A meeting was held at the State Tax Service (STS) under the Ministry of Economy with the participation of consulting and law firms, as well as experts, to discuss the work carried out within the framework of the roadmaps for the "Taxation" and "Ease of Doing Business" indicators. Representatives from "PwC Azerbaijan," "Deloitte," "Ernst & Young," "KPMG Azerbaijan," and independent experts participated in the meeting.
The head of the "Taxation and Reporting" Working Group, Deputy Head of the State Tax Service (STS) Ilkin Valiyev, provided information on the work carried out regarding the "Taxation" indicator in the "Business Ready" report. The meeting participants were presented with a report on the clarity and transparency of tax regulations, environmental taxes, digitalization in tax administration, tax auditing, and mechanisms for resolving tax disputes.
The head of the "Business Entry" Working Group, Deputy Head of the State Tax Service (STS) Samira Musayeva informed the meeting participants about the analysis of the preparation level of the regulatory framework in this area. Another presentation focused on the quality of business entry regulations, digital government services, information transparency, and the efficiency of operations.
The meeting discussed the projects implemented under the 2024 Roadmaps related to the "Business Entry" and "Taxation" indicators of the World Bank Group's "Business Ready" report, as well as approaches to the questions included in the expert survey. It was noted that a number of new projects are planned to be implemented under the roadmaps. Previously, the electronic submission of declarations was considered the main quality indicator; however, the implementation of a system for pre-filling (profiling) declarations is now a priority. The State Tax Service (STS) has successfully applied this system for unified declarations. The next step is the VAT declarations, and this project is also expected to be implemented in the short term.
One of the key achievements in the area of business entry is the electronic registration of foreign legal entities, as well as the electronic registration of changes in the founding documents and the registry of local LLCs. Another ongoing project is the creation of legal foundations and the relevant registry for beneficial ownership. The participants of the event were also presented with indicators related to the efficiency of business entry operations.
During the meeting, various issues raised by the representatives of consulting companies and independent experts regarding business entry and taxation were heard, and their questions were answered.
It should be noted that the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy leads the working groups on "Business Entry" and "Taxation and Reporting" of the Business Environment and International Rankings Commission (https://azranking.az/az/working-groups).
