TAX CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

PART I. GENERAL PART

SECTION II. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
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CHAPTER 6. PRESENTATION AND COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

Article 68. Compilation and Storage of Accounting Documentation

1. Any person shall be required to maintain accounting documentation of operations that:

1) could result in tax obligations for the given person;

2) could result in obligations for the given person to withhold taxes; or

3) could result in obligations for the given person to provide information in connection with taxation.

2. Accounting documentation shall consist of primary documents, accounting records, and other documents that are the basis for the identification of objects of taxation and objects related to taxation, and also for the calculation of tax obligations.

3. Taxpayers shall be required to maintain accounting documentation in accordance with regulatory acts of the Republic of Tajikistan Ministry of Finance and the authorized government body, and when necessary those of the National Bank of Tajikistan and other authorized government bodies in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Any primary accounting document must contain the following details, at a minimum:

1) the name of the document;

2) the date the document was prepared;

3) the name of the person (official name of a legal entity or last name and initials of an individual) for whom (to whom) the document was prepared and issued;

4) the name of the person (official name of a legal entity or last name and initials of an individual) on whose behalf (by whom) the document was prepared and issued;

5) the taxpayer identification number of the person who has prepared and issued the document and the taxpayer identification number of the person for whom the given document was compiled and to whom it was issued;

6) the content of the economic operation;

7) units of measure of the economic operation in kind and in monetary terms;

8) the titles of the persons responsible for performance of the economic operation and its proper documentation and their personal signatures and stamps (if available).

Any primary accounting document must be prepared, at a minimum, in two identical copies, one of which shall remain in the possession of the person who prepared and issued the given document, and the other of which shall be transmitted to and retained by the person for whom the given document is intended.

4. If certain accounting and other documents of a taxpayer have been prepared in a foreign language and they are not intelligible to tax authorities, these documents must be translated by the taxpayer into the official language at the request of tax authorities.

5. When preparing accounting documentation in electronic form, a taxpayer shall be required to furnish hard copies of the given documents in the course of a tax audit at the request of tax authorities.

6. Persons referred to in item 1 of this article shall be required to retain accounting documentation for at least three years following the end of the calendar year to which they apply.

Article 69. Separate Accounting and Rules for Maintaining Separate Accounting Records

1. Taxpayers who are engaged in activities for which this Code establishes different taxation conditions shall be required to maintain separate accounting records of the objects of taxation and objects related to taxation in connection with these activities.

2. Taxpayers shall maintain separate accounting records by performing calculations on the basis of accounting data taking into consideration the provisions of this Code. These calculations shall be effected separately for each type of activity.

3. All income and expenditures relating to a certain type of activity must be supported by the relevant accounting documentation.

Article 70. Tax Reporting

1. Tax reporting shall consist of documentation containing information on the calculation of tax obligations which is submitted by a taxpayer (tax agent) to tax authorities.

2. Tax reporting shall consist of:

1) tax returns and statements that are to be prepared by a taxpayer for each type of tax;

2) applications for a patent or for permission to apply other tax regimes;

3) applications for a certificate to operate as an individual entrepreneur;

4) applications for registration as a payer of the value-added tax;

5) applications for a value-added tax refund;

6) applications for permission to apply the provisions of agreements on avoidance of dual taxation and other international treaties concerning taxation issues recognized by the Republic of Tajikistan;

7) other documentation that is to be prepared and submitted to tax authorities in accordance with the provisions of this Code.

3. A tax return or tax statement shall be a written declaration and/or electronic document of a taxpayer or tax agent submitted to tax authorities following the procedure established by this Code, which must contain information about objects of taxation and objects related to taxation, and also about the calculation of tax obligations and other data related to the calculation and payment of taxes to the budget.

4. In the event of the actual absence of certain data that are supposed to be provided in a tax return and/or statements, the corresponding attachments to them as established by the authorized government body shall not be submitted.

Article 71. Procedure for the Preparation and Submission of Tax Reporting

1. Tax reporting shall be prepared independently by a taxpayer or his representative, or by a tax agent, following the procedure and forms established by the authorized government body in accordance with this Code.

2. Tax reporting shall be prepared in hard copy or in electronic form in the official language. When preparing tax reporting in electronic form a taxpayer or tax agent shall be required to provide hard copies of such documents at the request of tax authorities.

3. Tax reporting must be signed by the taxpayer or tax agent (manager and chief accountant), and must also be certified by the official stamp of the taxpayer or tax agent. When tax reporting is prepared in electronic form, the electronic document must be certified by the electronic signature of the manager and chief accountant and the electronic stamp of the legal entity. In the event that an individual taxpayer is absent or incompetent, tax reporting shall be signed and certified by his representative.

4. A representative of a taxpayer or tax agent who provides services related to the preparation of tax reporting shall be required to sign the documents, affix an official stamp to them, and provide his own taxpayer identification number. If tax reporting is prepared by more than one taxpayer representative, it shall be signed only by the main representative.

5. When a taxpayer or tax agent prepares tax reporting, including cases in which such reporting is prepared by a representative of a taxpayer, the taxpayer or tax agent shall bear liability for the accuracy of the data provided in the tax reporting.

6. Tax reporting shall be submitted by a taxpayer or tax agent to the appropriate tax authorities following the procedure and deadlines established by this Code.

7. In the event of the reorganization or liquidation of a taxpayer (legal entity), separate tax reporting shall be prepared for each reorganized or liquidated taxpayer from the beginning of the tax period until the date on which the reorganization or liquidation is completed on the basis of a transfer deed, separation balance sheet, or liquidation balance sheet. These reporting materials shall be submitted to tax authorities before the relevant information is entered in the state register of legal entities.

8. Taxpayers and tax agents shall have the right to submit tax reporting at their own discretion:

1) in person;

2) by mail, by registered letter with a return receipt;

3) in electronic form, which allows for computer processing of the information, in those cases established by the authorized government body.

9. The date on which tax reporting is submitted to a tax authority shall be the date on which the documents are received by the tax authority or the date of notification of delivery of reporting materials sent by electronic mail.

Tax reporting presented to a post office or other communications organization before midnight on the last day of the deadline established by this Code shall be considered to have been submitted on time provided that a notation is made indicating the time and date of acceptance by the post office or other communications organization.

10. Tax reporting shall be accepted without prior in-house control.

Article 72. Time Period for Storage of Tax Reporting

1. Taxpayers and tax agents shall retain tax reporting materials for at least three years following the end of the calendar year to which they apply.

2. In the event of the reorganization of a taxpayer or tax agent that is a legal entity, obligations related to retaining tax reporting materials for the period the reorganized entity was in operation (within the time limits established under item 1 of this article) shall be assigned to its legal successor.

Article 73. Submission of Tax Returns

1. Taxpayers shall be required to submit tax returns to tax authorities in accordance with the provisions of this Code within the deadlines specified by this Code, and following the form and procedure established by the authorized government body.

2. Changes and additions to a tax return (tax statements) may be made during the three-year statute of limits provided for by this Code.

3. Changes and additions to a tax return and/or statement shall be made by a taxpayer by means of the preparation of a supplemental tax return and/or statement for the tax period to which the given changes and additions apply.

4. Only the amount of the difference that has been identified compared to a previously submitted tax return and/or statement shall be indicated on the appropriate lines in a supplemental tax return and/or statement.

5. When a supplemental return and/or statement is submitted prior to the beginning of a tax audit, taxes identified by the taxpayer shall be paid to the budget without the assessment of any fines.

Article 74. Submission of Information on Payments or Other Transactions

In those cases and following the procedure established by the instruction on the submission of information on payments and other transactions to tax authorities, adopted by the authorized government body in consultation with the Republic of Tajikistan Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Tajikistan, a person who effects a payment or other transaction shall be required to submit the relevant information to tax authorities.

Article 75. Extension of the Deadline for the Submission of Tax Returns

If a taxpayer requests an extension of the deadline for the submission of an income tax or profit tax return before the expiration of the deadline for its submission, and pays the estimated amount of tax owed, the deadline for the submission of the return shall be automatically extended by two months. Extension of the deadline in accordance with this article shall not alter the tax payment deadline and shall not result in a suspension of the accrual of interest in accordance with Article 93 of this Code.

Article 76. Bank Accounts

Banks and other financial and lending institutions that perform certain banking operations shall be required:

1) to open settlement or other accounts (other than deposit savings accounts for individuals) for individuals and legal entities only upon presentation of documents confirming the assignment of a taxpayer identification number by tax authorities, to notify tax authorities within five days of the opening of said accounts for taxpayers, and not to perform transactions on the accounts without indicating the taxpayer identification number in the banking documents;

2) to debit funds from a taxpayer's settlement or other accounts, including foreign currency accounts, for the payment of taxes in accordance with the order of priority established by the Civil Code of the Republic of Tajikistan;

3) on instructions from a taxpayer, to post (transfer) taxes payable to the respective budget to an account held by the Treasury of the Republic of Tajikistan Ministry of Finance at a bank or other financial and lending institution performing cash servicing of the budget, no later than the day following the performance of a transaction debiting the funds from the taxpayer's settlement or other account;

4) to furnish information to tax authorities in accordance with Article 32 of the Republic of Tajikistan Law "On Banks and Banking" and provided there is an official order for the performance of a tax audit, to allow tax authority employees to audit transactions effected on the bank accounts of the legal entity or individual being audited, and to verify the availability of funds on these accounts.

Article 77. Submission of Information to Tax Authorities

1. For tax control purposes and to achieve its lawful objectives, a tax authority shall have the right to demand, by sending a written notification, that any person do the following within 10 days of the date such notification is sent:

1) furnish information indicated in the notification, including information about another person, or

2) appear at the place and time indicated in the notification for questioning or to present documents or other data in the possession of said person and indicated in the notification.

2. To achieve a lawful objective related to the performance of tax control, an authorized official of a tax authority shall have the right, following the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan, and in those cases specified under Article 53 of this Code, to enter any premises without prior notice provided that an official order has been issued, and residential premises in accordance with authorization granted by a prosecutor.

3. An authorized official of a tax authority who is in office or residential premises on a lawful basis in accordance with item 2 of this article, shall have the right, following the procedure established by law:

1) to make a copy of any accounting and other documentation related to taxation;

2) to seize accounting and other documentation that appears to relate to the achievement of the permitted objective, on the basis of a written confirmation of the seizure;

3) to install meters or take readings from meters;

4) to seal accounting and other documentation.

If an authorized official of a tax authority uses equipment and materials belonging to another person for the purposes of obtaining copied passages from accounting and other documentation or copies of such documentation in accordance with this item, the tax authority must reimburse said person for the cost of using the equipment and materials, and the amount of compensation must be based on market prices for the use of such equipment and materials. If an authorized official seizes accounting and other documentation pursuant to the authorities provided for under this item, the tax authority may make a copy of the accounting and other documentation and must return the originals as quickly as possible, but no later than 10 days from the date on which they were seized.

In the event of the seizure of accounting or other documents, an authorized official must prepare an official report and present a copy thereof to the taxpayer.

4. This article shall not grant the right of access without official consent to the premises of diplomatic, consular, or other representative offices of foreign states, as well as international organizations, which enjoy immunity from such investigations in accordance with international law.

5. Access to documents or other objects containing any sort of secret shall be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan.

6. In the context of this article "lawful objective" shall mean the collection of information for the purpose of determining a taxpayer's obligations to pay a tax, or for the purpose of collecting tax from a specific person.

7. In the context of this article "authorized official" shall mean a tax authority employee who has been appointed by the first director of the respective tax authority or his deputy to exercise the rights specified under this article.

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