Azerbaijan to simplify bank account opening procedure

Azerbaijan will simplify the bank account opening mechanism, Representative of State Tax Service under Economy Ministry Azer Mustafayev said.

According to him, this is reflected in the latest amendments made to the Tax Code.

"The Service plans to introduce a new mechanism by amending the current legislation in order to simplify the existing administration and reduce the number of procedures. The new mechanism will be implemented in October 2023, and before that, relevant work will be carried out between the tax authorities and banks to this end," he said.

Mustafayev noted that following the changes, the restriction imposed on debtors to open accounts is expected to be lifted, as well as the requirement for a taxpayer to obtain a copy of the certificate from the tax authority to open an account with persons performing banking operations.

"Accounts will be opened on a taxpayer's direct request to persons engaged in banking operations. Information on opening a bank account is sent to the tax authority in electronic form within one business day from the date of opening. The opened account is automatically registered by the tax authority, and people performing banking transactions immediately receive a notification of registration. If the taxpayer has debts and/or overdue debts, the tax authority sends the appropriate order to the bank on the same day with notification of registration," he noted.

The representative reminded that according to the current legislation, in order to open a bank account, a taxpayer must submit a paper or e-application to the tax authorities, which should be reviewed by the tax authority within two days.

"If the taxpayer does not have tax debts, the tax authority will send to the bank a certified copy of the account opening, and if there is a debt, a bank account opening will be refused. Moreover, if a bank account is not opened within ten days, the certified copy will be considered invalid and opening an account based on this certificate will be impossible," he added.