Heads of BRICS Tax Authorities Sign Framework Agreement to Establish BRICS Tax Authorities Forum

Moscow hosted a meeting of the Heads of BRICS Tax Authorities on 26 September 2024. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin opened the meeting with a welcome address.

“Our tax authorities cannot function successfully without effective interaction. And their administrations play one of the most important roles in this process. Much is being done to establish unified approaches to tax administration, develop taxation rules that are understandable for people and business, and transition services to a digital format. The results of this work can be felt on the scale of all our countries. Taxes are the foundation of financial stability for each state. And the growth of economies and improvements to the business and investment climate directly depend on how regulation is carried out in this area,” he said.

Russian Federal Tax Service Director Daniil Yegorov thanked the delegations for their work on the Framework Agreement of the Heads of BRICS Tax Authorities, and specifically highlited South Africa’s contribution as the authors of this draft document. “The signing of this agreement marks a new stage in the development of our cooperation. It lays the foundation for regular management of joint projects to achieve practical results. The experience of this year and previous years shows that BRICS tax cooperation has great potential for development, and we can set new ambitious goals for ourselves,” he said.

At the meeting, the Framework Agreement was signed to establish the BRICS Tax Authorities Forum. It will replace annual meetings of the heads of tax authorities and experts with regular activities of working groups to improve tax administration for people, data, and technology. The document creates a structure to manage the BRICS tax agenda and systematizes the mechanism for cooperation among BRICS members.

The meeting participants also discussed the possible creation of a permanent secretariat of the BRICS tax authorities. “A year ago, at a meeting in Cape Town, we discussed the need for a secretariat. We have always supported the idea. We believe this is an extremely important point for practical work. Russia is cementing work to create a rotating secretariat and we are very happy about this,” Indian Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra said.

Deputy Commissioner of China’s State Taxation Administration Cai Zili noted that the accession of new members to BRICS fully reflects the association’s openness and inclusiveness, as well as the viability and attractiveness of its cooperation mechanism.

For his part, Director of the Iranian National Tax Administration Seyyed Mohammad-Hadi Sobhanian said: “We are fully prepared to share all our knowledge and experience with our friends and colleagues to improve our level.”

The heads of the BRICS tax authorities also noted the success of the Russian Federal Tax Service’s initiative to take a project-based approach in the work of BRICS. Based on a proposal from Russia, for the first time in the history of BRICS tax cooperation, working groups were established in key areas of tax administration, such as VAT modernization, the use and receipt of data, a client-centric approach, and HR practices. The working groups aim to maintain regular interaction between tax services and achieve practical results from their cooperation. The heads of the BRICS tax authorities approved a concept for the development of each project, as well as a three-year work plan.

Deputy Special Secretary of the Special Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil Adriana Rego Gomes noted that modern challenges require tax administrations to be prepared for difficult situations. “We have a lot to learn through cooperation, exchanging experience and best practices, and mutual support between our organizations. We have high hopes for the upcoming joint work due to the importance of the topics we will discuss,” she said.

“In the future, the work of the BRICS Tax Authorities Heads Forum should be immersed in issues on the current international agenda. The goal is to be more well-represented at international venues and respond promptly to the promotion of international tax measures,” Yegorov said.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS chairship.