Due to the privileging tax policy on the sale of fuel for yachts and ships, from the Porto Montenegro border crossing in Tivat, the state of Montenegro was left without close to 80 million euros in the past decade, which it could have earned if the former Government of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) had not been for the richest social class predicted a privileged tax system, announced today Ines Mrdović, legal advisor at the non-governmental organization (NGO) Action for Social Justice.
She added that the ASP recently announced data that the state earned a modest 656 euros from the Porto Montenegro border crossing over the past decade based on the collection of excise duties and value added tax (VAT) on the sale of fuel.
"In the meantime, the ASP requested from the Tax Administration data on the amounts exempted from excise duties and VAT on the sale of fuel at the border crossing in Tivat, at the Porto Montenegro location. In the answer, the Tax Administration states that the fuel supply of ships, yachts and boats is carried out in accordance with the Rulebook on special measures of customs supervision and customs procedure for goods used to supply means of transport in international traffic. It indicates that vessels are supplied with fuel and lubricant under customs supervision before leaving the territorial waters, and the legal entity is obliged to submit a declaration for re-export to the customs authority of foreign goods until the 10th of the month, for goods sold in the previous month," said Mrdović.
She added that further in the answer of the Tax Administration, it is specified that since it is a customs procedure - re-export of goods, according to the Customs Law, there is no customs debt and therefore no collection of excise duties and VAT.
"If the fuel in question, which is used to supply vessels, would be put into free circulation, i.e. cleared for import duty, it would be given the status of a domestic product and a customs debt would be collected - excise tax 54.527.336,75 euros and VAT 24.968.162,29 euros", states the Tax Administration.
Mrdović states that "therefore, it is a sum of nearly 80 million, which did not become state income due to the wrong policies of the former DPS Government, and which were the result of direct agreements during the sale of the former military site to a foreign investor, who developed The Porto Montenegro project, and in return asked for a number of privileges, among other things, and a lower VAT rate on yachting activities, so it amounts to only seven percent".
"With 80 million euros, this country, in which there are hospitals from the time of the former Yugoslavia, which does not have day care centers for children and adults with special needs in all cities, which does not have enough homes for the elderly, schools, kindergartens, where there is road, electricity and water infrastructure on the border of tolerable, could have done a lot, instead of giving privileges to the already rich," concluded Mrdović.
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