The State Tax Service of the Kyrgyz Republic clarified that the forced deduction of tax debts from citizens’ bank accounts will be used as a last-resort enforcement measure for those who ignore official notices and SMS notifications. Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Service of Kyrgyzstan Mirlan Rakhmanov announced at a press conference.
According to him, starting this year, the measure applies to individuals with arrears under two main types of obligations: property tax and income tax. Property tax liabilities arise only when established thresholds are exceeded. For example, tax is charged on apartments larger than 80 square meters and residential or country houses exceeding 150 square meters.
The debt recovery procedure is strictly regulated and includes the following stages:
- Issuance of a notice on the emergence of a tax liability;
- Sending SMS notifications to taxpayers’ mobile phones;
- A one-month period for the citizen to pay the tax or appeal the assessment;
- If no payment is made within a month, the Tax Service sends a request to the bank, which debits the outstanding amount if an account exists.
Mirlan Rakhmanov emphasized that the tax authority continues to observe banking secrecy and does not have access to account balances or transaction data — the bank simply executes the request if an account is available. He noted that the new mechanism will be convenient both for taxpayers and the agency.
Many citizens fail to pay taxes on time due to forgetfulness or lack of time, resulting in penalties that can increase severalfold. In many cases, taxpayers themselves have suggested automating such payments.
The new measure is also expected to significantly reduce bureaucracy. Previously, collecting overdue payments required the involvement of courts, bailiffs, and postal services; now the process will become more direct and efficient.
Currently, more than 435,000 citizens have outstanding debts to the Tax Service, with penalties for many having doubled or tripled due to late payment.
Last week, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic submitted for public discussion a draft Cabinet resolution proposing amendments to tax debt collection procedures. The document provides for the introduction of an automatic deduction mechanism from taxpayers’ bank accounts, applicable only to recognized debts — those not disputed or confirmed through court proceedings.
