TAX CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

PART I. GENERAL PART

SECTION III. STATUS AND STRUCTURE OF TAX AUTHORITIES AND TAX POLICE UNITS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN
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CHAPTER 14. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TAX AUTHORITIES

Article 118. Rights of Tax Authorities

1. Except as otherwise provided by this Code, tax authorities shall have the right, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan:

1) to perform tax audits in accordance with this Code;

2) to seize documents from a taxpayer or a tax agent in the performance of tax audits, which are related to the commission of tax offenses, and to prepare a document regarding such actions following the established procedure;

3) to summon taxpayers or tax agents to appear at the offices of tax authorities on the basis of a written notification to provide explanations in connection with the payment (withholding and transfer) by them of taxes or in connection with a tax audit, and also for other purposes related to their compliance with the tax legislation;

4) to determine the amount of taxes payable by taxpayers to the budget on the basis of an estimate (using direct or indirect estimation methods) in those cases and following the procedure established under item 3 of Article 44 of this Code;

5) in the process of performing tax audits of individuals and legal entities, to inspect all financial documents, accounting books, reports, estimates, cash, securities, and other assets in hand, statements, returns, and other documents related to the calculation and payment of taxes; to obtain from officials and other employees of enterprises (organizations) and from individuals information and oral and written explanations regarding issues that may arise in the process of said audits;

6) in accordance with item 2 of Article 77 of this Code, to examine all manufacturing, warehouse, commercial, and other premises of enterprises and individuals, regardless of their location, which are used for the purpose of earning income or are related to the maintenance of objects of taxation, and to perform surveys using the time-study method or other methods;

7) to issue directives to managers and other officials of enterprises, as well as individuals, regarding the elimination of violations of the tax legislation and legislation on commercial activity that are identified, compliance with which shall be mandatory, and to monitor compliance with them;

8) to impose tax sanctions and penalties provided for by this Code and the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan against enterprises, officials, and individuals for violations of the tax legislation;

9) to collect taxes, penalties, and interest from enterprises, their officials, and individuals in accordance with this Code, including through the filing of petitions with the courts;

10) to prepare protocols of violations of the tax legislation by officials of enterprises or individuals and to issue the relevant decisions;

11) in the process of a tax audit, following the procedure established by the authorized government body in consultation with the Republic of Tajikistan Ministry of Finance, to conduct an inventory of the taxpayer's property (other than residential premises);

12) to obtain information, statements, and documents pertaining to the commercial activity and operations of enterprises and individuals from legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, exclusively for official purposes;

13) to present to the Republic of Tajikistan government and local representative and executive government bodies, following the established procedure, proposals regarding the repeal of their decisions and decisions of lower-level bodies that are in conflict with the tax legislation in force;

14) to petition the courts, following the established procedure, to attach property and collect funds from accounts of individuals and legal entities;

15) provided that circumstances referred to under Article 94 of this Code are present, to suspend spending operations, with the exception of spending operations for the purposes of fulfilling a tax obligation, of individuals and legal entities on settlement and other accounts, including foreign currency accounts at banking institutions of the Republic of Tajikistan;

16) in the process of performing tax audits of banks themselves, to audit the movement of money on the accounts of bank customers only on the basis of a court decision following the procedure established by law;

17) to request from banks documents confirming the execution of payment orders presented in accordance with the procedure established by this Code and other regulatory legal acts by taxpayers and tax agents and collection orders (instructions) of tax authorities calling for the debiting of taxes from the accounts of taxpayers and tax agents, as well as documents confirming the suspension of spending operations on accounts of taxpayers and tax agents following the procedure established by this Code;

18) with regard to issues related to the taxation of a taxpayer who is being audited, to obtain from banks or other financial and lending institutions information about the existence and numbers of the taxpayer's bank accounts, and about the balances of funds and movement of funds on these accounts in compliance with the requirements established by legislative acts of the Republic of Tajikistan regarding non-disclosure of information constituting a commercial, bank, tax, or other secret protected by law;

19) to hire (bring in) specialists, experts, and translators to perform tax control activities;

20) to call as witnesses persons who may be aware of circumstances that are of significance in the performance of tax control activities;

21) to announce petitions to revoke or suspend licenses to engage in certain activities which have been issued to individuals and legal entities;

22) to set up tax warehouses and excise posts following the procedure established by this Code;

23) to file petitions with the courts on matters related to compliance (noncompliance) with the tax legislation by taxpayers and/or tax agents;

24) to draft, approve, and publish regulatory legal acts in accordance with this Code;

25) within the scope of their authority, to issue explanations regarding the incurrence, fulfillment, and termination of tax obligations;

26) to monitor the proper application of cash registers with fiscal memory;

27) tax authorities shall also have other rights provided for by this Code and other legislative acts of the Republic of Tajikistan.

2. The rights of tax authorities set forth in this article may be exercised by tax police units only on the basis of a written instruction from first directors of tax authorities or their authorized deputies.

Article 119. Responsibilities of Tax Authorities

1. Tax authorities shall be required:

1) to comply with the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, this Code, constitutional laws, and other laws of the Republic of Tajikistan, joint resolutions of the Majlisi Milli and the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, resolutions of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, regulatory legal acts of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Tajikistan government, and the rights and interests of enterprises, institutions, and organizations, as well as citizens, which are protected by law;

2) to provide for the implementation of state tax policy;

3) to provide for the registration of taxpayers in full and in a timely manner, including payers of the value-added tax, and objects of taxation; to provide for the recording of taxes assessed and paid, and arrears; and to monitor the proper calculation and payment of taxes to the budget in full and in a timely manner;

4) to compile reports on tax receipts applied to the budget, and to maintain a record of and compile reports on tax concessions granted, with a breakdown by groups of taxpayers, types of taxes and concessions, as well as a breakdown by region;

5) to apply and promptly collect financial and other sanctions, penalties, and interest provided for by this Code and other legislative acts of the Republic of Tajikistan;

6) to conduct audits of taxpayers in accordance with regulatory legal acts;

7) to publish methodological and instructional directives on issues that fall within the scope of their authority, as well as manuals, brochures, and posters, and to publish guidance and explanations on these issues in the mass media;

8) to present a notification to a taxpayer regarding the fulfillment of a tax obligation within the deadlines and in those cases provided for by this Code;

9) to provide a statement from a taxpayer's personal account on the status of settlements with the budget pertaining to the fulfillment of tax obligations, within 10 days of the taxpayer's request;

10) to apply methods to ensure the fulfillment of tax obligations and to collect a taxpayer's tax debt in accordance with this Code;

11) to furnish taxpayers with a copy of a tax audit report and the relevant decision by a tax authority based on the results of a tax audit;

12) to maintain a state register and records of cash registers with fiscal memory;

13) to review letters, appeals, and petitions regarding issues that fall within the jurisdiction of tax authorities following the established procedure;

14) to furnish information to financial authorities on a monthly basis on taxes actually received and paid to the budget;

15) to monitor execution of the revenue side of the budget in conjunction with financial authorities;

16) to collect and analyze information on the fulfillment and violations of tax legislation, to forecast trends in the development of negative processes related to the taxation of legal entities and individuals, and to keep the Republic of Tajikistan government informed in this regard;

17) to implement foreign exchange controls in conjunction with other bodies authorized by the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan;

18) to credit and/or refund to taxpayers tax overpayments in accordance with the provisions of Article 89 of this Code;

19) to observe the secrecy of information about taxpayers in accordance with the provisions of Article 123 of this Code;

20) to perform explanatory work regarding the application of tax legislation; to furnish taxpayers with tax reporting forms and explain the procedure for filling them out; to provide explanations, including written explanations, regarding the procedure for the calculation and payment of taxes;

21) to retain tax reporting materials and other documents, including copies of these documents issued to taxpayers (receipts, etc.) confirming fulfillment by a taxpayer of tax obligations to pay taxes to the state budget, for six years from the end of a tax year;

22) in the event that facts are discovered in the course of a tax audit pointing to crimes related to tax evasion and evasion of other compulsory payments to the budget, which the legislation places under the jurisdiction of tax police units, as well as signs of other economic offenses and crimes, to forward to tax police units the relevant materials within 10 business days of approval of the tax audit report for the implementation of measures in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan;

23) to monitor the activities of lower-level tax authorities and enterprises, institutions, and organizations under their jurisdiction;

24) to carry out other responsibilities provided for by the tax legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan.

2. The provisions of subitems 3), 4), 5), 6), 8), 9), 10), 11), 12), 14), 15), 17), 18), 20), 21), 22), and 23) of item 1 of this article shall not apply to tax police units.

Article 120. Procedure for Exercising the Rights Granted to Tax Authorities

1. The rights of tax authorities specified under subitems 1), 2), 5), 6), 10), 11), 12), 16), 17), 18), 20), and 26) of item 1 of Article 118 of this Code shall be granted to all tax authority employees.

2. The rights of tax authorities specified under subitems 3), 7), 8), 9), 13), 14), 15), 19), 21), 22), 23), 24), and 25) of item 1 of Article 118 of this Code shall be granted to the first director of the authorized government body, his first deputy, and authorized deputies, deputy directors of the tax department of the authorized government body, and the first directors of territorial tax authorities and their deputies.

3. The rights of tax authorities specified under item 1 of Article 118 of this Code and not listed under items 1 and 2 of this article shall be granted to all tax authority employees who hold the rank of senior tax inspector or higher.

4. An instruction on the procedure for exercising the rights granted to tax authorities shall be drafted, approved, and published by the authorized government body.

Article 121. Liability of Tax Authority Officials

1. Tax authority employees shall bear disciplinary, administrative, or criminal liability in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan for failure to fulfill or improper fulfillment of their duties; for failure to observe state, official, tax, and commercial secrets and the secrecy of deposits as established by the legislation; and for abuses of their official position and other unlawful actions.

2. Damages incurred by a taxpayer as a result of unlawful actions by tax authority employees shall be subject to restitution following the procedure established by the Civil Code of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Article 122. Conflict of Interest

A tax authority employee shall be prohibited from performing his official duties in the following cases:

1) the tax authority employee is related to a taxpayer;

2) a taxpayer or a relative of the taxpayer has a direct or indirect financial interest with respect to the tax authority employee.

Article 123. Secrecy of Information (Tax Secret)

1. Tax authorities, tax agents, and all persons who are or have been employees thereof, shall be required to maintain the secrecy of any information about taxpayers (with the exception of information about a taxpayer identification number and other information related to the registration of taxpayers) obtained by them in the performance of their official duties. Tax authorities and tax agents shall have the right to disclose such information following the procedure established by the authorized government body, only to the following persons:

1) other tax authority employees in the course and for the purpose of the performance of their official duties;

2) law enforcement authorities for the purpose of performing an inspection of a person who has committed a tax offense or crime, in accordance with the law;

3) courts in the course of a review of a case to determine a taxpayer's tax obligations or liability for tax offenses or crimes or other criminal liability;

4) tax authorities of other countries in accordance with international treaties recognized by the Republic of Tajikistan;

5) financial authorities and the Social Protection Fund of the Republic of Tajikistan government, within the limits necessary for the implementation of legislation on the budget and social security;

6) customs authorities for purposes related to the application of customs legislation, as well as bodies that have the right to collect taxes in accordance with this Code, for purposes of taxation.

2. Persons who have obtained information in accordance with item 1 of this article shall preserve the secrecy of information in accordance with the provisions of this article, with minimal exceptions necessary to achieve the purposes for which access to the information is allowed.

3. With the exception of cases in which information is obtained in accordance with items 1 or 4 of this article, a person who obtains information, access to which is regulated by this article, may not disclose the information and shall be required to return the documents containing information to tax authorities.

4. Information concerning a taxpayer may be provided to another person with the taxpayer's written permission.

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