The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Political System, Judiciary and Anti-Corruption announced that, following a report by Momo Koprivica, the Tax Administration had identified irregularities in the Bemax company.
"After conducting the analysis, on June 17, 2024, I sent an Initiative to the Tax Administration for the application of Article 37e, paragraph 3 of the Income Tax Law, regarding the evident abuse undertaken by the former and new owner of the Bemax company with the clear intention of causing great damage to the state budget and circumventing the legal system by evading taxes, which must never be allowed in the name of justice and the rule of law. I received notification from the Tax Administration on March 3 that it had carried out activities in this case, with a positive epilogue for the state, budget and public interest," Vice President Koprivica announced.
He, the statement reads, emphasized that this is confirmation of the justification and foundation of the initiative, and as he pointed out, proof of the validity of the fight against abuse, but above all "an indicator that our institutions such as the Tax Administration are undergoing strong reforms, growing into institutions that are professional, solid, non-selective and independent."
"We remind you that in this case of a drastic attempt to circumvent the law, Veselin Kovačević, the former owner of the Bemax company, and Ivan Ubović signed an ownership transfer agreement on July 1, 2022, for a price of 750.000 euros. The agreement states that Kovačević founded the company with an initial investment of only 12.000 euros in January 2007, and that he subsequently paid an additional investment of 300.000 euros and transferred non-cash funds of 437.800 euros to it, which makes the total investment 749.800 euros, and this is calculated by law as the purchase price-value of the founding investment upon establishment increased by the amount of the capital increase."
If the difference between the selling and purchase price is positive, it is added, it is a capital gain to which the tax rate applies.
"In this case, when the so-called purchase price of 750.000 euros is subtracted from the sales price of 749.800, it follows that Kovačević earned 200 euros by selling the Bemax company, which, according to the Personal Income Tax Law, represents his capital gain that is subject to taxation. Therefore, the Montenegrin budget should have earned only 30 euros from this transaction because the applicable tax rate at that time was 15 percent. At the same time, according to official financial reports, at the end of 2021, i.e. in the year before the resale, the Bemax company had fixed assets worth 120 million euros, the company's total capital was estimated at 142 million euros, and the company also had net undistributed profit from previous years in the amount of 141 million euros."
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Political System, Judiciary and Anti-Corruption stated that Bemax achieved a net profit of 2021 million euros in 14, and a net profit of 2020 million euros in 27,5.
"All this suggests that Kovačević sold his company for less than 1 percent of its real value, or total capital. In other words, the value for which the company was sold is only 5 percent of its last year's net profit," said Koprivica.
He said that the sales price stated in the contract was obviously "a fake sales price, artificially reduced in order to pay as little tax as possible to the state."
"Therefore, those who have been extracting enormous benefits from the system for years have tried, by circumventing regulations and creating false data, to deprive the state of what is rightfully itss, which is not only lawlessness but also the height of degradation of the ethical order," Koprivica said.
The statement states that the Tax Administration, namely the Sector for Large Taxpayers, conducted an inspection of the owner of the Bemax company to ensure the correctness of the calculation, reporting and payment of capital gains tax based on income generated from the sale of shares in DOO "Bemax" from Podgorica.
"After the inspection, minutes No. 06/02-29/2-24 of January 16, 2025 were drawn up and the taxpayer was issued with decision No. 06/02-29/4 of February 20, 2025 on determining the income tax of individuals based on capital gains realized from the sale of shares in the company DOO "Bemax", which determined the tax liability on the tax base determined through the assessment and calculated interest on the unpaid tax."
Therefore, said Koprivica, "based on evidence and proper assessment of regulations, the submitted initiative has borne fruit and brings concrete results for the state."
"The fight against abuses, in addition to leading to justice, also brings concrete and enormous revenues for the budget that will be used to build schools, roads, kindergartens, hospitals, and the like, which our society has been deprived of for decades due to the lack of a rule of law," he said.
Koprovica said that "everyone must be brought to a knowledge of the law and no one must be exempt from the law" because this is the measure of a rich and successful Montenegro.
"If we think about the future of the children of Montenegro, we must return what belongs to the state and apply the law to everyone," he says.
Koprivica also said that the professional and impartial work of the Tax Administration, headed by Savo Laketić, the Sector for Large Taxpayers and the Chief Tax Inspector, instills hope and confidence in the strengthening of institutions and the rule of law, and deserves full respect from every segment of our society.
"Brave and honorable professionals are the guardians of Montenegro, and the anti-corruption fight will not stop," said Koprivica.
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