The Ministry of Taxes of the Republic of Azerbaijan organized its Annual Forum in Baku on the 18 February 2019. This year’s Forum was dedicated to discuss taxes, transparency and development.
Mr. Mikayil Jabbarov, the Minister of Taxes presented the recent tax reforms introduced in Azerbaijan, very much targeted at combatting shadow economy and tax evasion and ensuring a business-friendly environment so that conditions for a fair tax system can be established. He also stressed the importance of taking into consideration the needs and concerns of the taxpayers when designing systems and processes and announced the establishment of a Tax Ombudsman in Azerbaijan as a measure intended to reduce litigation and improve compliance.
Mr. Miguel Silva Pinto, the Executive Secretary of IOTA (on the photo to the right), was a speaker at the Forum and thanked the Ministry of Taxes for its engagement and cooperation with IOTA, on-going now for 17 years. Azerbaijan has served in the Executive Council of IOTA for 3 consecutive mandates (2013-2016), hosted several events and participated and continues to participate in projects and teams work, providing an important input to the organisation.
The Minister and the Executive Secretary held a bilateral meeting where they discussed plans for strengthening the collaboration between the two organisations. (Photo to the left.)
The Executive Secretary visited the Call Center of the Ministry of Taxes and the ASAN Communal facility where public services (including tax registration and electronic signature) are offered through a one-stop shop format, acknowledging the progress and modernisation in the delivery of tax services in Azerbaijan.
Photo to the right: Mr. Mahammad Yunusov, the General director of the Call Center Department under the Ministry of Taxes explaining the work of the Call Center to IOTA’s Executive Secretary. Mr Silva Pinto was accompanied to the visit by Mr. Tural Babayev chief state tax inspector of Unit for International Research & Project Management (on the right).