Montenegro plans to involve citizens as tax inspectors

PODGORICA, (Patria) - The Government of Montenegro plans to involve citizens in the control of electronic fiscalization, which is expected to start on January 1 next year, by checking receipts within 90 days of the purchase date. 

This possibility is foreseen by the draft law, but it is not defined how the Government will try to mobilize, by rough estimates, an army of 300,000 citizen consumers to check whether the receipt they received is correct, i.e., registered with the Tax Administration, or if both they and the state are deprived of the tax amount.

Based on the data from the receipt, an SMS will signal the Tax Administration where and who is issuing non-fiscalized receipts and direct it to take measures, writes Pobjeda.

The way citizens will be able to check their receipt, as explained by the Minister of Finance Darko Radunović last week, will be defined by a by-law after the adoption of the law.

He added that the practice of other countries is being considered, i.e., checking receipts via SMS, but also the possibility of introducing a prize draw as an additional incentive for "citizen inspectors".

The minister said that it is very important for citizens to have the opportunity to check the correctness of receipts and promised that the Ministry will try to devise a motivating campaign.

Professor at the Faculty of Management and economic analyst Dr. Vasilije Kostić told Pobjeda that if the state wants to involve customers in the complete verification process, it must be free, simple, fast, and easy. Otherwise, he says, the interest will not be as expected and will very quickly decline.