Thursday Evening Iraq Economic News Highlights 8-24-23

The Iraqi Central Bank Discusses The Banking Reform File With The World Bank

Zagros TV  Zagros Arabia – Erbil  Today, Thursday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, discussed with a high-level delegation from the World Bank headed by Farid Belhaj, Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa, the efforts made by the bank in organizing and safeguarding external transfers in accordance with compliance requirements and international standards and encouraging merchants to Login to the online platform.

During the meeting, according to a statement issued by the Central Bank's media, they discussed "the efforts of the Central Bank of Iraq to organize and consolidate external transfers in accordance with compliance requirements and international standards, and to encourage merchants to enter the electronic platform to buy dollars by providing facilities and simplifying tax and customs procedures that the government is making anticipated amendments to." on her" .

The meeting discussed granting small loans through the "Riyada" bank, which will be responsible for providing various loans with the support of the Central Bank of Iraq and private banks, and working to establish a loan guarantee company, as well as paying attention to compliance and risk standards for the development of the banking sector.

The meeting also dealt with "the conditions of government banks, which constitute approximately 80% of the size of the Iraqi banking sector, and dealt with plans to improve their work, including amending their internal systems to implement institutional governance issued by the Central Bank, and plans to restructure those banks."

In turn, the delegation praised the efforts and procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq at all levels, expressing its readiness to provide any advice or technical expertise in these areas and to continue implementing the programs it is working on with the Central Bank.

https://zagrosnews.net/ar/news/45151#hathalyoum

The Judiciary: The Investigation Of The Exchange Rate Files Continues, And Most Of The Accused Are Referred To The Courts

Posted On2023-08-24 By Sotaliraq   The judiciary reported the continuation of investigations regarding the exchange rate files, pointing out that legal measures were taken against all the accused and they were referred to the courts after conducting an investigation with them, stressing that the theft of tax secretariats took place with the complicity of employees, some of whom are in detention and others outside Iraq.

In a statement to the official news agency, the judge of the Karkh Investigation Court, which specializes in integrity issues, Diaa Jaafar, said, “The investigation courts specialized in money laundering and organized crime cases that conduct investigations in exchange rate cases base their investigations on accurate information issued by the competent authorities,” adding that “all The accurate information that was provided to the courts, legal measures were taken regarding it.”

Jaafar added, "All the important cases that were brought before the courts took legal measures towards the arrest of the accused." He pointed out that "most of the courts referred the accused, with whom the investigations were completed, to the competent courts for a trial."

And between Jaafar, that “the court gives way in some cases by presenting evidence that proves the validity of the procedures taken by companies and banks.”

He pointed out, "These issues are technical, and the reason for investigating them is because they are linked to more than one axis, including their association with technical procedures related to the Central Bank of Iraq, which has a vision and a certain point of view in managing the currency file inside the country."

Jaafar stressed, "The Central Bank is an independent body specialized in managing monetary policy in the country, in addition to the presence of investigative bodies working to follow up on this file."

And he talked about, “The existence of different points of view on how to manage the file requires the courts to be accurate and keen to take into account more than one aspect, which is taking into account the views of the technical authorities concerned with managing this important file and taking into account the information provided by the intelligence agencies and the authorities competent to follow up this file.”

Jaafar described, "This file is one of the difficult files that must be managed according to a vision and methodology that includes more consideration on the part of the competent authorities."

And he stated, “The issue of the currency file is not only related to the inside of the country, but also to an external dimension, and we are keen to deal with all aspects of this file accurately and that the competent authority to manage the file be aware and follow-up on this issue, taking into account its procedures in order to preserve the country’s monetary policy and take into account the information provided by Before the security authorities and taking legal measures regarding them in a fundamental manner, with the need to take legal measures against manipulators of currency rates.

Jaafar stated, "All the defendants in the tax secretariat case, in which the Integrity Commission stated that there are recovery files to return them to Iraq, have taken legal measures against them, on charges of facilitating the seizure of tax secretariat amounts."

He added, "This is what we emphasized in the past periods, that the accusation will not stop at one person, but rather investigations will be completed to prove it against all the accused who participated in that."

Jaafar noted, "The process of theft of tax secretariats was facilitated by a number of employees, some of whom are arrested and the other part outside the country, and investigations are still continuing to pursue them and force them to attend until their trial takes place."

And he continues, “The statements of a member of the House of Representatives regarding the settlement of the Anbar land issue are inaccurate, because the accused, Ahmed Kamel, was arrested pending a case related to real estate in the Fallujah region.”

And he continued, “It has not yet been proven or presented to the judiciary with investigations issued by specialized authorities that explain the process of forgery taking place,” noting that “all investigations that are conducted with land forgery are related to state employees.”

He noted, "The investigations in the case that was raised against Ahmed Kamel are still ongoing and incomplete, and the accused was released on financial bail, despite the passage of a long period of time since his arrest."

Jaafar stressed, “Not to confuse the Anbar lands issue with the case of the accused Ahmed Kamel, as the land issue is independent and related to the existence of information and forgery, but no evidence was presented to the judiciary to explain the forgery that occurred.”

He pointed out, “The court is convinced that in the event of fraud, the palaces are supposed to

He continued, "The case of the Anbar lands relates to a group of employees, as the court is continuing the procedures for arresting these employees from the Anbar Governorate, the governorate's municipality, and the Real Estate Registration Directorate."

Jaafar concluded, “The investigation committees have almost completed their work, and according to what we received from the preliminary investigations, there are irregularities in the land distribution process by exploiting some loopholes in the law by relying on cooperative societies to grant lands, and during the coming period, the accused in this case will be referred to the courts.” competent.”  LINK

For The First Time.. Taxes Announce The Signing Of An Agreement With Kurdistan

2023.08.24   Baghdad - Nas   The Director General of the General Authority for Taxes, Ali Waad Allawi, revealed the revenues generated within four months, and while he indicated the signing of a record of an agreement with the Kurdistan region for the first time since 2003, he announced that measures had been taken to prevent the recurrence of the theft of the century. 

The Director General of the Tax Authority, Ali Waad Allawi, said, in an interview with the official agency, followed by “NAS” (August 24, 2023), that “since we assumed the tasks of the Authority, we have achieved revenues and deposits at the outlets, during a period of four months, approximately two and a half trillion dinars, at a rate of two trillion total revenue and 585 One billion dinars from the secretariats of the outlets,” noting that “a study was developed for the commission’s work, especially after the incident of theft of the century.”    

He added, "A committee formed to evaluate the performance of employees resulted in the issuance of administrative orders to isolate a number of employees from the positions they occupied due to the presence of some indicators, including those related to integrity and others to poor performance," indicating that the evaluation and transfers that took place were completely professional and 100 percent.    

Authority revenues    

He pointed out that "the Tax Authority is proceeding with progressive and progressive steps, and that the revenues generated came as a result of administrative orders, changes, monitoring and field visits to the Authority," noting that the Authority had achieved, during four months, nearly two trillion net revenues and more than half a trillion in revenues from safeties, such as border crossings. 

And he indicated that "the revenues generated came as a result of continuous and diligent work and follow-up by the Prime Minister," stressing that "the Prime Minister follows up on a daily basis and calls even late at night to follow up on the Authority's numbers and movements, as well as the Minister of Finance's great follow-up and support of the Authority."   

Amending The Law 

He pointed out that "a proposal was submitted to the Minister of Finance to amend some laws related to the General Authority for Taxes within the plan to implement the government program." 

And he indicated that "the legal department in the Ministry of Finance submitted requests for amendments to the State Council for the purpose of studying them, and then presenting them to Parliament for a vote on them." 

Protect The Local Product 

He stressed that "taxes have contributed greatly to protecting and supporting the local product, and we have a set of additional supportive steps," pointing out that "the authority's economic goal is to protect locally manufactured products through public sector factories, companies, or the private sector, and these products are subject to percentages."

Reduced, that is, the tax law and its instructions protected these products by imposing rates that are somewhat less than the tax rates or the standards of the tax rates imposed on the importer, for example the tanning industry and the metal and plastic industry. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, all of these percentages are not less than 25 percent, but Iraq is 10 percent in order to protect the local product.    

He stressed, "Imposing a 100 percent tax on imported tobacco and cigarettes, and now it has become 200 percent on alcohol. This is in relation to the issue of protecting the local product for the tax."   

Communication Companies   

He pointed out that "the three most important departments in the General Tax Authority are the adult taxpayer department, the direct deduction department, and the companies department." 

And he indicated that "the department of senior taxpayers includes oil companies operating in Iraq, as well as communication and mobile phone companies," adding that "the vision of the current commission is to solve all existing problems without deportation, and we have a real communication group with mobile phone companies."    

He pointed out that "the tax authority has contact with mobile phone companies and has paid parts of the sums owed by them, such as Asiacell and Zain Iraq."    

And he indicated that "there are some meetings held in order to solve problems with the Korek company, as well as companies in the region," adding that "in light of this, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance instructed to unify procedures with the Kurdistan region, because most of the communication companies are present there." 

Internet Companies 

Regarding Internet companies, he explained that a delegation from the Tax Authority, headed by the Chairman of the Authority, held meetings with the region and it was agreed to sign a report consisting of 15 articles, and this is happening for the first time since 2003. By 80 to 85 percent," pointing out, "there is a real and serious desire from officials in the region, as well as from the central government, to solve all problems." 

Budget Taxes   

He pointed out that "the authority's goal is to implement the comprehensive electronic system that will contribute to supplying the state treasury with funds and estimates three times what we achieve today, according to a study prepared in advance for the application of electronic automation." 

 He pointed out that "there is a clear will on the part of the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Taif Sami, in electronic tax work," noting that "a number of companies have submitted offers on their services in the electronic field." 

Theft Of The Century 

 And the head of the Tax Authority announced that “the prime minister approved 6 proposals that we submitted after a 50-day study, as these proposals that entered into force will prevent the recurrence of the crime of theft of the century,” noting that “the companies were suspended, and there was no clearance, no non-objection, no tender entry, and no payment.” ". 

He explained that "the money that was stolen is the money of companies whose time was supposed to expire within the five years, but before its period ended, the theft occurred," revealing "a claim that companies hate their money." 

  And he indicated that "solutions have been taken regarding the financial amounts of the companies affected by the theft of the century, including fixing the value of the company's secretariats, paying a part of it, and fixing it with an official letter until the other funds are returned." 

  Appointment Of 150 Degree Holders 

 He continued, "The authority needs approximately 500 employees to fill the shortfall," noting that "the Minister of Finance provided the authority with 150 employees who hold certificates." 

He stressed that "the authority is continuing to implement the electronic payment program, and has reached stages, and it will officially enter work next week," noting that "this program would eliminate bribery." 

 He referred to "submitting a proposal to ease tax reviews for taxpayers who are not subject to tax, which will reduce 50 percent of cases of extortion." 

  Private Universities 

  The head of the Tax Authority confirmed the submission of a detailed report on the private universities and the related delays in the process of paying what they owed and who is obligated," noting that "the lagging private universities began to respond and now more than three universities have paid an estimated amount of 17 billion dinars owed since 2004." 

He pointed out that "the Tax Authority, with a precedent that takes place for the first time in 15 years, has reserved funds worth one trillion and 500 billion dinars for a group of universities, laboratories, factories, and capital owners who failed to pay taxes." 

  Division of Execution of Reservations 

  And he continued, "The Minister of Finance, Taif Sami, agreed to create a special division for the implementation of reservations and recovery, which includes the collection of government debts, and she started the first list in the amount of one trillion and 600 billion, and this is a precedent that did not happen in 15 years."     https://www.nasnews.com/view.php?cat=113214