Atameken and SEI discussed the reduction of the shadow economy On 6^th of October was held a meeting of the Council for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs and Anti-Corruption of NCE RK "Atameken", where were discussed issues of interaction between business entities and the Economic Investigation Service of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan in combating corruption and reduction of the shadow economy. The meeting was held with the participation of Rustam Zhursunov, Deputy Chairman of NCE RK "Atameken", Chairman of the Council Kairbek Suleimenov, Chairman of SRC of MF RK Ardak Tengebaev, representatives of business communities and other interested industry organizations.

The Economic Investigation Service (hereinafter referred to EID) ensures economic security of the state, protection of rights and interests of business entities within the limits of its powers. In accordance with the legislation, it carries out criminal prosecution and conducts operational-search activity.

"Now the main goal is to solve and discuss problems in the business with the service of economic investigations. The position of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan on business protection has been very seriously adjusted, this was noted at the forum "Supervision of the Prosecutor's Office in the Sphere of Entrepreneurship" and at the IV Congress of "Atameken". NCE with the participation of independent experts is actively working in the consideration of complaints on tax and customs issues", - Sairimenov said.

In turn, Rustam Zhursunov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of NCE RK "Atameken" noted the positive dynamics of the work of SEI, adding that "Article 215 of the Criminal Code of RK has gone down in history, but the fact of cash fraud operation is topical". He also spoke about the conflict of interests, when the tax authority checked the entrepreneur and evaluated the amount of damage himself, thus, the inspector acted in the role of the expert.

"Any relationship between a bona fide counterparty and the tax authorities should not take place within the framework of a criminal code, but within the frames of a tax audit. Second, every transaction should be studied, attention should be paid to the actual supply of goods, work and services. Third, when studying the case, you need to look at the entire chain of procedures, the logical binding of transactions. Also, these decisions should be able appealed in an appeal or in court", - said the Deputy Chairman of the Board.

Rustam Zhursunov stressed that business is concerned about customs issues, namely the conflict between articles 234 and 236 in the Customs Code. But in general, there is a common understanding, and the corresponding work is under way.

"We need to analyze the risk management system, to what extent it is correct and what we plan to do. The state certainly supports a number of initiatives for the development of entrepreneurship, business is also ready to grow and give back reaction. Perhaps you need a rating of corporate governance, investment rating, just what motivates the business. A certain system is being worked out, in 2018 we have laid out advisory financing for these purposes", - Rustam Zhursunov explained.

During the meeting, Tleu Zhangarashev, deputy chairman of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in turn, reported that at the moment the number of tax inspections has been reduced by 37.8%, while their effectiveness has been increased 2 times.

"Similarly, for customs inspections, there is a reduction of 26%. The recoverability of customs duties and indirect taxes on imports increased by 55%. For 9 months of the current year, in comparison with the same period last year, the number of registered criminal cases decreased twofold", - Tleu Zhangarashev made a report.

The deputy chairman of the State Revenue Committee of MF RK added that the quality of the pre-trial investigation had improved. The number of criminal cases dismissed for rehabilitative reasons decreased five-fold. The recoverability of the damage increased by 28.7%.

"On the actions and decisions of our employees for this year, 140 complaints were received from business entities, 13 of which were confirmed and they were brought to disciplinary responsibility", - Tleu Zhangarashev said.

The Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Marat Akhmetzhanov, spoke about electronic criminal case introduced in the framework of digitalization.

"All investigative actions that are produced on paper will be integrated into the electronic format. This allows you to react quickly and is one of the measures to achieve transparency. To date, 152 electronic cases have been sent to court", - Marat Akhmetzhanov stressed.

Marat Akhmetzhanov explained that where there is a shadow economy corruption is generated. In 2016 alone, Atameken received more than 100 business appeals for illegal actions of law enforcement agencies, including for illegal charge with criminal liability. About 300 complaints touched upon the violation of their rights in the sphere of taxation and customs administration. A large number of appeals are also connected with the negative practice of law enforcement and fiscal bodies on pseudo-entrepreneurship.

The participants of the event noted that serious organizational and legal problems related to corruption risks continue to remain in the sphere of interaction between the Economic Investigation Service of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan and entrepreneurship, the solution of which should contribute to the successful development of the country's economy. Joint work to resolve these issues will continue.