Bosnia — PDV System

Bosnia & Herzegovina — PDV (Porez na dodatu vrijednost)

Last Updated: 2026-02-20 Confidence Level: HIGH for tax rates, MEDIUM for e-invoicing (pending legislation)

Overview

Bosnia and Herzegovina operates a unified VAT (PDV) system administered by the Indirect Taxation Authority (Uprava za neizravno oporezivanje / UNO/ITA). Despite the country's complex two-entity structure (Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska), VAT is applied uniformly across the entire territory.

BiH Entity Structure and Tax Governance

graph TD
    BIH["Bosna i Hercegovina (BiH)"]

    BIH --> FBIH["Federacija BiH (FBiH)<br/>Primarni entitet<br/>Sarajevo, Mostar<br/>~60% populacije"]
    BIH --> RS_ENT["Republika Srpska (RS)<br/>Banja Luka<br/>~40% populacije"]
    BIH --> BD["Brčko Distrikt<br/>Poseban status"]

    BIH --> UNO["UNO / ITA<br/>Uprava za neizravno oporezivanje<br/>Jedinstveni PDV za cijelu BiH<br/>www.uino.gov.ba"]

    UNO --> PDV_UNIFIED["PDV — Jedinstvena stopa<br/>17% za cijelu BiH<br/>Nema smanjene stope"]

    FBIH --> FBIH_ACC["Računovodstvo FBiH<br/>Zakon o računovodstvu 2021<br/>IFRS obavezno<br/>Jezik: Bosanski"]
    RS_ENT --> RS_ACC["Računovodstvo RS<br/>Zakon (Sl. glasnik RS 94/15, 78/20)<br/>IFRS obavezno<br/>Jezik: Srpski"]

    FBIH --> FBIH_CIT["Porez na dobit FBiH<br/>10% flat<br/>WHT dividende: 5%"]
    RS_ENT --> RS_CIT["Porez na dobit RS<br/>10% flat<br/>WHT dividende: 10%"]

    style BIH fill:#2c3e50,color:#fff
    style UNO fill:#c0392b,color:#fff
    style PDV_UNIFIED fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style FBIH fill:#2980b9,color:#fff
    style RS_ENT fill:#8e44ad,color:#fff
    style BD fill:#6c757d,color:#fff

1. VAT/PDV Rate and Rules [HIGH]

Single Rate System

Standard Rate: 17% [HIGH] — applies to all taxable supplies
No Reduced Rate: Bosnia and Herzegovina does NOT have a reduced VAT rate [HIGH]
Zero Rate (0%): Export of goods is zero-rated [HIGH]

Registration Threshold [HIGH]

Mandatory registration: 100,000 BAM (convertibilna marka / convertible mark) [HIGH]
Any person making taxable supplies exceeding or likely to exceed this threshold must register as a VAT payer

Filing Frequency [HIGH]

VAT period: One calendar month [HIGH]
Foreign businesses: Quarterly filing expected [HIGH]

Tax Authority [HIGH]

UNO / ITA: Uprava za neizravno oporezivanje (Indirect Taxation Authority) [HIGH]
Single institution responsible for VAT calculation and collection throughout BiH
Website: www.uino.gov.ba

BiH PDV Filing Flow

flowchart TD
    TRANS["Transakcija (Transaction)"]

    TRANS --> CHECK{"PDV obveznik?<br/>(>= 100.000 BAM)"}

    CHECK -->|Da — VAT registered| CALC["Obračun PDV 17%<br/>Nema smanjena stopa<br/>Izvoz = 0%"]
    CHECK -->|Ne — Below threshold| NOVAT["Bez PDV<br/>Pratiti promet<br/>prema 100K BAM pragu"]

    CALC --> IZDAVANJE["Izdavanje fakture<br/>(sa PDV-om)"]
    CALC --> ULAZNI["Ulazni PDV<br/>(kupovine / troškovi)"]

    IZDAVANJE --> IZLAZNI["Izlazni PDV<br/>(prodaje / prihodi)"]

    IZLAZNI --> PRIJAVA["Mjesečna PDV Prijava<br/>UNO/ITA<br/>Rok: kraj narednog mjeseca"]
    ULAZNI --> PRIJAVA

    PRIJAVA --> NETPDV{"Neto PDV"}
    NETPDV -->|"Izlazni > Ulazni"| UPLATA["Uplata PDV<br/>UNO/ITA"]
    NETPDV -->|"Ulazni > Izlazni"| POVRAT["Povrat PDV<br/>od UNO/ITA"]

    PRIJAVA --> CUVANJE["Čuvanje dokumentacije<br/>Minimum 5 godina"]

    style TRANS fill:#2c3e50,color:#fff
    style CALC fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style UPLATA fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style POVRAT fill:#198754,color:#fff
    style CUVANJE fill:#6c757d,color:#fff

2. Electronic Invoicing (E-Faktura) [MEDIUM]

Legislative Status [MEDIUM — PENDING]

Draft Law: Published and accepted, now with Parliament [MEDIUM]
Proposed Mandatory Date: January 1, 2026 [MEDIUM]
Status as of Feb 2026: Implementation timelines and secondary regulations still being defined [LOW]

Planned Scope [MEDIUM]

The Draft Law proposes mandatory e-invoicing for:

B2G (Business-to-Government): Mandatory
B2B (Business-to-Business): Mandatory
B2C (Business-to-Consumer): Mandatory for most sectors

Out of Scope:

Security and defense
Health activities
Social protection activities

Technical Format [MEDIUM — PENDING FINAL REGULATIONS]

Standard: European Standard EN 16931 compliance required [MEDIUM]
B2B/B2G Platform: Central Platform for Fiscalisation (CPF) [MEDIUM]
- Mandatory use for issuing, transmitting, and validating e-invoices
B2C Requirements: Approved Electronic Fiscal Systems (EFS) [MEDIUM]
- ESET tools
- Certified fiscal devices

Current Status [LOW — UNCERTAIN]

Final technical specifications pending
Secondary regulations awaited
Implementation may be delayed beyond January 2026
RECOMMENDATION: Monitor UNO/ITA website for official announcements

BiH E-Faktura Status (2026)

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Draft_Law: Nacrt zakona objavljen

    Draft_Law --> Parliament: Prihvaćen, upućen Parlamentu

    Parliament --> Pending: Status Feb 2026<br/>Implementacijski rokovi se definišu<br/>Sekundarni propisi čekaju

    Pending --> Enacted: Zakon stupi na snagu<br/>[MOGUĆE Q2-Q3 2026]
    Pending --> Delayed: Odgođeno<br/>[RIZIK — pratiti UNO/ITA]

    Enacted --> Phase_B2G: B2G obavezno<br/>Svi dobavljači vlade

    Enacted --> Phase_B2B: B2B obavezno<br/>Svi PDV obveznici

    Enacted --> Phase_B2C: B2C obavezno<br/>(bez sigurnosti, zdravstva,<br/>socijalne zaštite)

    Phase_B2G --> CPF: Centralna Platforma za Fiskalizaciju (CPF)<br/>EN 16931 standard<br/>UBL 2.1 format

    Phase_B2B --> CPF
    Phase_B2C --> EFS: Odobreni Elektronski Fiskalni Sistemi (EFS)<br/>ESET alati<br/>Certificirani uređaji

    note right of Pending
        Bilko MVP preporuka:
        NE implementirati još
        Pratiti UNO/ITA website
        Implementirati Q2 2026 ako
        zakon stupi na snagu
    end note

3. Chart of Accounts Standard [MEDIUM]

Two-Entity System [MEDIUM]

Bosnia and Herzegovina has two separate accounting frameworks due to its constitutional structure:

Federation of BiH (FBiH) [HIGH]

Law: Law on Accounting and Auditing in the Federation (February 24, 2021) [HIGH]
Standard: IFRS Accounting Standards (mandatory) [HIGH]
Issued by: International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
Translation: Union of Accountants, Auditors and Financial Workers of Federation of BiH publishes IFRS in Bosnian language

Republika Srpska (RS) [HIGH]

Law: Law on Accounting and Auditing (Official Gazette of RS No. 94/15 and 78/20) [HIGH]
Standard: IFRS Accounting Standards (mandatory) [HIGH]
First adopted: 2005, updated 2015
Translation: Association of Accountants and Auditors of the Republic of Srpska publishes official Serbian translation

Chart of Accounts Structure [MEDIUM]

Both entities use analytical chart of accounts following traditional Balkan structure:

Class 0: Long-term assets (Stalna imovina)
Class 1: Current assets (Obrtna imovina)
Class 2: Short-term liabilities (Kratkoročne obaveze)
Class 3: Capital/Equity (Kapital)
Class 4: Long-term liabilities (Dugoročne obaveze)
Class 5: Expenses (Rashodi)
Class 6: Revenue (Prihodi)
Class 7: Cost/Gains-Losses (Troškovi/Dobici-Gubici)
Class 8: Off-balance sheet (Vanbilansna evidencija)
Class 9: Internal accounting

IFRS for SMEs [MEDIUM]

Non-PIEs and SMEs: Can choose between:
- IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard, OR
- Full IFRS Accounting Standards
Public Interest Entities (PIEs): Must use full IFRS Standards

4. Record Keeping Requirements [MEDIUM]

Retention Period [MEDIUM]

Minimum: 5 years [MEDIUM] for:
- Employment-related records
- Tax-related records
- Accounting documents

NOTE: Some sources indicate retention periods can vary from 5 years to permanent recordkeeping depending on document type. UNVERIFIED — needs local accounting advisor confirmation.

Electronic Storage [MEDIUM]

Allowed: Yes, BiH allows retention of accounting documents in electronic form [MEDIUM]
Original Form Requirement: Records must be kept in the "original" form in which they were created [MEDIUM]
Integrity Requirements: [MEDIUM]
1. Information integrity must be preserved
2. Organization must be able to print the information

Entity-Specific Variations [LOW]

Due to BiH's complex constitutional structure (FBiH, RS, Brčko District, 10 Cantons in FBiH), legislation may be introduced at multiple administrative levels. Specific retention requirements may vary by entity — requires verification with local advisor.

5. MVP Impact Assessment

MVP-CRITICAL (Must Have for Legal Operation)

PDV (VAT) Calculation [HIGH PRIORITY]
- Single rate: 17% on all taxable supplies
- Zero-rate for exports
- VAT report generation for monthly filing
- Registration threshold tracking (100,000 BAM)
Chart of Accounts — Dual Support [HIGH PRIORITY]
- Support BOTH FBiH and RS accounting frameworks
- IFRS-compliant account structure
- Entity selection during company setup (FBiH vs RS vs Brčko)
- Bosnian/Serbian language support for account names
Electronic Record Storage [MEDIUM PRIORITY]
- 5-year minimum retention
- Original format preservation
- Print capability for all stored records

FUTURE (v2 or Phase 2)

E-Invoicing (E-Faktura) [MEDIUM PRIORITY — WATCH & WAIT]
- NOT CRITICAL FOR MVP — legislation still pending
- Monitor UNO/ITA for final regulations
- Target implementation: Q2-Q3 2026 (if mandate proceeds)
- Features needed:
  - EN 16931 XML generation
  - Central Platform for Fiscalisation (CPF) API integration
  - Electronic Fiscal Systems (EFS) for B2C
Advanced IFRS Features [LOW PRIORITY]
- Full IFRS vs IFRS for SMEs selector
- Consolidated financial statements
- Multi-currency for PIEs
Brčko District Support [LOW PRIORITY]
- Separate administrative unit with potential unique requirements
- Low priority unless targeting this market

Implementation Notes for Bilko

Critical Decisions

FBiH vs RS Default?
- Most commercial activity in FBiH (Sarajevo)
- Consider FBiH as default, RS as option
- OR: Entity selector during onboarding
IFRS Compliance
- Full IFRS implementation is complex
- Consider IFRS for SMEs as MVP scope
- Partner with local accounting firm for IFRS mapping
Language Requirements
- Bosnian language support MANDATORY
- Serbian Cyrillic optional (RS uses Latin + Cyrillic)
- English for international users (optional)

Risks

E-Invoicing Uncertainty: Timeline and requirements not finalized
Two-Entity Complexity: Different laws, different translations
IFRS Compliance: May be overkill for micro-businesses (under 100K BAM threshold)
Language Barrier: Official documentation in Bosnian/Serbian only

Recommendations

Launch without E-Invoicing: Wait for final regulations before implementing
Partner with BiH Accounting Firm: For IFRS guidance and entity-specific requirements
Localize Interface: Bosnian language MUST be primary
Monitor UNO/ITA: Set up alert for e-invoicing regulation updates

UNVERIFIED ITEMS — NEEDS LOCAL ADVISOR REVIEW

Exact retention period per document type: Ranges from 5 years to permanent — need detailed matrix
Digital certificate requirements for e-invoicing: Not yet published
CPF platform technical specs: Awaiting secondary regulations
Brčko District unique requirements: Unclear if different from FBiH/RS
Canton-level variations in FBiH: 10 cantons may have specific rules

Sources

Revision #3
Created 2026-02-23 10:48:12 UTC by John
Updated 2026-05-31 20:02:52 UTC by John