In Kakheti, Workers of Thousands of Factories Are Left Without Salaries

Initially dead people, now alive entrepreneurs are raided in Kakheti. Telavi Tax Inspection sent warrants to legal and private entities and informed that the inspection had written of a certain amount of money from their bank accounts to pay their bills, taxes and fines. Thus, before the New Year, workers of the private organizations are left without salaries.

"I received a warrant about the writing of my from my bank account yesterday. They are going to pay the taxes, bills and fines with that money. I had 2200 GEL on my account in Georgian Bank. When the accountant arrived at the bank to get the money, employees at thee bank told her that the money form my account was written of on the basis of the Tax Inspection's official letter; the money was transferred to the budget. I have 16 employees and I was going to distribute their salaries, but we do not have money. WE do not expect any income until the New Year. So, my workers and I are left without salaries before the New Year," said a director of one of the Ltd and does not want to say his/her name. "Officials at the Telavi Tax Inspection warned me I would have more problems with the Financial Police, if I dare to complaint about the fact," said the entrepreneur who has documents to prove that he has no debts to the budget.

Despite there are nearly thousand Ltds, Enterprise with Solidar Responsibility, Joint Stock Companies and thousands of individual entrepreneurs are in the whole Kakheti Region. Only few of them dare to speak about the fact. "Very many entrepreneurs called us for legal consulting. However, only two of them wanted legal aid and but they asked to keep their names in secret at this early stage," they said at the Human Rights Center's Kakheti office.

Officials at the Telavi Tax Inspection deny complains of the entrepreneurs. They said that the money was written from the bank accounts under the Tax Code, Article 89 and they had not breached the law. "As for the fact that we have written the money of the accounts of those entrepreneurs who did not have debts to the budget, is false," said Gogita Djadugishvili, inspector for the Administration Department of the Tax Inspection' Gurjaani Branch. 

Local Registration Service Offices of the Public Registration Office also received the warrants on tax lending. Specialists from the registration office say that many taxpayers learn about the debts his/her enterprise has to the budget, when they want to get some certificates from the registration office. "We give them extracts, but some of the businessmen have so big debts, that even selling of their enterprises has no sense. Very often the price of the enterprise is less than their debts to the budget. In November and December 2006, 649 similar letters were received by the Gurjaani Registration Service Office," said Davit Rakviashvili, the chief of the service office. 

"The same warrant states that Tax Inspection must send one copy of the warrant to taxpayers. It must inform the taxpayer, that if the tax is not paid s/he would be punished under Tax Code, article 84. The punishments are confiscation and sale of the property. However, in this particular case the taxpayers did not receive such warrants and the Tax Inspection wrote of their money from the bank accounts without warning. According to the information, in Kakheti only thousands of workers of individual enterprises and various organizations were left without salaries before the New Year. Thus, their hard living conditions will be even more graved," Lia Khuroshvili, lawyer for the Human Rights Center's Kakheti office said.

According to her, the non-governmental organization is preparing a suit for those taxpayers who had no debts to the budget. They are about to bring a suit against the Telavi Tax Inspection at the Telavi District Court. Human Rights Centre does not exclude that suitors will have problems with the financial police, if their names are published.   

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti