DUSHANBE, July 23, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Tax debts of Barqi Tojik power holding increased by 60 million somoni in six months to June 30, 2011, reaching 366 million somoni, Ayubjon Soliyev, the deputy head of the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 22.

According to him, Barqi Tojik, which is the state-owned utility responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Tajikistan, is continuing to remain one of the most incorrigible tax defaulters in the country.  Since Barqi Tojik is monopolist in the power distribution market and one of the strategic companies in the country, the Tax Committee abstains from filing lawsuits against it over tax nonpayment, the tax official added.

Barqi Tojik’s reportedly accounts for 49.4 percent of total amount of tax debts that reached some 745 million somoni by July 1, 2011.

Soliyev noted that the tax collection target for January-June 2011 was overfulfilled by 5.1 percent.  Tax officers have transferred 1.82 billion somoni to the national budget over the report period, which is 89 million somoni more than it was originally planned.