Sanitary and Phytosanitary & Veterinary regulation

In this part of the CEFTA Web Portal you will find the most important sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary control procedures to be followed for each CEFTA Economy. The information about the control procedures includes but is not limited to: 1.The location of sanitary, phytosanitary and/or veterinary control offices including working hours in each office; 2.A description of sanitary, phytosanitary and/or veterinary procedures; 3.The documents asked by the respective authorities in order to obtain approval for entering, transiting or exiting the territory of the respective CEFTA Economy; 4.The officially approved documents issued by the respective authorities; 5.A description of the official procedures for sampling. In cases where the final destination of goods is one of the CEFTA Economies included in this web portal, please refer to the sanitary, phytosanitary and/or veterinary import procedures of that Economy. In case your goods exit the territory of one of the CEFTA Economies included in this web portal, please refer to the sanitary, phytosanitary and/or veterinary export procedures relevant to that Economy.




What is subjected to veterinary inspection?

The border veterinary inspection controls shipments of live animals, raw materials, products and by-products of animal origin, veterinary drugs and medical devices that are used in veterinary medicine as well as diagnostic agents and animal feed.

Laws and bylaws

The area of international trade in shipments that are subject to the control of the border veterinary inspection is regulated by the framework Law on Veterinary of BiH (“Official Gazette of BiH”, No. 34/02). All other regulations/bylaws can be found on the web site of the Veterinary Office of BiH (www.vet.gov.ba).

Where is veterinary inspection conducted


The Border Veterinary control is prescribed by Article 25 of the Law on Veterinary. The control, monitoring and coordination of the work of border veterinary inspection shall be conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH through the Veterinary Office of BiH which coordinates the work of the border veterinary inspection.

Prior to import / At the border

Import of live animals and products of animal origin in Bosnia and Herzegovina is possible only from the economies for which there is no prohibition of imports.

Every shipment of animals, products of animal origin, food of animal origin, animal feed, by-products of animal origin that are reported to the veterinary inspection control must be accompanied by an official veterinary-health certificate issued by the competent authorities of the economy of origin of the shipment, which must be submitted for examination to the border veterinary inspector.

The mentioned shipments are divided into shipments that require a Decision on non-existence of veterinary-health obstacles to import and transit in or through Bosnia and Herzegovina and shipment that do not require a Decision. The shipments that do not require a Decision are listed in Annex II of the Rulebook on conditions of import and transit of live animals in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH" n. 57/12). The Decision prescribes the veterinary-health conditions that the shipment must satisfy and which must be confirmed by the official veterinary of the exporting economy on the veterinary-health certificate accompanying the shipment during import.

For imports from European Union economies and other economies it is necessary that import is done from approved establishments that are registered in the Registry of the BiH Veterinary Office. The mentioned establishments must be on the list of approved establishments of the European Union (DG SANCO) or they must have a guarantee of the competent authority of the exporting economy with which BiH has an Agreement on veterinary cooperation or the establishment has been inspected by the Commission of the Office, which has established, after the inspection, that the regulations, standards, production and control that is carried out by the export economy is at least the same as in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that at least equal consumer protection is foreseen.

The necessary documentation for the registration of establishments in the Registry of the BiH Veterinary Office and the issuance of the Decision on non-existence of veterinary-health obstacles to import and transit in or through Bosnia and Herzegovina is available on the website of the Office.

The import and transit of shipments can be done through the approved border veterinary crossings in accordance with the Rulebook on conditions and method of work of the border veterinary inspection of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH" n. 45/09), the Rulebook on the work of the veterinary inspection in Bosnia and Herzegovina / inspection of products of animal origin ("Official Gazette of BiH" n. 96/09) and with the Rulebook on the work of the veterinary inspection in Bosnia and Herzegovina/inspection of live animals ("Official Gazette of BiH" n. 96/09).

The importer – or his legal representative must announce the shipment of products of animal origin, and for live animals at least 24 hours before the material submission of the shipment to the veterinary-inspection control, attach the Decision on non-existence of veterinary-health obstacles to import and transit to or through Bosnia and Herzegovina and pay the fee for the veterinary-health inspection according to the Decision on the amount of fee for the obligatory veterinary-health inspection in trade across the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH" n. 62/12). In addition to submitting the documentation, the importer must prepare the shipment for identity control, physical and material control.

Special conditions

The Office determines the conditions for the import and transit of shipments in accordance with the standards of the European Union (EU), and in special circumstances with the provision prescribed in the signed Agreements on veterinary cooperation and recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and in accordance with the newest scientific findings and other criteria that contribute to the protection of human and animal health.

Documents


Documents are listed in the text above.

Contact


Veterinary Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Radićeva 8, 71000 Sarajevo
Tel: +387 33 565 700
Fax: +387 33 565 725
E-mail: info@vet.gov.ba