Tax control and inspection supervision in the Republic of Serbia: Characteristics of the legal framework and the need for coordination
Today, the success of entire tax system is viewed through the effectiveness of tax control. Tax control activities are performed by tax inspectors with special authorities, duties and responsibilities, and its purpose is to control whether taxpayers activities comply with tax laws and regulations. With the adoption of the Law on inspection supervision, the Republic of Serbia has implemented a crucial, comprehensive reform of inspection bodies and the process of inspection supervision which has been of great significance for public administration, economy and citizens. The provisions of this law are applied to tax procedures based on the principle of subsidiarity, while the activities of tax inspection are mostly based on the provisions of the Law on tax procedure and tax administration. In tax procedures, the issues which are not regulated by the general Law on inspection supervision, are the subject of another specific law-however, the direct application of the specific law cannot rule out or restrict the application of the law which governs the issues of inspection supervision and official control which are not regulated by the specific law. In this paper, the author discusses the similarities and differences between two laws and solutions for their harmonization underlining their advantages and weaknesses aimed at ensuring the maximum compliance with tax laws and reduction of tax evasion and shadow economy.