Records for rural accommodation in Republika Srpska: guest book and tourist tax

This article describes the records kept by anyone who provides accommodation in Republika Srpska, including rural tourism objects, apartments, holiday houses and rooms for rent: the guest book and tourist tax records.

In short

• The guest book covers domestic guests, entered immediately on arrival. Departure data and the invoice number are added after check-out. Foreign nationals go into a separate book of foreign guests.
• Keep the book for at least two years.
• Since 1 January 2025 the tourist tax (boravišna taksa) is paid per night in rural tourism objects too. The municipality or city sets the rate: 1.5 to 3 KM per night (3 to 4 KM in officially declared tourist places).
• The tax is shown separately on the invoice, and proof of exemption or reduction is kept until the end of the following calendar year.
• The report is due by the 15th of the month for the previous month.

Who it applies to

• Hosts (company, entrepreneur, natural person) providing accommodation, including rural tourism objects, apartments, holiday houses and rooms for rent.
• Natural persons who provide accommodation under a contract with a tourist organisation or travel agency (family farm holders, owners of apartments and rooms) must keep a guest record daily and in good order. The form is set by separate rulebooks (Službeni glasnik RS no. 103/17 for apartments, houses and rooms, and no. 105/17 for rural accommodation). Ask your municipality or the tourist organisation you have the contract with which form to use.
• A natural person providing rural services under such a contract submits the contract to the Agencija za posredničke, informatičke i finansijske usluge (Agency for Intermediary, IT and Financial Services, APIF) for registration (art. 19 of the Law on Hospitality). APIF keeps the Register of natural persons providing hospitality services and issues a confirmation that the contract has been registered.

What to do

1. Keep the guest book in printed form, in chronological order. The host certifies every page. It may also be kept electronically, but must contain all prescribed data.
2. Enter a domestic guest immediately on arrival from an identity document: registration number, name, sex, date of birth, place, municipality and country of birth, address, personal ID number (JMB), unit number and floor, arrival date and time.
3. After check-out enter departure date and time, the number of the invoice issued, and any remark.
4. Foreign nationals are not entered in the guest book but in a book of foreign guests, under BiH rules on foreigners. Confirm the procedure with the local police station.
5. Collect the tax together with the accommodation charge, at the same rate for domestic and foreign guests. If you do not collect it, you pay it from your own funds.
6. Show the tax separately on the invoice. For exempt guests (for example children under 12) or guests with a 50% reduction (ages 12 to 18, and stays longer than 30 days) state the basis and keep the proof.
7. File the report with the Poreska uprava Republike Srpske (Tax Administration of Republika Srpska) by the 15th for the previous month. A natural person working under a contract sends the report on nights and tax collected to the tourist organisation or agency, also by the 15th.
8. Pay the tax to the public revenue account of RS within five days after the end of the month in which the report was filed. For September nights the report is due on 15 October and payment by 5 November. If you collect the tax with an invoice under a contract with a travel agency, payment is due three days after the invoice is paid, and at the latest 60 days after the guest's last day (art. 16 para. 2). Confirm the account and form with the Tax Administration.
9. Central information system: the Law on Hospitality (arts. 12a and 12b) obliges accommodation providers to enter data on the object, guests and tourist tax into it. Ask the Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma (Ministry of Trade and Tourism) when and how this applies to your object.

Deadlines and amounts

• A natural person who files the nights report late faces a fine of 200 to 1,000 KM. Fines for unpaid or late tax are higher and depend on the legal form (articles 21 to 24 of the Law on Tourist Tax).
• Market inspectors check the guest book, whether it is up to date, and the actual number of guests on the premises.

Where to go

• Poreska uprava Republike Srpske (Tax Administration), for the report and payment: poreskaupravars.org.
• Republička uprava za inspekcijske poslove (Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs), market inspectors, for guest book supervision.
• Your municipality or city (Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje) and its tourist organisation, for the rate and forms.
• Agencija za posredničke, informatičke i finansijske usluge (Agency for Intermediary, IT and Financial Services, APIF), for registration of contracts by natural persons: apif.net.
• Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma RS (Ministry of Trade and Tourism): vladars.rs.

Note on changes

Hospitality rules are changing. Before acting, check the current text on the Ministry page.

Laws and sources

• Rulebook on the form, content and manner of keeping the guest book in accommodation objects (Službeni glasnik RS no. 80/17)
• Law amending the Law on Tourist Tax (Službeni glasnik RS no. 107/24), base law: Službeni glasnik RS nos. 78/11, 106/15 and 107/24. Article 16 read from the consolidated text.
• Law on Hospitality (Službeni glasnik RS nos. 45/17 and 1/24), arts. 12a, 12b, 19 and 31