The EEC discussed questions in the sphere of tax policies and customs administration

Head of the Secretariat of the Member of the Board – Minister in charge of economics and financial policy Askar Kishkembayev outlined in his welcome speech the most pressing short-term issues of tax policy for the Member States. In particular, the discussion covered improving of VAT administration in mutual trade, double taxation conventions, analysis of the implementation of the OECD Action plan by the EAEU Member States to combat Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS Plan).
Mr. Kishkembayev focused on promising directions of the EEC work. They include harmonization of the laws of Member States in the field of taxation, harmonization of excise duties for most sensitive excisable goods, establishment of a mechanism of administrative cooperation of authorized bodies of the Member States in order to prevent trafficking of illegal products, identification and removal of barriers of the tax nature in the Eurasian Union, analyzing the impact of tax aspects on formation of the infrastructure project “The Silk Road Economic Belt”, etc.
Employees of the Department of financial services answered questions raised by the representatives of the business community regarding the administration of indirect taxes in the EAEU, the order of filing out applications for imported goods and payment of indirect taxes, as well as its improvement options. “The EEC and the Union Member States pay special attention to the administration of VAT payment, since it is one of the determining factors in the development of trade on the domestic market,” said Askar Kishkembayev. In doing so, the exchange of information between the authorities of the Union member states on the importation of goods and payment of indirect taxes is required to ensure the completeness of the payment of indirect taxes. To improve it, it is possible to simplify VAT refund to the business community.
The participants drew particular attention to the problems related to the application of the provisions of conventions on avoidance of double taxation and tax evasion by the Member States. In particular, a problematic situation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation was considered. Kazakhstan requires that the Russian taxpayers apostille a document confirming their tax residence. The EEC representatives noted that this problem has by now been almost solved on a bilateral basis under the coordination of the EEC.
Representatives of the Department of customs legislation and law enforcement told the participants of the round table about the progress in the preparation of the new EAEU Customs Code, and also answered questions from the business representatives on orders of prior and periodic declaring envisaged in the new Code. Since the draft Customs Code of the EAEU is at the stage of internal harmonization in the Member States, the proposals made by the representatives of the business community could be considered within this procedure in the Union member states.

Roundtable participants agreed that the direct dialogue between government authorities and businesses of the Member States will ensure a common understanding of the goals of tax policy in the Eurasian Union, as well as legislation on taxation and tax administration. This will ensure coherence in these areas, minimize the points of contention, and ultimately improve the quality of business environment in the EAEU.
During the round table it was agreed to continue and deepen the cooperation among the EEC, ITIC, and business communities of the Member States.
Press-release at the official Eurasian Economic Commission web-site