Fiscal posts contribute to higher supplies by monitored economic entities

The supplies of the economic entities where fiscal posts worked during July-August 2008 rose about 1.7 times. Ion Funzza, the head of the fiscal anti-fraud and contestations division of the State Main Tax Inspectorate, has told Info-Prim Neo that during a month the tax service set up fiscal posts at 87 economic entities that work in wholesale trade. “Fiscal posts were set up at about 250 storehouses and production and trading areas that belong to the 87 companies. The fiscal inspectors monitored the sales and purchases without interfering in the operational activity. In some cases, in order not to hinder the employees and the possible buyers, the fiscal workers were presented as new employees or persons doing their internship at the company. Analyses showed that over a month, the supplies at some companies rose 2-3 times compared with the previous months and the corresponding period last year. Some of the companies increased supplies 4 times and only 12 economic entities reported lower volumes or the same volumes as the previous months. Respectively, the revenues to the budget also rose,” Frunza said. He stressed that the fiscal posts are designed to make the taxpayers more disciplined and is not a method of repression. “Sometimes, the economic entities commit tax evasion because they don’t know or do not fully understand the fiscal legislation. The laws provide for advantages that the companies can use to make a larger profit without hiding the real revenue. The fiscal posts establish a partnership between the tax service and the tax payer,” Frunza said. Speaking about the criteria for setting up fiscal posts, Frunza said that among these are the seasonal character of the activity (in summer, for instance, the sale of soft drinks); possession of large production and trading areas; larger number of employees, but lower salaries; registration of VAT without further payment to the budget; the large turnover, but the small taxes pad to the budget, and other criteria. Given that some of the companies resume the old practices when the fiscal posts stop working, i.e. they continue to hide their receipts and unlawfully decrease the taxes paid to the budget, the Parliament introduced amendments to article 225 of the Fiscal Code, which will take effect in January 2009. Under the amendments, the fiscal obligations will be calculated indirectly, on the basis of the information collected while the fiscal posts were working. The method will be implemented at the companies that work in trade, provide transportation and hotel services, extract natural resources. The method will be applied selectively, only after the fiscal posts work at least twice at the same company and confirm (through the collected information) that the economic entity continues to decrease the receipts and, respectively, the taxes paid to the budget. These will pay 75% of the real tax calculated according to the revenues earned while the fiscal posts were working.