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The water fee at car registration in FBiH and Republika Srpska

The water fee is a yearly charge for water protection that car owners pay at every registration; in both entities it is 2.00 KM per equivalent inhabitant, the unit in which the rules express water pollution. In FBiH a car that burns petrol or diesel has a coefficient of 0.83 a month, which comes to 19.92 KM a year. In Republika Srpska, since 8 July 2025, a petrol or diesel car has 1.40 (33.60 KM), a hybrid 0.80 (19.20 KM) and an electric car 0.40 (9.60 KM). These amounts are our calculation from the acts, and whether electric cars are charged at all is not confirmed in either entity.

What the water fee is

The water fee is the special water fee for water protection (posebna vodna naknada za zaštitu voda), and each entity sets it under its own Water Act: the Federation of BiH under article 171, Republika Srpska under article 190. It is charged on vehicles that run on oil or petroleum products, and the owner pays it once a year, at every registration: at the first registration of an imported car and at each renewal. It is also called vodoprivredna naknada, or simply vodoprivreda.

The rules express water pollution in equivalent inhabitants and set how many a car counts for, as a coefficient; both entities charge 2.00 KM for each. So the amount depends on the entity and, in Republika Srpska, on the drivetrain, but not on the engine size or the age of the car. The calculator's "Water fee" row works it out the same way.

In the Federation of BiH: 19.92 KM

The FBiH Government set the fee at 2.00 KM per equivalent inhabitant for vehicles that run on oil or petroleum products (Odluka o visini posebnih vodnih naknada, Službene novine FBiH 46/07, point IV). Its two amendments, 10/14 and 3/16, change other points.

Under the rulebook on water fees, it is paid by the person in whose name the car is registered and worked out on a whole year's pollution; the methods annexed to the rulebook give a passenger or delivery vehicle a coefficient of 0.83 a month (Službene novine FBiH 92/07, point 11 and the methods, item 23). That makes 0.83 × 12 × 2.00 KM = 19.92 KM a year, for a car of any engine size and age.

This is our calculation from the two acts: we found no official page that gives the amount. Agencies and the press quote 20 KM; 0.83 is close to ten twelfths, so the method may have meant 10 equivalent inhabitants a year, which is 20 KM, but that is only our guess. A hybrid also burns petrol or diesel, so by the wording of the decision it pays the same; the calculator charges 19.92 KM for petrol, diesel and hybrid cars.

In Republika Srpska: 33.60 KM for petrol or diesel

The Government of Republika Srpska set the fee at 2.00 KM per equivalent inhabitant, paid by the owners or users of road vehicles with engines running on oil or petroleum products (Odluka o stopama posebnih vodnih naknada, Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske 53/11, point V). How much a car counts for is set by a code list, which was replaced with effect from 8 July 2025 (Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske 55/25). Its coefficients are monthly, and the fee is paid at registration for the whole year:

  • petrol or diesel: 1.40, so 33.60 KM
  • hybrid: 0.80, so 19.20 KM
  • electric: 0.40, so 9.60 KM

These amounts are our calculation from the two acts, and the calculator uses them. Of the decision's four amendments, those of 2011 and 2020 change other items, and we could not read those of 2021 and 2022 (102/21 and 117/22), so it is not confirmed that the 2.00 KM rate for vehicles is unchanged.

Electric cars: not confirmed

Both decisions speak only of vehicles that run on oil or petroleum products, so it is not confirmed that a fully electric car pays the water fee.

  • FBiH: by the wording of the decision an electric car falls outside the fee, but we found no MUP or other official source that confirms it, and one press example (klix.ba, 29 July 2023) lists 20 KM for an electric car. The calculator charges nothing.
  • Republika Srpska: the 2025 code list gives an electric car its own coefficient, 0.40, although the decision covers only vehicles on oil or petroleum products, and the Tax Administration also describes the revenue as a fee paid by the owners of such vehicles. Before that list, according to klix.ba (29 July 2023), electric cars in Republika Srpska paid no water fee. The calculator charges 9.60 KM.

Ask your MUP before you pay.

How and where it is paid

Pay the water fee before you apply for registration, with the entity's other fees; the proof of payment goes with the request, and the fee is paid again at every renewal.

  • FBiH: under the rulebook the proof of payment goes to the registration authority (Službene novine FBiH 92/07, point 21). Sarajevo Canton's eUprava lists it as "Posebna vodoprivredna naknada za registraciju vozila", paid into the Canton's deposit account, with an amount that depends on the type of vehicle. We did not check the account in other cantons.
  • Republika Srpska: it is paid into the public revenue account of Republika Srpska, as revenue type 722446.

Common mistakes

  • "In Republika Srpska the water fee is about 20 KM." That was true until July 2025, while the old code list gave every car a coefficient of 0.80 (19.20 KM). Since 8 July 2025 a petrol or diesel car has 1.40 and pays 33.60 KM.
  • "In Republika Srpska a hybrid is registered like an ordinary petrol car." No longer true for the water fee: since 8 July 2025 a hybrid has a coefficient of 0.80 instead of 1.40, so it pays 19.20 KM instead of 33.60 KM.

This step of the import

Work out the whole cost

Sources

The official laws, decisions and pages this guide rests on, read on 23/09/2026. Rules and amounts change, so check the ones that matter to you before you buy.