Accrual of 1% Tax on Cashing out Money Contradicts Constitution - Akram Hasanov

Baku / 18.09.17 / Turan: On September 19, the Supreme Court has to decide how lawful is to accrue 1% tax when cashing out money from an account, the bank expert Akram Hasanov said.

On his Facebook page, Hasanov said an impenetrable circle has been created around this rule.

"Accrual of 1% for cashing money from accounts was introduced from this year and I repeatedly wrote about the absurdity of this rule. In the lawsuit against the Ministry of Taxes, the defendant stated that I ought to speak out against the bank, which accrued 1%. But the Baku Administrative Economic Court considered that the claim should be filed against the Ministry of Finance," he said.

Hasanov stressed that the Court of Appeal, where he appealed, stated that the Ministry of Taxes cannot be a defendant, since this ministry acts on the basis of the Tax Code.

"Speaking from the point of view of the Court of Appeal, if the law contradicts the Constitution, as in this case, no one can make a claim against the state body that applies this law. In fact, they call into question the direct legal force of the Constitution. And how should a citizen defend his constitutional rights?" he noted.

The expert recalled that if a law contradicts an article of the Constitution, then the law loses its force and this dispute can be decided by the court when filing a lawsuit.

"If the court itself cannot assess the case, then it must apply to the Constitutional Court. I cannot directly appeal to the Constitutional Court and therefore I have filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Taxes. If I lose in all the courts, then I can apply to the Constitutional Court, but the courts refuse to consider my lawsuit," he said.

In his opinion, if the Supreme Court upholds the decision of the Court of Appeal, an abnormal situation will arise for the country"s legal system and the Constitution will be deprived of the higher law status. -71D-