Because it is cheaper, Croatians living close to the Bosnian border are crossing over to fill up their tanks and do their shopping. Claiming tax refund on the way back makes the trip even more worth it.

Coffee, milk, bread, tobacco, fruit – are just some of the items Croatian citizens cross the border for regularly and more and more often. The deeper into Bosnia they fo, the cheaper it all becomes, they say.

A significant number of residents of Imotski in Croatia buy their groceries in Posusje in Bosnia, particularly on weekends. Sometimes they cross the border to go out for dinner.

“Dinner, lunch, things like that are much, much cheaper,” a Croatian local, Marica, said.

But shopping is not limited to food. Croatians also shop for medication, clothes, shoes, furniture, appliances and beer.

“As soon as my mother gets her pension, I cross over. Everything is cheaper, fuel and everything else we need. Coffee and milk are the cheapest,” said Nedjeljko Steko.

“I am coming regularly to fill up the tank, buy food. I do that twice a month,” said Milan Brcic.

Currently, the price difference in fuel is 20 Pfenning.

“A few months ago, the difference in the price of fuel in Croatia and here was drastic, some 30 to 40 Pfenning,” but right now it is decreasing as Croatia is lowering the price and Bosnia is raising it, said Bruno Kovac, the owner of a gas station.

Another reason for shopping in Bosnia is the 17 per cent VAT return.

Foreigners can claim the tax return on items that cost over 100 BAM. At the Osoje border crossing, which residents of Imotski use every day to do their shopping, 4.722 tax returns were requested over the first seven months of this year.