BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 25. More than 425.1 million manat ($250 million) have been returned to consumers in Azerbaijan since the launch of the VAT (Value Added Tax) refund project to date, Trend reports.
The data of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy of the country shows that, more than 49 million manat ($28.8 million) were returned to consumers from January through April of this year alone.
In order to refund a certain part of VAT, the consumer, that is, the party making the purchase or using the service, must be an individual, and the seller or the party providing the service must be a VAT payer.
To note, more than 68.4 million manat (40.2 million) of VAT in 2022 were returned to consumers for goods or services purchased in non-cash form.
Azerbaijan increased the VAT refund for cashless payments at the end of last year. This issue was discussed at the country's Parliament's meeting on December 9.
The relevant draft proposes to reduce VAT refund during cash transactions from 10 to 5 percent and increase it from 15 percent to 17.5 percent for cashless payments in order to promote non-cash transactions. The bill was put to the vote and adopted in the third reading.