Traditional craft status in Republika Srpska: who qualifies and what it brings

Anyone in Republika Srpska who makes souvenirs, handmade goods or objects using old techniques can obtain traditional craft status. The legal basis is the Zakon o samostalnim preduzetnicima (Law on Independent Entrepreneurs, Art. 9), which applies from 1 January 2025. The municipal or city department responsible for economy runs the procedure under the Pravilnik o tradicionalnim zanatima (Rulebook on Traditional Crafts) of July 2025. It replaced the earlier rulebook on old crafts, artistic crafts and home crafts.

In short

• Traditional crafts cover three areas: old crafts (stari zanati), artistic crafts (umjetnički zanati) and home crafts (domaća radinost). The work is done mainly by hand, with traditional or modern tools.
• The status lasts five years and is then reviewed.
• A sole trader with the status does not pay the annual membership fee to the Chamber of Entrepreneurs (Komora samostalnih preduzetnika).
• Only the holder of the decision may use the label "Proizvod tradicionalnog zanata" with the decision number, and only on the products listed in the decision.
• The municipality sets the application fee. It can be at most 7% of the average net wage in Republika Srpska for December of the previous year.

Who it applies to

Sole traders, companies, associations and cooperatives can apply if they meet these conditions:

• they are registered and have their seat in Republika Srpska;
• they work as a traditional craft, mainly by hand;
• the work is done directly by employees registered in the contribution system, Jedinstveni sistem registracije, kontrole i naplate doprinosa (for associations and cooperatives, work by members also counts);
• they have no overdue unpaid direct taxes;
• an association or cooperative must have been founded to preserve or practise traditional crafts.

The annexes to the rulebook list what belongs to each area:

• Old crafts (54 types), for example pottery, blacksmithing, cooperage, making opanci (traditional leather footwear), basketry and wickerwork, stone carving, making folk musical instruments, weaving carpets and cloth, dry-stone building.
• Artistic crafts (27 types), for example making rugs (ćilimi) and tapestries, artistic woodwork and stonework, wrought iron, filigree, artistic embroidery, gilding of sacred objects and icons, painting on glass.
• Home crafts (10 types): knitting, weaving, crochet, embroidery, making souvenirs, folk costumes and wooden household items (spindles, distaffs, rolling pins, wooden troughs and similar).

Food and drink (rakija, honey, cheese) are not on these lists. Food law applies to them: see the Hub articles "Labelling home-made food in BiH" and "Selling home-made rakija in Republika Srpska".

What to do

1. Check whether your work appears on one of the lists in the annexes.
2. Ask the Tax Administration of RS (Poreska uprava RS) for a certificate showing that you have no overdue tax. It must not be older than 15 days on the day you apply.
3. Prepare photos of the product or product group and pay the fee set by your municipality.
4. Submit the request (form STZ-1, Annex 4) to the economy department of the municipality or city where you work. An association or cooperative also attaches its founding act. You may also attach recommendations, proof of awards or proof of family tradition. If the request is incomplete, you get eight days to complete it (Art. 11 of the rulebook).
5. The municipality appoints a commission of three: an expert, a representative of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs and a municipal representative. The commission visits your workplace and tells you at least seven days in advance. It gives its opinion within 30 days of the day the municipality forwards the request to it. Among other things, it looks at how long you have practised the craft, family tradition, working method and materials, local origin, quality, design and market presence (tourist offer, fairs).
6. If the opinion is positive, the municipality issues a decision, and the mayor issues a traditional craft certificate. If your request is refused, you can file an objection with the municipality. The decision on the objection can be challenged in an administrative dispute.
7. Report any change that affects the status to the municipality within 15 days. To label a new product, file a request to extend the product range.

Requests can be filed all year. The municipality must publish a public call on its website at least once a year. The call also states what support status holders receive.

Benefits

• No annual membership fee to the Chamber (Law on Independent Entrepreneurs, Art. 87(4)).
• Members of the trader's household may help make the products and do related work without an employment contract, as long as the trader is present (Art. 12 of the law). Household members are persons aged at least 15 who share the trader's household: children (including adopted children and stepchildren), spouse or partner, brothers and sisters, parents and adoptive parents. If people who are not household members help without an employment contract and without the trader present, the trader is fined 1,000 to 3,000 KM (Art. 95 of the law).
• Entry in the public register kept by the Ministry of Economy and Entrepreneurship (Ministarstvo privrede i preduzetništva), which publishes the holder's details and product photos.
• The right to use the label on the products listed in the decision (Art. 18 of the rulebook).

These rules give no tax relief to status holders. Ask the Tax Administration of RS about tax matters.

What guests may buy

A guest may buy any product the seller sells lawfully, on the farm, in a shop or at a market. The seller has the usual duties, such as issuing a fiscal receipt where the law requires one. Craft status is not required to sell souvenirs. It proves origin and method of making. Only the holder of the decision may use the label "Proizvod tradicionalnog zanata", and only on the products named in it.

Deadlines and amounts

• Status: five years from the day the decision is delivered.
• Review: the municipality starts it on its own initiative and carries it out within 15 days after the five years end. Tax debt is not checked at review.
• Traders with an active registration who obtained old craft, artistic craft or home craft status under earlier rules should have received a new decision from the municipality without applying, free of charge and without review, within 60 days of the rulebook coming into force (Art. 100 of the law, Art. 32 of the rulebook). The new status lasts five years from the date of that decision. If you have not received it, contact your municipality.
• Fee: set by the municipality, at most 7% of the average net wage.

Where to go

• The municipal or city department responsible for economy, according to where you work. In Trebinje: City Administration (Gradska uprava Grada Trebinja), Vuka Karadžića 2, 89101 Trebinje, grad@trebinje.rs.ba, trebinje.rs.ba. Ask about the public call for traditional craft status. For other East Herzegovina municipalities, check their websites to find which department handles economy.
• The Ministry of Economy and Entrepreneurship of RS keeps the public register of status holders and publishes both regulations on its website.
• The Tax Administration of RS issues the certificate of paid tax obligations.

Laws and sources

• Zakon o samostalnim preduzetnicima (Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske no. 98/24 of 15 November 2024), Art. 9, 12, 87, 95 and 100
• Pravilnik o tradicionalnim zanatima (Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske no. 63/25 of 22 July 2025)