OREANDA-NEWS The joint tax committee of Belarus and Russia is planned to be established in 2023, the head of the Belarusian Ministry of Finance Yuri Seliverstov said.

"Creation of a joint, collegial tax committee. The detailed algorithm of this work still needs to be fixed and prescribed… This year," Seliverstov said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel, answering a question about whether it is planned to create a supranational tax committee in 2023. The Minister noted that the timing of the creation of this body was somewhat delayed: it was originally planned to be created last year. "Neither the building, nor the maintenance, nor the financing are needed. We need an algorithm for how to act if adjustments are needed to the rates and conditions that are laid down in the agreement (Belarusian-Russian on taxes)," the Finance Minister stressed.

He recalled that Belarus and Russia have signed an agreement on general principles of taxation on indirect taxes, the ratification of which is currently being completed and which provides for the implementation of a number of measures this year. "On the one hand, we (Belarus - ed.) are gradually starting to implement them - a gradual increase in excise rates on cigarettes and alcohol, but questions remain as to how we will implement other activities of the program. It is planned to create an integrated information system that will allow us to exchange information about our taxes, our payments, accruals with the Russian Federation, and they with us," the minister said.

He noted that the tax authorities of Belarus and Russia have already developed and tested this information system. "Since March, it needs to be launched and already exchange information," Seliverstov added.

The Finance Minister expressed confidence that the law on ratification of the indirect taxes treaty will soon be signed by the President of Belarus and the document will work legally, although some technical aspects of the implementation of its provisions will work later.