Rahmon has once again exempted his son-in-law from paying taxes

Another company controlled by the president’s relative has been granted benefits.

Photo: Internet

According to a government decree published on the legal information portal of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic, the state unitary enterprise “Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Monitoring” has been granted a deferral of tax debts and interest accrued as of November 1, 2022, for one year. The total amount of these debts is approximately 33 million somoni (over 3.2 million dollars), of which 19 million somoni are taxes and 14 million somoni are interest and penalties on the debt.

The state unitary enterprise “Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Monitoring” is an agency under the Communications Service of the Government of Tajikistan, headed by Beg Sabur, the president’s relative Emomali Rahmon. The enterprise is engaged in eliminating electromagnetic interference – sudden changes in voltage or current in a circuit.

Recently, the government provided benefits to the company OJSC “Tajiktelecom” – a company controlled by the Communications Service of the Government of Tajikistan. The company is a monopoly in internet supply in Tajikistan, which has led to high costs and reduced internet speeds in the country.

The government approved a decree on December 22, 2022, which postponed the payment of tax debts of OJSC “Tajiktelecom” amounting to over 67 million somoni (about 6 million 700 thousand dollars) for another year. Of this amount, over 24 million somoni or 2.4 million dollars are interest and penalties on the debt.

In recent years, the company has not been in very good financial condition and has debts not only in taxes but also to other companies. Previously, lawsuits against “Tajiktelecom” were filed by the city electric networks of Dushanbe and the mobile operator Tcell.

As reported by “Asia-Plus”, last summer, the head of the Tax Committee, Nusratullo Davlatzoda, stated at a press conference that approximately 43% of the total tax debts are attributed to three legal entities: the Sangtuda 1 HPP – 244.6 million somoni, “Tajiktelecom” and its structures – 123.3 million somoni, OJSC “Rogun HPP” – 55.8 million somoni.

In the summer of 2021, a government decree annulled tax debts of “Tajiktelecom” amounting to over 11 million somoni (about 1 million dollars).

According to data from the Statistics Agency, the revenues of the structural divisions of the Communications Service for the first 9 months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 increased by 4.6%, amounting to 146 million somoni (over 14.3 million dollars).

Most companies in the country owned by the president’s relatives enjoy special benefits. For example, the “Ismoil Somoni” hotel in Dushanbe belongs to the brothers-in-law of Emomali Rahmon. It was expected that the construction of the hotel would be completed in a year and a half, but it has already lasted 15 years. The hotel is exempt from taxes and customs duties almost every year.

Since the head of the Communications Service, Beg Sabur, is also a relative of President Emomali Rahmon, it is natural that he automatically benefits from the privileges granted by the government.

Beg Sabur is mainly known for his absurd comments and scandalous decisions, including blocking websites, shutting down internet access, and raising prices for SIM cards.