Ministry works over simplifying tax administration
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes will submit a package of amendments to the Tax Code for the government’s discussion till early May 2018, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Taxes Sahib Alakbarov told reporters in Baku on April 3.
“We received proposals on amendments to tax legislation from entrepreneurs until March 31. We are currently reviewing these proposals. For this purpose, a special commission has been set up which holds meetings daily,” he said.
Until early May, we must submit a package of amendments to the Tax Code for it to be discussed simultaneously with the budget package, Alakbarov added.
“As you know, the process is rather long and it is not easy. First, the package of proposals must be agreed on in the Ministry of Taxes, discussed in the Cabinet of Ministers and then submitted to the presidential administration. Therefore, we want to complete our part of the work till May,” he noted.
Touching upon the issues raised by the entrepreneurs' proposals, Alakbarov noted that basically the proposals relate to non-cash payments, documentation required by this or that operation, changes in tax legislation and administration.
“A large number of taxpayers want simplification of administration, and we are doing some work in this direction. Every proposal will be considered. We are attentive to these proposals and will continue to be so,” he said.
As the Minister of Taxes, Mikayil Jabbarov, previously noted, the package of amendments to the Tax Code will help solve key problems in tax administration that entrepreneurs face.
“This package will be submitted to the government for consideration as part of the process of forming the 2019 state budget.The main attention will be paid to reducing the share of the shadow economy and encouraging the transition to a legal economy. We intend to ensure this transformation so that it becomes favorable for entrepreneurs. We are ready to cooperate both with businessmen, and with the government and parliament to develop the changes,” the minister said at the time.
Alakbarov went on to say that a mechanism to regulate the use of POS-terminals should be created in Azerbaijan.
He stressed that the control process over the availability of POSterminals in trade and service centers depends not only on the Taxes Ministry.
“This should depend on each person. Today, we face such a situation when a POS-terminal is available at the site, but customers are informed that it does not work. The client must claim their rights. But presently, there are no regulatory measures to oversee the use of POS terminals. I think that the refusal from the use of the POS terminal should somehow be suppressed at the legislative level,” Alakbarov said.
As for January 2018, there are 65,181 POS-terminals in the country, of which 36,801 have been installed in Baku, 28,380 in other cities and districts of the country, according to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA). The number of POS-terminals decreased by 5,983 or 8.4 percent in Azerbaijan for the year.