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TAX CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN SECTION XI. TAX ON USERS OF MINERAL RESOURCES CHAPTER 37. GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 272. Relations Regulated by this Section 1. This section shall define specific provisions related to the fulfillment of tax obligations arising under mineral use contracts and it shall establish the procedure for the calculation and payment of special charges for users of mineral resources, including bonuses (signing, commercial discovery, and extraction bonuses) and royalties. 2. Individuals and legal entities engaged in the implementation (execution) of mineral use contracts in the Republic of Tajikistan, in addition to the payment of special charges for users of mineral resources, shall be taxpayers with respect to other taxes established by this Code if they meet the requirements specified by this Code for the payers of other taxes. 3. All types of bonuses and royalties shall be deducted (shall be deductions) for purposes of the profit tax (income tax for individual entrepreneurs). Article 273. Payers The payers of special charges for users of mineral resources (referred to hereinafter as "special charges") shall be individuals and legal entities engaged in mineral use operations in the Republic of Tajikistan (referred to hereinafter as "users of mineral resources"), including the extraction of minerals resulting from industrial processing. Article 274. Establishment of a Tax Regime in Mineral Use Contracts 1. The tax regime established for a user of mineral resources shall be specified only in a mineral use contract (referred to hereinafter as a "contract") concluded between the user of mineral resources and a competent authority authorized by the Republic of Tajikistan government (referred to hereinafter as a "competent authority"), following the procedure determined by the Republic of Tajikistan government. 2. The tax regime established under a contract must be consistent with the requirements of the tax legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan as of the date the contract is concluded (signed). 3. The inclusion of issues pertaining to the payment of taxes and special charges in licenses and other documents related to mineral use, with the exception of mineral use contracts, shall be prohibited. 4. In cases in which mineral use is carried out under the same contract by several taxpayers, the tax regime established under the contract shall be the same for all of them. In this case, with respect to activities performed under such a contract, for taxation purposes the taxpayers shall be considered a single taxpayer and they shall be required to maintain a single set of consolidated accounting records and to pay all taxes and special charges established in the contract in accordance with the tax legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan. 5. Users of mineral resources performing operations under more than one contract may not combine income and expenses arising from the implementation of different contracts for the purposes of determining taxes and special charges. There must be separate accounting of income and expenses for each contract, and a separate statement of taxes and special charges must also be prepared. 6. The provisions of item 5 of this article shall not apply to cases in which users of mineral resources perform operations under more than one contract and all of these contracts have been concluded for the extraction of commonly-occurring minerals and/or ground water, provided that all of these contracts do not also provide for the extraction of other types of minerals. 7. A user of mineral resources shall be required to maintain separate accounting records for the calculation of tax obligations in accordance with the tax regime provided for under the contract, and for the calculation of tax obligations related to activity that falls outside the scope of the given contract (not related to mineral use). 8. The provisions of item 7 of this article pertaining to separate accounting shall not apply to cases in which a user of mineral resources, in addition to the activities under contracts for the extraction of commonly-occurring minerals and/or ground water, also performs activities that fall outside the scope of the given contracts (not related to mineral use). 9. In the case of the commercial processing of mineral by-products not specified in a contract, a user of mineral resources shall pay royalties on them in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 39 of this Code. Article 275. Tax Regime for Transactions Not Pertaining to Mineral Use The fulfillment of tax obligations related to activity performed within the scope of a contract shall not exempt a user of mineral resources from the fulfillment of tax obligations provided for under this Code for the performance of activity that falls outside the scope of the given contract (not related to mineral use) in accordance with the tax legislation in force on the date such obligations arise (not related to mineral use). Article 276. Stability of the Tax Regime 1. The tax regime established under a contract that has been concluded in accordance with the established procedure and has undergone a mandatory tax evaluation shall remain unchanged until the end of the period of validity of the given contract, with the exception of the case referred to under item 2 of this article. 2. In the event that changes are made to the legislation after the date on which a contract is signed, which make it impossible to comply with the original terms of the contract, the user of mineral resources and representatives of a competent authority, the authorized government body, and the Republic of Tajikistan Ministry of Finance may make changes or amendments to the contract which are necessary in order to restore the economic interests of the parties to their status as of the moment the contract was signed. The given changes or amendments to the terms of the contract shall be made within 60 days of the date of written notification sent by the authorized government body or user of mineral resources to the other party. 3. In the event of the elimination of certain types of taxes and special charges specified under a contract, a user of mineral resources shall continue to pay them to the budget following the procedure and in the amounts established under the contract until the relevant changes are made to the contract for the purposes and following the procedure provided for under item 2 of this article. Article 277. Taxation of Assignment of Rights Income earned from the assignment of rights provided for under a contract shall be subject to taxation following the procedure established by this Code. Article 278. Tax Evaluation 1. A tax evaluation shall be a special evaluation that consists of an analysis and assessment of a draft contract concluded between a user of mineral resources and a competent authority, which is performed for the purpose of determining the tax regime, including the establishment of special charges for users of mineral resources in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan. 2. Prior to being concluded (signed), all contracts between a user of mineral resources and a competent authority (the contracting parties) must undergo a mandatory tax evaluation following the procedure and within the time frame determined by the Republic of Tajikistan government. This provision shall also apply to amendments and additions to previously concluded contracts. 3. In the event of a change in the tax legislation between the date that a tax evaluation is performed and the date that a contract is signed, the tax regime must be brought into conformity with the given changes and another tax evaluation must be performed. 4. The tax regime established in accordance
with the results of a tax evaluation must be included in the
final text of a contract without any changes or revisions.
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