costs of start-ups at the notary;

  • The registration process of the craft and entrepreneurial activities is significantly simplified and will be carried out faster and at lower cost as the amendments to the Law on Administrative Taxes carries a maximum administrative fee of KM30 for the registration of business activity at the local level;

  • The amendments to the Law on Court Taxes relieve the founder of the first company registration of the court taxes, as well as of the costs of publication in the Official Gazette;

  • The newly formed companies are released of court taxes for all other court decisions too, which are directly related to the founding act, regardless of whether the founder is a foreign or domestic person; and

  • Taxes for the Certificates of Incorporation or other public records kept by the court, if issued at the request of the businessman, will significantly reduce.

A new concept of business registration has also been introduced, through the introduction of a one stop shop system, that's ultimate goal is the introduction of electronic submission of the application for the registration of companies by email.

Namely, commercial courts in the RS will continue to be responsible for the registration of companies and all other entities which are subject to the registration in the register, but the number of the days for the issuance of the Certificate of Incorporation will reduce to three days (from two weeks).

It is necessary that throughout the process of this kind of reforms BiH makes a big step forward to be more competitive in the region.

Above listed measures will have a positive impact on foreign investments, but other steps towards a simpler registration procedure and generally healthier business environment should be undertaken as well. The concept of registering a company within three working days will be effective as of January 1 2014 and it is expected that will certainly help to attract more investors.

Dajana Topic (dajana.topic@eurofast.eu)

Eurofast Global, Banja Luka Office

Tel: +387 51 340 680

Website: www.eurofast.eu

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

It should be easy for advisers to be transparent about costs, Brown Rudnick partner Matthew Sharp said in response to exclusive ITR in-house data
The sprawling legislation phases out Joe Biden-era green tax incentives for businesses; in other news, the UK will reportedly maintain its DST despite US pressure
New French legislation should create a more consistent legal environment for taxing gains from management packages, say Bruno Knadjian and Sylvain Piémont of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
The South Africa vs SC ruling may embolden the tax authority to take a more aggressive approach to TP assessments, an adviser tells ITR
Indirect tax professionals now rate compliance as a bigger obstacle than technology and automation; in other news, Italy approved a VAT cut on art sales
AI-powered tax agents are likely to be the next big development in tax technology, says Russell Gammon of Tax Systems
FTI Consulting’s EMEA head of employment tax and reward tells ITR about celebrating diversity in the profession, his love of musicals, and what makes tax cool
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump have agreed that the countries will look to conclude a deal by July 21, 2025
The firm’s lack of transparency regarding its tax leaks scandal should see the ban extended beyond June 30, senators Deborah O’Neill and Barbara Pocock tell ITR
Despite posing significant administrative hurdles, digital services taxes remain ‘the best way forward’ for emerging economies, says Neil Kelley, COO of Ascoria
Gift this article