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What you can do online in Republika Srpska: Tax Administration, UIO, APIF and AAP

Published: 7 October 2026Updated: 8 October 2026Author: AgroTour Connect team
In brief

VAT returns and the monthly withholding tax return (Form 1002) are filed electronically with an electronic signature. Business registration and subsidy applications still go through a counter or in writing. Online, you can search registers, check whether a business name is free and follow a case.

A farmer or host in Herzegovina can handle much of their business with public offices from home, but not all of it. We checked the official sites of four institutions to see what can be filed online and what still has to be handed in at a counter. Systems change, so confirm with the office before you set out.

In short

  • Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (UIO): the VAT return is filed electronically through e-Porezi and signed with a qualified electronic certificate. It is signed by a representative the taxpayer has authorised. The certificate is issued by a certification body that meets the conditions of the BiH Law on Electronic Signature, and UIO is one of them.
  • Tax Administration of Republika Srpska: Form 1002 (the monthly withholding tax return) is filed electronically with a free certificate issued by the Tax Administration. According to its page, the certificate is valid for 5 years.
  • APIF (Agency for Intermediary, IT and Financial Services): online you can search registers, check whether a business name is free and follow a case. The registration application itself is handed in at a counter.
  • Agrarian Payments Agency (AAP): subsidy applications are submitted to the Agency in writing, and for some subsidies the form is also sent by e-mail. We found no option to apply online.

Who it applies to

Farms, hosts and processors that are VAT payers, employ workers or pay income subject to withholding tax, and anyone founding a business or applying for subsidies.

What to do

  1. VAT return (UIO). Register on e-Porezi, then deliver the signed and certified statement accepting the terms of use of electronic services to a UIO regional centre, in person or by post (Instruction on registering users of electronic services, Official Gazette of BiH 85/17). The nearest one for Herzegovina is the Mostar Regional Centre, Rodoč bb. After checking the documents, UIO e-mails the activation notice to the responsible person. To sign VAT returns with a qualified electronic certificate, the taxpayer also submits the Contract on using the UIO IT system for e-business (Annex 1, submitted only once) and the registration of a qualified representative (Annex 4), the person who will sign the returns. This part is governed by the Instruction on filing VAT returns using a qualified electronic certificate (Official Gazette of BiH 49/23) and the User instruction for e-business with UIO using a qualified electronic signature (Official Gazette of BiH 40/23). VAT registration is covered in a separate article ("VAT registration with the BiH Indirect Taxation Authority").
  2. Qualified electronic certificate (UIO). The certificate is issued by a certification body that meets the conditions of the BiH Law on Electronic Signature, and UIO is one of them. With UIO, you fill in the request online, then hand in the printed form and a certified copy of an ID document at a regional centre. UIO sends payment instructions after it processes the documents. The qualified representative, the person the taxpayer has authorised to sign VAT returns, must hold the certificate. UIO states that taxpayers who do not sign their returns with it are expected to correct this.
  3. Form 1002 (Tax Administration RS). The taxpayer signs a contract for certification services and consents to a certificate being issued to the person who will sign the returns. That person applies for it. There is no fee. An accounting agency can file the form for you with your consent. The Tax Administration lists holders of commercial farms (insurance basis 45) among the people who can get a certificate. These details come from the Tax Administration's published questions and answers, so confirm them with its contact centre before you apply.
  4. Registering workers for contributions. According to the Tax Administration's explanations, since 28 June 2019 all applications registering contribution payers in the Unified System can also be filed electronically, through the Tax Administration of Republika Srpska e-services portal. You need a username and password issued by the Tax Administration, and the supporting documents (an employment contract, for example) are attached as scanned PDF files. The forms can also be handed in directly or sent by post. Employers who are private persons, including holders of commercial farms, register workers with forms PD3100 and PD3120. Hiring seasonal workers is covered in a separate article ("Hiring seasonal workers in Republika Srpska: contracts, registration, costs").
  5. APIF. Before founding a company or sole trader business, check the name and case status on the APIF site, and file the registration application at the counter. The full procedure is in a separate article ("Registering a sole trader or company in RS").
  6. AAP. Download the forms from the Agency page. The request with its documents goes to the Agency, and for some subsidies the form is also sent by e-mail to the Agency address printed on the form (in the Rulebook: aaprs@mps.vladars.rs). The method depends on the subsidy and is set out in the Rulebook.

Deadlines and amounts

  • Tax Administration certificate: free, and valid 5 years or until revoked, according to its page.
  • APIF (price list of 16 September 2025): registration or change at the seat 40 KM, business name reservation 15 KM, extract from the register free, certificate and extract from the Central Register of Entrepreneurs 15 KM, entry or change in the Register of private persons providing rural hospitality services and renting apartments, holiday houses and rooms 40 KM, written certificate from that register 25 KM plus VAT. Article 11 of the decision states that VAT is not included in the prices. In the price list, VAT is marked for the written certificate (25 KM), not for the entry or change in that register (40 KM), nor for registration, name reservation or Central Register of Entrepreneurs certificates.
  • UIO qualified certificate: the price is set by the Decision on the price of issuing and using qualified electronic certificates (Official Gazette of BiH 78/20). A smart card with the certificate, a card reader and software costs 180 KM, a smart card with the certificate 120 KM, and a certificate on an existing UIO card 80 KM. Payment is made against a pro-forma invoice before the certificate is issued. If you get the certificate from another certification body, check its price there.

Where to go

Foreign guest registration (eStranac), eTurizam (CISU) and fiscalisation have their own articles: "Registering foreign guests in BiH", "Registering accommodation in the eTurizam system (CISU)" and "Fiscalisation in Republika Srpska".

Laws and sources

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