BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 14
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
A wide-scale introduction of POS-terminals will significantly affect the decrease of shadow economy in Azerbaijan, the State Tax Service under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy told Trend.
An important step that can significantly change the work of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan is to create an opportunity for consumers to pay for a purchase or a service provided through the POS terminal.
“In the field of trade and services, SMEs are losing more and more in competition with large chains. There are a number of objective factors that hinder their internal development and limit their growth potential. One of them is purely technological: optimization and automation of service. The presence of POS-terminals is important not only from the point of view of expanding the volume of cashless payments, but also increasing transparency, preventing tax evasion,” the service said.
“Unfortunately, not in all SMEs, as well as public catering, POS-terminals can be found. In such cases, citizens don’t have the opportunity to use their bank cards,” said the tax service.
“According to Article 7 of the Law of Azerbaijan ‘On Protection of Consumers’ Rights’, the installation of POS terminals in trade, consumer services and other types of services is mandatory. For the absence of POS terminals, the law provides for bringing to the appropriate types of responsibility. Also, according to Article 16 of the Tax Code, the installation of POS terminals is one of the duties of a taxpayer in this case,” the service noted.
The ministry stressed that the absence of POS terminals or the refusal from non-cash calculations may result in a fine of up to 6,000 manat (over $3,500) for the owner of the facility.
“If a consumer is faced with such a situation, he/she can contact the State Service for Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Protection under the Ministry of Economy. Moreover, citizens can call the hotline of the Ministry of Economy, as well as the hotline of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy,” the service added.
(1 USD = 1.7 manat on Sept. 14)
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