Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sunday Trading Ban Remains in Force as Authorities Confirm Continued Inspections

On October 15, 2026, authorities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina reaffirmed that the Sunday trading ban remains mandatory despite discussions about possible changes. Retailers must continue complying with existing opening-hour restrictions, while inspections and penalties for violations remain in place.

The Sunday trading ban in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) remains in force, despite recent public discussions about potentially changing the existing restrictions.

On October 15, 2026, the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Environmental Protection of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton issued an official statement confirming that retailers must continue respecting the legally prescribed opening hours.

The announcement does not introduce new legislation or change existing trading hours. Instead, it confirms the continued enforcement of the Law on Internal Trade, which has required most retail stores to remain closed on Sundays and public holidays since November 2024.

The Sunday trading restrictions were introduced through the Law on Internal Trade (Official Gazette of FBiH No. 87/2024), which entered into force on November 14, 2024.

The relevant provisions concerning retail opening hours became applicable on November 15, 2024, making November 17 the first non-working Sunday.

Under Article 18 of the law, retailers may determine their opening hours from Monday to Saturday, with a maximum of 90 operating hours per week.

Retail sales facilities must generally remain closed on Sundays and public holidays unless a specific statutory exemption applies.

The law therefore limits the days on which covered retail stores may operate but allows businesses to organize their permitted weekly opening hours.

The October 2026 statement confirms that these obligations continue to apply without a new transition period or general suspension.

Although the restrictions apply broadly to retail establishments, Article 18 provides several exceptions.

These include certain types of businesses and sales facilities, such as:

• Bakeries, flower shops, souvenir shops and traditional craft businesses.
• Retail facilities located within or forming part of petrol stations, transport terminals, airports, hospitals and hotels.
• Certain sales facilities within cultural, religious and other specifically designated locations.
• Drugstores, subject to their specific operating-hour provisions.
• Sales conducted through electronic stores and vending machines.
• Certain agricultural sales and temporary sales activities associated with fairs and exhibitions.
• The exemption depends on the legally defined activity, location or sales format.

E-commerce and vending machine sales are expressly excluded from the general Sunday closing restrictions, making the distinction between physical retail premises and other sales channels relevant.

However, the exemption for online sales should not automatically be interpreted as permission to open an otherwise restricted physical retail store to customers on Sundays.

The law also provides a mechanism allowing local communities to request exemptions.

Under Article 18, paragraphs 10 and 11, a municipal or city council may submit a proposal through the Federal Ministry of Trade to the Government of FBiH.

The Government may then decide whether retail facilities within the relevant municipality or city can be exempted from the general restrictions.

However, submitting a proposal does not automatically authorize Sunday trading.

A legally valid government decision is required before the exemption can be applied.

On March 4, 2026, the Government of FBiH rejected exemption requests submitted by six municipalities and two cities, including Konjic, Visoko and Tešanj.

The decisions demonstrate that exemptions are subject to formal review rather than individual business discretion.

Retailers should therefore verify whether a valid exemption applies to their specific location before modifying store opening hours.

Impact on affected businesses

The announcement is primarily relevant to retailers, retail chains, shopping centres and businesses operating physical stores throughout the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For retailers, the immediate consequence is that existing Sunday and public holiday restrictions must continue to be reflected in store operating schedules.

Businesses should ensure that opening hours displayed at their premises correspond to their actual operations and applicable legal requirements.

For retail chains operating across multiple municipalities, compliance may require checking whether individual locations benefit from specific statutory or government-approved exemptions.

POS and retail management software providers may also need to support location-specific operating schedules where their customers operate multiple stores.

However, the October announcement does not introduce new fiscalization, fiscal receipt or POS technical requirements.

Its main relevance concerns store operations and compliance with retail trading legislation.

What should retailers do?

Retailers should continue applying the existing Sunday and public holiday restrictions unless a valid legal exemption applies.

Businesses should review store opening hours, employee schedules and internal operating procedures to ensure compliance with Article 18 of the Law on Internal Trade.

Retail chains should verify the exemption status of each store individually, particularly where different locations operate under different conditions.

Retail management and POS software providers should ensure that store schedules and operational settings reflect the retailer's legally permitted trading hours.

From a retail compliance perspective, the central distinction is between discussions about possible legislative changes and requirements that are already legally binding.

Although changes to Sunday trading rules remain a subject of public debate, the October 15 announcement confirms that existing restrictions remain enforceable.

Retailers should therefore continue operating under the current framework until an adopted legal amendment or valid exemption decision establishes otherwise.

The main source for this confirmation is the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Ministry – Official Statement on Sunday Trading Restrictions, October 15, 2026 - Source

Ivana Picajkić, Medior Legal Consultant at Fiscal Solutions

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