The Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH concluded the Contract on the performance of administrative tasks in the field of type-approval of vehicles, vehicle parts, devices, and equipment, No. 04-02-2-2256/22 of 04.08.2022, with a Consortium composed of: Centar motor d.o.o. Široki Brijeg, as the lead member of the Consortium, and the Consortium members: Centar za automobilsko inženjerstvo d.o.o. Banja Luka, Informacioni Inžinjering Sirius 2010 d.o.o. Banja Luka, and Centar za cestovni promet d.o.o. Sarajevo, thereby authorizing them to perform the tasks of type-approval of vehicles, vehicle parts, devices, and equipment.
TYPE-APPROVAL (HOMOLOGATION)
Vehicle type-approval involves the application of uniform regulations on the mandatory testing of each individual vehicle type before it is placed on the market. During type-approval, the devices essential to the safety of the vehicle are tested, as well as the devices on which the vehicle's environmental characteristics depend.
The very beginnings of type-approval stem from the shared desire of European countries to remove barriers in the mutual trade of vehicles and to harmonize legislation in the area of vehicles and their parts, assemblies, and devices.
There are two type-approval systems:
The first is based on the ECE regulations, that is, the 1958 Agreement.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (working group WP.29, World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations) adopts the Agreement concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment, and parts which can be fitted and/or used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (1958 Agreement). The Contracting Parties to the 1958 Agreement — a large number of European states, the European Union as a collective member, and Japan, Australia, and eight other non-European states independently — each decide for themselves which of the currently 128 existing individual ECE regulations they will apply on their territory. The individual ECE regulations set out provisions on the procedures for testing, approval, marking, and reciprocal recognition of particular parts, assemblies, and devices of vehicles.
Type-approval authorizations, according to the ECE regulations, are issued for a vehicle type with regard to a particular part, assembly, or device of the vehicle, e.g., for a vehicle type with regard to the braking system. This system of type-approval regulations currently does not allow for the issuance of approvals for a vehicle type as a whole.
Current news regarding the 1958 Agreement, as well as individual ECE regulations, are available at http://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.html
The second is based on the EEC/EC directives, that is, EU regulations.
The individual EEC/EC directives and EU regulations set out provisions on the procedures for testing, approval, marking, and reciprocal recognition of particular parts, assemblies, and devices of vehicles, but also the possibility of issuing approval for a vehicle type as a whole (WVTA – Whole Vehicle Type Approval).
Categories of type-approval:
Vehicle type-approval
Vehicle type-approval is carried out for new vehicles that are mass-produced and imported by legal or natural persons registered for the sale of vehicles with the intention of selling such vehicles within the territory of BiH. Vehicle type-approval is also carried out for vehicles mass-produced in BiH if the series of the type in question is greater than 10.
Individual vehicle approval
Individual vehicle approval is carried out for new vehicles that a supplier imports individually for sale or for their own needs. Individual vehicle approval is also carried out for used imported vehicles. Individual vehicle approval is also carried out for vehicles that have been seized or ceded in favor of the state through the application of customs or other regulations, in the event of their being placed on the market or registered following free allocation by the competent state authorities.
Type-approval of vehicle parts, devices, and equipment
Type-approval, that is, verification of the conformity of vehicle parts, devices, and equipment, is carried out for new vehicle parts, devices, and equipment that are imported into Bosnia and Herzegovina or produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purpose of being placed on the market.
On the basis of Article 205 of the Law on the Basics of Road Traffic Safety in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 6/06, 75/06 and 44/07, 84/09, 48/10, 18/13, 8/17, 89/17, and 9/18), the Minister of Communications and Transport adopted the Rulebook on vehicle type-approval ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 83/20 and 8/22). This Rulebook governs the conditions for the type-approval of vehicles, vehicle parts, devices, and equipment, and the conditions for designating organizations that may perform administrative and technical tasks in the field of type-approval. Through this procedure, every vehicle, prior to import customs clearance (along with its accompanying documentation), except those exempted by regulation, is subjected to a type-approval inspection.
The Decision on the minimum technical requirements for newly manufactured and used vehicles in the type-approval of a vehicle type and the type-approval of an individual vehicle, and for vehicle parts, devices, and equipment in type-approval ("Official Gazette of BiH", No. 23/19) prescribes the minimum technical requirements for newly manufactured and used vehicles in the processes of vehicle type-approval and individual vehicle approval. A used vehicle is considered to be a vehicle for which at least three months have passed since its first registration or which has traveled a distance of 3,000 km.
For vehicles manufactured according to regulations other than the UN ECE regulations, EU directives, and OECD codes, and for which there is no authorized importer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a conformity check will be carried out according to a procedure signed by the administrative body for type-approval tasks, or a conformity check report from organizations abroad with which a cooperation agreement exists will be recognized.
Vintage (oldtimer) vehicles
For vehicles older than 30 years, there is the possibility of importing them into BiH as oldtimer vehicles. So-called vehicles of museum value go through a vehicle identification process. The main condition is that the vehicles are older than 30 years and that they have been preserved or reassembled in their original form, and that they have been classified by a federation or registered oldtimer club according to FIVA criteria, on the basis of the age category, technical category, and preservation category.
All the necessary legislation in the field of vehicle type-approval in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found on the website http://homologacija.gov.ba/
For any questions you may have regarding type-approval testing, you can contact us via the following e-mails:
- homologacija@centarai.com
- tipska@centarai.com
- dijelovi@centarai.com
- drugostepena@centarai.com
List of service centers for type-approval (PDF) in BiH
List of authorized representatives in BiH - PDF
Pricelist - PDF
