Cigarette smuggling can be done by anyone with Internet access and a credit card. Countries like China and Dubai have become trading hubs where companies will ship cigarettes to you directly bypassing taxes and customs.
Traditional tobacco cultivation in Herzegovina is on the path towards extinction. Local farmers blame their problems on tobacco smuggling and corruption, but changing tastes are playing a large role as well.
Bosnia is not alone in its struggle with tobacco smuggling. Nearly the whole world engages in smuggling in some form.
Despite the efforts of the EU, law enforcement and others, BiH continues to be a trans-shipment point for illegal tobacco. The state budget loses hundreds of millions of KM every year because of cigarette smuggling.
A European Union program did little to bolster small and medium sized business in BiH or to create new jobs. A poorly administered and unmonitored grant program gave equipment to failing or fake companies.
Owners site extortion and inability to collect debts as two reasons their businesses failed.
When thugs and blackmailers target small businessmen, they cannot rely on police or courts to protect them. Businessmen say police never seem to catch criminal and courts are too slow and lenient.
Even when caught in the act of helping smugglers — and recent cases show they are — it is difficult to prosecute or punish customs officers and border police.
Smuggling has gotten sophisticated. A recent case in the Court of BiH offers a look at the relationships and methods that bring illegal goods into the country under the eye of customs and border authorities.
You might as well kiss your money goodbye instead of trying to collect debts in BiH. Rather than relying on courts, small businessmen have become creative when they need to get paid.
Chinese retailers who want to sell cheap goods in BiH must contend with suspicious tax authorities and armed thugs demanding cash.
Long lines, silly rules and a needlessly complex 12-step procedure that only a lawyer could understand make an ordeal of getting a new business officially recognized in BiH.
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