Selling your own farm produce directly in Republika Srpska: what needs no registration

This article explains what a farmer in Republika Srpska (Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje, Berkovići) may sell to buyers without registering a business or a facility, and what not. It covers your own primary production. Processed products (cheese, meat products, jams) have separate conditions and are not covered here. Fresh cheese and kajmak made in a home are entered in the Register of Facilities (Pravilnik, Art. 3 para. 1 item 2), and for small quantities the Law on Veterinary Medicine (Art. 90) refers to a separate regulation; check with the Ministry.

In short

• Farmers who are private persons may sell, without registration, fruit, vegetables and other agricultural products they produced themselves on their own holding (Law on Trade, Art. 81 para. 2). The law ties this exemption to sales at a market.
• For animal-origin food the exemption applies only to supplying end consumers directly at the place of production (Pravilnik, Art. 3 para. 2). The facility need not be entered in the Register of Facilities up to: all honey from your own apiary, 15,000 litres of cow milk and/or 5,000 litres of sheep or goat milk per year, 100 eggs per day.
• Anyone selling these products at a market or elsewhere away from the place of production, or exceeding the limits, needs a facility entered in the Register of Facilities (kept by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of RS).
• Selling contrary to the rules is an offence: 150 to 800 KM for unregistered sales at a market (Law on Trade, Art. 121), and 500 to 1,500 KM for a private person selling animal-origin food from a facility not in the Register (Law on Veterinary Medicine, Art. 122).

Who it applies to

• Farmers who are private persons selling their own produce.
• Holdings entered in the register of agricultural holdings: for market sales the law gives them the same rights and duties as traders (Law on Trade, Art. 13).
• It does not cover buying to resell: an unregistered person may sell only what was produced on their own holding.

What to do

1. Decide what you sell. Fruit and vegetables fall under the Art. 81 exemption of the Law on Trade. For honey, milk and eggs, check the limits above.
2. If you are under the limits and buyers come to the farm, entry in the Register of Facilities is not required. General food safety requirements still apply (Law on Food), and a veterinary inspector may check conditions.
3. If you exceed the limits, or sell the same product at a market or elsewhere away from the place of production, apply to the Ministry on Form 1 before starting. For other forms of sale (delivery, a shop) confirm with the Ministry. Attach: the business registration decision (entrepreneur, legal entity) or, for a private person, the certificate of entry in the Register of Agricultural Holdings; proof of ownership or a lease contract for the premises; a description of production; proof of fee payment.
4. After entry you receive a decision and a registration number of the form SPH-3-0000. The veterinary inspection carries out its first official control within six months of entry.
5. If you will sell regularly at larger scale as a business, selling without registration is not enough: ask your municipal administration about registering as an entrepreneur.

Deadlines and amounts

• Fines: 150 to 800 KM (unregistered sale at a market, private person; Law on Trade, Art. 121); 500 to 1,500 KM (private person, Law on Veterinary Medicine, Art. 122) and 1,000 to 3,000 KM (entrepreneur, Law on Veterinary Medicine, Art. 121) for selling animal-origin food from a facility not in the Register. The Pravilnik on registration of facilities has no penalty provisions, and the 2024 amendments to the Law on Veterinary Medicine (63/24) did not change these amounts.
• The registration fee amount should be checked with the Ministry; we did not confirm it.
• The RS Inspectorate reports that in 2025 it carried out over 300 targeted checks of private persons advertising sales of various products and services, banned unregistered activity in 172 checks and imposed fines totalling 335,000 KM. These are general figures, not only for agriculture. Checks continue.

Where to go

• Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srpske (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management): entry in the Register of Facilities.
• Agencija za agrarna plaćanja (APIF, Agency for Agrarian Payments): Register of Agricultural Holdings.
• Republička uprava za inspekcijske poslove (Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs; veterinary and market inspection): questions about specific products. In East Herzegovina also ask the agriculture department of your municipality or city (e.g. Trebinje).

Laws and sources

The texts were published in the Službeni glasnik RS (Official Gazette); the links lead to copies published by ministries of the Government of Republika Srpska, the Službeni glasnik RS and the Privredna komora Republike Srpske (Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska).

• Zakon o trgovini (Službeni glasnik RS no. 105/19), Art. 13, 81 and 121
• Pravilnik o registraciji, odnosno odobravanju objekata za proizvodnju i promet hrane životinjskog porijekla i vođenju registara (Službeni glasnik RS no. 92/22), Art. 3, 5 and 6
• Zakon o veterinarstvu u Republici Srpskoj (Službeni glasnik RS no. 75/17 and 63/24), Art. 90, 121 and 122, amendments: Službeni glasnik RS no. 63/24
• Zakon o hrani (Službeni glasnik RS no. 19/17), Art. 2, 26 and 29