EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF RECTOR'S CONFERENCE/COLLEGE OF RECTORS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA HELD

Extraordinary session of the Rector's Conference/Rector's Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina chaired by Prof. Ph.D. Jusuf Duraković, rector of the University of Zenica, was held today at the University of Sarajevo.

There was only one item on the agenda - a discussion on the model of engagement of external collaborators in the teaching process, as well as the method of payment of contracts based on the development of domestic and international projects at public universities/universities in FBiH.

After several hours of discussion with all the rectors of public universities, and bearing in mind that the Tax Administration of the Federation in the past period through inspections and decisions incorrectly established the factual situation, the RKBH/RZBiH considers it important to emphasize the following:

FACTS:

• The Tax Administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been carrying out activities of checking the operations of universities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a long time.
• Universities respect all legally prescribed activities related to the implementation of positive legal regulations at all levels and properly settle taxes and other obligations.
• The RKBH/RZBiH informed the FBiH Government and the FBiH Ministry of Finance about its views and practices of the FBiH Tax Administration.

FINDINGS:

Analyzing the inspection records from several universities, we notice numerous illogicalities and possible illegalities in the actions:

• We believe that the FBIH Tax Administration selectively applies legal and other regulations, not recognizing that universities must apply the entire set of laws in their business operations, and especially lex specialis laws that regulate the area of higher education of cantons/counties. We remind you that cantons/counties are the only constitutionally competent for the field of higher education.
• We believe that tax inspectors act in different ways in the interpretation of facts and the application of regulations during inspection supervision, which especially refers to the method of calculating taxes and contributions on the engagement of external collaborators, the approach to the method of calculating taxes and contributions in the implementation of international projects, as well as the taxation of work on temporary and occasional jobs, and ad hoc
• We consider it inadmissible and extremely harmful to be forced to act contrary to positive regulations, and technically unfeasible.
• The RKBH/RZBiH does not exclude the possibility of initiating proceedings to determine the responsibility of institutions and individuals before competent courts.
• RKBH/RZBiH will inform international and domestic institutions, which monitor higher education and the development of science in Bosnia and Herzegovina, about all the highlighted allegations.
• The RKBH/RZBiH considers it inadmissible to calculate taxes at the full rate for fees for international projects at universities. We believe that such a practice violates the European perspective and standards of higher education and the Bologna process.
• We emphasize that all these and numerous other activities call into question the organization of the teaching process, the mobility of teachers and students at public universities/universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and cause incalculable damage to the development of the entire Bosnian society.
• We believe that such actions undermine scientific and research work as the foundation of the development of every society, especially of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• We emphasize that there are numerous other examples that we will permanently report on domestically and internationally
• Committed to academicism and all the values stemming from higher education, guided by the principle of legality, universities/universities consider all objections based on law and regulations and are ready to change their business practices, but they will never allow such activities to affect the missions of universities/universities in society.

STOP:

• The aforementioned practices of the competent tax institutions can lead to the closure of universities as the most important substance of the development of society and lead to the collapse of the perspective of young people and increase their emigration from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Starting from the Framework Law on Higher Education, which specified that higher education activity is of special interest to Bosnia and Herzegovina, such actions grossly violate that interest, and thus the perspective of Bosnian society.
• We appeal to the competent authorities to dialogue with higher education institutions, i.e. universities/universities to find an optimal model in which all legal and other regulations will be respected, thus giving a new perspective to the development of higher education and competitiveness on the domestic and international market.
• We believe that all institutions at all levels will thereby significantly contribute to the development of Bosnian society in its European perspective.