Online Tax Conference Jointly Organized ...

On March 10, 2021, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan) organized online conference jointly with the State Tax Service (STS) under the Ministry of Economy on “Tax Regulation of the Economy in the Global Pandemic and Post-war Period - Sustainable Economic Growth and a Favorable Investment Climate”.

The conference was attended by Acting Head of the State Tax Service Mr. Orkhan Nazarli, other senior officials of STS, leadership of AmCham Azerbaijan and member companies, as well as representatives of diplomatic corps. The event was focused on discussion of issues on tax legislation, improvement of the business climate and transparency, as well as exchange of views on subjects of mutual interest.  

Opening the event, the president of AmCham Azerbaijan, Mr. Nuran Karimov expressed his gratitude to the STS leadership for their support in organization of the conference, as well as acknowledged Chamber's constructive dialogue with the relevant governmental bodies. It was noted that AmCham Azerbaijan is interested in development of perfect tax legislation that will improve the business environment in the country. It was also mentioned that as a result of cooperation with the tax authorities, for many years joint tax conferences have been organized, discussions in the field of taxation have been carried out, as well as numerous proposals have been submitted.  Mr. Kerimov also brought to attention that today's event is aimed to discuss the role of the tax system in improvement of the country's investment climate, its direct impact on attracting foreign direct investment and international best practices available in this field, etc.

Acting Head of State Tax Service, Mr. Orkhan Nazarli thanked the participants of the conference for their contribution to the development of the Azerbaijani economy. It was noted that the STS attaches great importance to improving tax policy and tax administration, providing new services to taxpayers, holding various discussions with public organizations of entrepreneurs to further improve the business environment. It was also mentioned that before making amendments to the legislation, the opinions of local and foreign business structures operating in the country are taken into account, as well as open and active dialogue with business entities is being conducted. 

Mr. Nazarli noted that tax conferences held jointly with AmCham Azerbaijan have become a tradition, emphasizing that these meetings play an exceptional role in developing partnerships between tax authorities and business structures and further increasing the level of taxpayers' compliance with tax legislation. He said that the relations between the STS and AmCham Azerbaijan uniting hundreds of foreign and local businesses, are based on the principles of effective partnership. AmCham members are widely represented in various sectors of the national economy. Noting that the topic of this year's tax conference is based on modern challenges, Mr. Nazarli emphasized that the STS is interested in building partnerships with businesses in the process of improving tax legislation in order to create a favorable investment climate that will ensure sustainable economic growth in the country. He also informed the participants about the main directions of tax policy, trends in the field of tax legislation and administration in the upcoming periods.

The conference was moderated by AmCham Tax and Customs Committee’s Chairman, Mr. Jeyhun Mammadov. The conference consisted of four panels: “Improvement of the investment climate as the locomotive of the country’s economic development”, “Use of modern technology in tax administration”, “Innovations in tax audits - Legislative Directions, Efficiency and Appeal Opportunities” and “Application of international best practices in the country”. In the first panel, Mr. Rashad Abbasov, a representative of NEQSOL, spoke on "The impact of the tax system on attracting foreign direct investment" and Mr. Nijat Imanov, Head of the Tax Policy Main Department of the STS - on “Future goals for a favorable investment climate”. During the second panel, Ms. Narmin Aslanova, a representative of Deloitte, delivered a presentation on "Global Goals and Directions" and Mr. Fuad Aslanov, Head of the Digital Tax Administration Main Department of the STS - on “Plans of the State Tax Service on Digital Technology”. At the third panel of the conference, EY’s representative, Ms. Arzu Hajiyeva and a representative of KPMG, Mr. Rizvan Gubiyev spoke on “Desk tax audits” and "Practical aspects of tax audits" respectively. The last panel featured presentations by PwC’s representative, Ms. Gunel Sadiyeva on “Useful international practices in the field of business stimulation” and Mr. Orkhan Musayev, Acting Head of the International Taxation and Tax Monitoring Main Department - on “Perspectives and goals in the field of transfer pricing”.

At the end of the conference, the parties exchanged views with representatives of business structures on issues of interest and questions of the participants were answered within the active Q&A session.