Kosovo removes the tax on Serbian goods and reciprocity is established, with Bosnia is differently

 Albin Kurti (archive)

 The incumbent Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has said that today is a special day since today the 100 percent tax on Serbia will be replaced by reciprocity. But reciprocity will not apply to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as Kurti said he does not want this state to be treated the same as Serbia.

Kosovo's acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has announced at a press conference that the tax on Serbian products will be completely abolished and replaced with reciprocity.

The decision will take effect today before midnight and will remain until June 15 when an assessment will be made of how the decision has progressed in terms of implementation.

“This decision we are making tonight is being implemented by the Border Police, Kosovo Customs, Veterinary Agency and other institutions. In this way, we are making the decision that comes into force immediately upon signing it, while the meeting will last until 22:00 pm. This decision remains in effect until June 15, and we will make a comprehensive assessment to see how this implementation has progressed. We will not suffice with this alone, but paragraph 3 of this proposal states that the applications will be reviewed at least once a month by collecting data from our customs officials."

Previously, the tax was only lifted for raw materials coming from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We are starting implementation as a replacement for the tariff and we are referring here only to Serbia and not Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do not want these two states to be treated the same and we know that Bosnia also suffers from Serbia. Serbia fights us from the outside and fights Bosnia internally. In this sense, we are convinced that our action as a gesture of goodwill to come to an understanding among the people there, but also for the institutions to follow this with a visa lif. We do not recognize them and they do not, but we do not want Bosnia's non-existence. Pristina and Sarajevo should not have the obstacle of movement”.

Kurti said the reciprocity measure is in line with the CEFTA agreement and European trade practices.

This decision must be enforced by the Border Controls, Customs, Kosovo Police, Food and Veterinary Agency, Agency for Meat Products and Other Equipment and other institutions.

On the other hand, Kurti announced that the 100 percent tariff on Bosnia and Herzegovina's products would be completely abolished.