The main contractor on the Smokovac Mateševo highway section, the Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), as well as four main domestic subcontractors, the companies "Bemax" from Podgorica, "Cijevna komerc", "Montenegro Petrol" and "Ramel" from Nikšić, full six years were not specifically tax-controlled during the implementation of this project, which is designated as a capital project in the country, announced the NGO Action for Social Justice.
They state that they received this information from the Revenue and Customs Administration in response to this NGO's request to submit all decisions made during the inspection regarding control of the construction of the Bar Boljare highway, the Smokovac Mateševo section, for CRBC and the four main domestic subcontractors on the project.
As they said, the Administration carries out inspection supervision of the regularity of calculation, reporting and payment of taxes and other duties of the entire business of taxpayers, and not by segments, that is, the implementation of a project.
"In (these) taxpayers, inspections were carried out of the entire business, and not specifically in connection with the control over the implementation of the construction project of the Bar Boljare highway, the Smokovac Mateševo section", claims the Administration, but they did not submit any related documents to the ASP. and the overall control of the company's operations, which take a good "part of the cake" from the section of the highway," the announcement reads.
They note that the works on the construction of the section from Smokovac to Mateševo officially began in May 2015, but that even six years later they have not been completed, and that the value of the basic contract is 809 million, while the subsequent works are estimated at an additional 100 million euros.
"CRBC entrusted "Bemax" with jobs worth about 240 million euros, "Cijevni Komerc" 52 million, "Ramel" 24 million, and "Montenegro Petrol" 21 million. ASP recently announced that in five and a half years the total turnover of goods and services for four leading domestic subcontractors amounted to 264 million, of which "Bemax" made 169,4 million, "Cijevna Komerc" 52,6 million, "Montenegro Petrol" 33,1 million, and "Ramel" about 8,7 million The turnover of goods and services on the highway is exempt from paying VAT," they said.
They point out that, bearing in mind these huge financial values, it is incomprehensible that special tax controls are not undertaken in relation to the main contractor and subcontractors, even by the orders of the new managerial authorities in the tax administrative authority.
"The former DPS government labeled the Smokovac Mateševo highway section as the "project of the century". In the meantime, the project has caused a number of problems and called into question the sustainability of the country's public finances, and it has long been clear that it is not economically viable," ASP concludes.
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