Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sasa Magazinovic, has initiated a proposal to eliminate VAT on donated medicines.

“The Indirect Taxation Authority recently provided preliminary approval in response to my parliamentary inquiry, noting that the area of medicine donation should be thoroughly regulated. This is an important issue that does not receive enough attention. Similar to how VAT was previously charged on donated food until the law was amended, VAT is still applied to donated medicines. I believe that those who donate medicines should not face any burdens from the state,” said Magazinovic.

He further added that in cases where donors have to pay a large tax on donated medicines, it often results in the medicines ending up in another country where there is no tax obligation on such donations.

“In such cases, it is the patients who suffer the most, often those with the most serious diagnoses,” he emphasized.

Magazinovic highlighted in his proposal that he believes Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the region with a single VAT rate applied to all products, including medicines, and that it is the highest in the region.

“In Croatia and North Macedonia, VAT on medicines is 5%, in Slovenia 9.5%, and in Serbia 10%. Prioritizing citizens’ lives and health in decision-making, and given the preliminary agreement from the institutions to exempt VAT on donated medicines, I believe that adopting this initiative will make a significant contribution,” Magazinovic concluded.