Baku, Azerbaijan, July 13
By Huseyn Veliyev – Trend:
The State Customs Committee (SCC) is implementing a joint plan with the Azerbaijani Taxes Ministry to develop e-commerce, a source in the government told Trend.
According to the source, it is about the formation of a tax base for transactions carried out through electronic payment systems. The development of e-commerce is built on three components, this is an electronic trading platform, the availability of an electronic payment system and the delivery of an order.
“Our estimates show that in the country there is no regulation in the field of electronic payments. For example, there are cases when the buyer, in order not to be taxed, uses a payment card that does not belong to him/her.Therefore, we should develop not only technical aspects of the issue, but also educate consumers. It needs to be explained that all the purchases must be made individually and using personal payment cards”, the source said.
The source also noted that e-commerce is the most dynamically developing part of world trade and the global changes that are taking place today in the world economy require a revision of the activities of customs services.
“The e-commerce environment itself is changing. The trading chain and procedures are becoming more complicated and customs procedures should also change. Recently, the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, gathered the participants of the e-commerce and regulatory market in Beijing, where we also participated. For example, it was noted at the event that more than half of international trade is e-commerce and this segment shows an annual growth of 15 percent. Approximately 70 percent of buyers purchase products online via mobile devices”, said the source in the message.
The vast majority of orders, as the source said, accounted for clothing and electronic equipment. In Azerbaijan, mobile devices and other telecommunications equipment, clothing, children's toys, etc., are the most bought goods online.
“When compared with how this industry develops in the world, the turnover of electronic commerce in the country, unfortunately, leaves much to be desired (46 million manat in 2017). Therefore, the discussion of this topic creates good conditions for us in order to develop this sphere both from the point of view of customs and tax regulation,”, the source concluded.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev