DODIK: SUPPLEMENTS TO BiH LAW ON EXCISE DUTIES WILL NOT BE ADOPTED

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 24 /SRNA/ - The bill supplementing the Law on Excise Duties in BiH will not be adopted at the BiH level, as the original revenues from excise duties belong to Republika Srpska, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said today.

Dodik stated that the supplements to the law will not be adopted because there is a wall of defense of Republika Srpska’s interests in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, represented by SNSD MPs. He reiterated that the bill in question was proposed by Saša Magazinović, who, he claims, as a Serb serves Muslim interests. "This bill, to the detriment of Republika Srpska, would also be supported by the opposition and Nebojša Vukanović. I remind you that the fundamental mistake was made by the Government led by Mladen Ivanić, which transferred fiscal responsibility to the BiH level," Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka. He reminded that Srpska has strategic resources at its disposal regardless of the situation, noting that it is moving toward a 20 percent reduction in excise duties. "The market will stabilize when the war in the Middle East ends. The proposed supplements to the law are speculative, and their goal is to concentrate decision-making within the Council of Ministers, which is unacceptable," Dodik said, adding that Republika Srpska is well supplied with petroleum products. Dodik pointed out that the constitutional competences of Republika Srpska will be preserved, adding that anyone who presents a fiscal receipt will be reimbursed. "Srpska must function, and nothing will be transferred to the BiH level," Dodik said. Regarding transport operators, Dodik believes they should direct their efforts toward Sarajevo and the joint institutions. "I believe we should stop making decisions at the BiH level. If European bureaucrats do not allow our transport operators to move freely within the EU, why should we adopt any decision related to the EU?" Dodik concluded.