April 5 (SeeNews) - Bosnia's House of Representatives on Wednesday decided against the accelerated adoption of amendments to the law on excise duties, jeopardizing the country's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The amendments will now be subject to lengthy regular proceedings, a live stream of the session showed.
MPs of the Serb Republic's opposition Serb Democratic Party, SDS, voted against as the proposed amendments envisage an increase in fuel prices which according to the party and its partners would hit Bosnia's struggling farming sector.
Commenting on the MPs' decision, the finance minister of Bosnia's Serb Republic, Zoran Tegeltija, told local media that it spells the end to the IMF deal and the country's reform agenda.
The IMF said last month it expects Bosnia to adopt amendments to the law on excise tax, along with other reforms, by the end of April in order to pave the way for consideration of the first review under its current three-year loan deal.
The Serb Republic is one of two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other is the Federation.
In September last year, the IMF approved a three-year 553.3 million euro ($590.3 million) loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina to support the country’s economic reform agenda. The disbursement of funds under the loan deal hinges on the implementation of a set of reforms.
($=0.9374 euro)