IMF draws up recommendations how to reform fiscal service in coming 18 months
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has drawn up recommendations regarding the reform of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine after joint work from July 19 through August 1, the Finance Ministry of Ukraine has reported on its website.
"The IMF in cooperation with the Finance Ministry and the State Fiscal Service have drawn up a plan of priority tasks, on which the country should focus in coming 18 months and further steps," the ministry said.
The ministry said that the State Fiscal Service will be reorganized into a legal entity, the staff of the agency will be reshuffled and reduced, and tax administration will be made automated. The new staff should be professionals with higher salaries and have no relation to corruption.
The IMF pointed out the progress in the reform of the State Fiscal Service, in particular, in VAT refunding, but corruption is hindering the exhaustive reform, the ministry said.
As reported, the Finance Ministry announced the launch of an exhaustive reform of the State Fiscal Service late June 2017.
The three-tier project has the supervisory board as a first tier. The board consists of representatives of western governmental structures, international institutions and foundations: the U.S. Department of Commerce, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Department of Finance of Canada, the Finance Ministry of Germany, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and representatives of the European Union. The supervisory board coordinates the project.
The first level of the three-level project of the implementation of the reform envisages formation of a supervisory board, which will include representatives of Western government structures, international organizations and foundations.
The second level envisages a management committee, which includes the finance minister and the secretary of state, the head of the SFS and their deputy and the project manager.
The third level includes the reform implementation group comprised of representatives of the Finance Ministry, the State Fiscal Service, the IMF, the reform support team under the Finance Ministry and the SFS, international consultants. This group should work on practical implementation of the changes.
