Fines eased for tax law violations
The government slashed on Wednesday the fines imposed for tax rule violations, as they would have dealt the final blow for many enterprises.
A clause added to a Development Ministry bill that was voted into law on Wednesday has rationalized the level of fines that had become too heavy for companies and in most cases were never paid; instead they were added to the pool of expired debts to the state.
The regulation also concerns cases of fines for which a final decision had not been made by November 29. That effectively means the easing of fines also concerns outstanding cases for which a definitive order for a fine has been issued but the taxpayer has formally objected to it.
The new rules dictate that the fines imposed for not keeping books may not be any higher than three times the minimum fine for each kind of violation. They also concern failure to submit corporate income tax declarations and any violations regarding tills.
The Finance Ministry has not yet issued any clarifying circulars on the implementation of the new regulation, while there are significant differences in the speed of fine decisions issued by various tax offices.
