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Media Release – June 4, 2007
Revenue Department serious about
taxpayer compliance
“The
Afghanistan Revenue Department is serious about ensuring that
taxpayers meet their tax obligations” Ministry of Finance
Director-General of Revenue, Ahmad Jalali said today.
“Taxes
are collected to enable the government to provide essential services
such as education, health, infrastructure and security to the
residents of Afghanistan. Therefore, if everyone pays their fair
share, better services can be provided to the citizens of
Afghanistan. The Revenue Department is obligated by law to determine
and collect from each taxpayer only the correct amount of tax that
is due to the government”, Mr Jalali stated.
The Income Tax Law 2005 provides MoF
with a range of enforcement powers necessary to collect the taxes
that are rightfully considered due under the law, including:
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Ability to impose
penalties for late payment, late and non-filing of tax returns,
failure to keep proper records and failure to apply for a Tax
Identification Number (TIN)
▪
Ability to visit
taxpayer premises and inspect books and records (including the
ability to audit taxpayers records of prior years)
▪
Ability to issue
default assessments where tax returns are not filed and to amend tax
assessments to correct inadvertent or intentional errors (e.g. as
the result of a tax audit)
▪
Ability to stop renewal
of business licenses
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Registering charges or
liens over property
▪
Seizure and sale of
property
▪
Assessing directors and
partners for tax debts of their businesses
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Garnishee orders
against wages/salaries and/or bank accounts
▪
Departure prevention
orders to stop persons from leaving Afghanistan
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Temporary closure of
business orders (until tax obligations are met)
Mr
Jalali advised that during the last year his staff have taken action
to close two businesses, issued departure prevention orders in
relation to 8 businesses, taken garnishee action in relation to 6
businesses and refused business license renewal in 4 cases. This
includes action taken in the past week, with the assistance of the
Ministry of Interior, to close a well known restaurant business in
Kabul due to non-compliance with tax laws.
It
would be inappropriate and contrary to the tax law to discuss the
specifics of the reasons and actions taken in that case. Article 96
of the Income Tax Law provides for
the
confidentiality of all information collected by the MoF.
Confidentiality of taxpayer information is a critical element to the
integrity of the tax collection system.
“The
closure of a business is one of the very last steps that my
department will take in order to collect the proper taxes. Prior to
such action businesses will have had many follow up contacts and
requests, assessments will have been issued, and warnings of
enforcement action will have been given where co-operation has not
been forthcoming. We do not intend to permanently close businesses,
but rather to temporarily close them until outstanding tax
obligations are resolved. We are committed to operating in an open
and transparent manner and to give every opportunity for businesses
to voluntarily comply with their tax obligations, but if they do
not, we will take action”, Mr Jalali concluded.
Contact for enquiries:
Ahmad Jalali, Director General
Afghanistan Revenue Department
Ministry of Finance
Phone: 070 225 027
E-mail:
ahmad.jalali@mof.gov.af
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