SRC revealed violations in the field of collection activities: additional charges and systemic risks

      The State Revenue Committee summed up the results of the verification measures in relation to collection agencies. Based on the results of the inspections, the following was established.      

- 7 collection agencies were found to have excess income in the amount of 11.8 billion tenge, the amount of unpaid VAT amounted to 128 million tenge, and a fine was charged for non-registration of 1.6 billion tenge for VAT.    

 - additionally, 15 more taxpayers with similar signs were identified, where the potential excess amount is 61.6 billion tenge, and the estimated amount of unpaid VAT is 7.4 billion tenge (under review).      

The inspections showed that individual collection agencies used a scheme in which the generated income was not reflected as income subject to value added tax.      

The mechanism is as follows. The Agency purchases debt from the bank at a price below its nominal value, after which it collects it from the debtor.      

In some cases, funds received from debtors were reflected as repayment of debt and accounted for as VAT-exempt transactions. However, in fact, the economic essence of such operations is different.    

 The difference between the value of the debt acquired and the amount actually recovered is income from collection activities. In some cases, this income was not included in the taxable turnover.      

Thus, under the guise of debt transactions, remuneration was received, which is subject to taxation in accordance with the generally established procedure.       The inspections have shown that this approach is not a single one, but a systemic one and is used by a wider range of taxpayers.    

 In this regard, the SRC conducts further analysis and checks to ensure equal conditions for all market participants, including the exclusion of tax avoidance schemes and the correct determination of tax obligations based on the economic nature of transactions.      

In relation to the identified taxpayers (the 15 mentioned above), a detailed audit is continuing to establish all the circumstances and take appropriate tax response measures.      

The State Revenue Committee emphasizes that if income is generated as a result of transactions, it is subject to taxation regardless of the form of its reflection.