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Citizens in the role of tax inspectors

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The Government has planned to engage citizens in the e-fiscalization control which is supposed to start off as of 1 January. The possibility has been envisaged by the Draft Law, although it remains unclear how the Government will manage to mobilize 300.000 citizens and buyers to check if the tax has been paid or if there’s a retail fraud. The tax related data will enable tax Administration get insight about who is issuing non-fiscalized receipts and where.

As Minister of Finance, Mr Darko Radunović, explained last week, the way in which the citizens will be able to check their receipts will be defined by the bylaw, after the adoption of the law. He added that they were thinking about following the practice of other countries – checking the receipt via SMS. They said they would do their best to come up with a motivating campaign.

Professor in the Faculty of Management and economic analyst, Mr Vasilije Kostić, said that if the country wanted to engage citizens in the process then it had to be fast, simple and efficient. Otherwise, citizens will lose interest.

“The possibility of checking whether fiscal receipt has been reported to Tax Administration will be an important element of control. It will exert additional pressure on the issuers. If the system is simple and fast, the proposed solution will have many positive effects”, said Mr Kostić.

Mr Kostić warns that if the control system is complicated , it will fail to produce the desired effect.

“In that case, the whole process will turn into a fruitless attempt with many negative effects. Consequences of negative perception are being neglected in our society, although they are of paramount importance and shouldn’t be taken for granted”, says Mr Kostić.

He points out that the beginning of the process will be crucial as the expectations of citizens and what the consumer should really do come in to focus. It’s the so-called “moment of truth”.

Mr Kostić says that we shouldn’t hold high expectations.

President of the assembly Committee on Economy, Mr Predrag Sekulić, said that a very easy and motivating fiscal receipt control system had to be developed. Citizens should be given the possibility to do that by SMS .

Mr Sekulić also thinks that SMS should be free of charge.

Member of SD, Mr Raško Konjevć agrees that SMS would be the simplest way.

 

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