Tiraspol, 8 June. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Accounts Chamber has presented to the Supreme Council the results of the inspection of State-run Unitary Enterprise (GUP) Boikhim. The chamber's employees note the plant's unstable financial position and low profitability. According to the latest information, its accounts payable have amounted to 49 million roubles (70% of its annual turnover). The Accounts Chamber has also announced that the company receives a substantial governmental assistance — 50% income tax exemption, a reduced excise rate (50%), delays in equipment payment, interest-free loans for purchasing equipment, delays in tax payments. Besides, the chamber has revealed information on the plant's production and economic performance, as well as its possible violations.
GUP Biokhim specialises in the production of alcohol and alcohol products. According to the Accounts Chamber, the company exports 75% of its products. Alcohol products were exported via the port of Odessa. The only way to get there today is through the territory of Moldova as Ukraine imposed additional restrictions on the import of excisable goods in August 2014. However, according to the Account Chamber, the Moldovan customs did not register export transactions concerning two consumers to whom Biokhim shipped its products, in accordance with accounting records.
«The plant has two consumers as shipment receivers. It should be noted that documents concerning these two consumers were arranged under the regime for export with due exemption from excise duties, in compliance with the excise duty law, and with a note in the customs declaration's section 'cargo receiver' - Odessa Marine Trade Port. However, according to the information of Moldova’s customs service under the finance ministry, in the period from 1 January 2013 to 19 May 2016 export transactions performed for the consumers to whom GUP Biokhim shipped its products were not registered in Moldova," said an Account Chamber representative at a Supreme Council session.
The report focused on the two consumers of Biokhim's goods, but it aroused MPs' indignation anyway. They claimed the presence of a fraudulent scheme aimed at laundering public money and accused top officials of covering these schemes.
«We have a fraudulent scheme based on which GUP Biokhim with the direct involvement of SCC officials evaded paying excise duties on ethyl alcohol by arranging false export transactions," said deputy Porfiry Shkilnyuk.
He added that to that effect offshore companies had been used «to cover tax and duty evasion schemes».
The SCC were surprised to hear such accusations and said that information was incorrect.
The SCC stated that «GUP Biokhim had registered all its foreign economic contracts under the established procedure».
«All exported cargoes were cleared in full compliance with the current law. All customs duties were levied and contributed to the republican budget. GUP Biokhim has no currency repatriation debts," the SCC press service reports.
The committee underscores, in the meantime, that it has all documents confirming the export of cargoes.
As for the information provided by Moldova's customs service, Pridnestrovie's MFA has never heard about it. It should be noted in this respect that official communication with Kishinev's official bodies is performed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only (presidential decree «On the MFA's coordinating role…»).
«The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR has no information as to any official requests of Pridnestrovie's public officials to the Republic of Moldova on GUP Biokhim's operations," the ministry told Novosti Pridnestrovya.
The plant's management was also surprised at hearing MPs' accusations. According to its director, the Accounts Chamber already conducted an inspection of Biokhim last year, but failed to find any serious violation.
«What accusations is the Supreme Council talking about? They [accusations] should be proved. Let them show documents and prove cargoes were not registered in Moldova. Whom did they address to in Moldova? Just come to a customs officer in the street and ask? We have all customs and tax documents, all documents confirming the payment of excise duties. I think they want to get the only Bendery's enterprise paying the maximum of taxes stop, and then all MPs will recollect themselves and say: it's over, we've done it. I can see it this way. These statements by the Supreme Council have already hit our hands. Customers do not want to buy anything from us, on seeing this situation when we are being driven into a corner," said Biokhim's director, Yury Savchenko.
«We arrange all our alcohol supplies, excise duties, taxes. Everything is checked. Everything is paid. All payments go to the budget," he added in a phone talk with Novosti Pridnestrovya.
Yury Savchenko underscored that in 2015 Biokhim was getting modernised, which required substantial financial investment, but at the same time helped to reduce products' net cost and increase the state enterprise's output.
«We invested 13 million roubles in the plant, and they can be really seen. All our works were checked by the Accounts Chamber. We have an acceptance certificate for implementation and modernisation works. The Accounts Chamber failed to find anything there," said the plant's director.
He also explained that the company fulfils its obligations to the budget.
«We paid 7 million roubles in taxes in 2015, paid off Biotechnology's debts to all stabilisation funds and enterprises the former private enterprise owed. A total of 50 million roubles was paid. It is recorded," said Yury Savchenko.
The tax service also reports well on the company's reputation.
«GUP Biokhim is a diligent tax payer which pays taxes in proper time and has no tax debts at present," said the director of the tax service, Lyudmila Dikusar, in an interview with First Pridnestrovian.
It should be noted that the same close attention paid by some MPs to the country's biggest enterprise, MMZ, has negatively affected its work. In this connection the plant's management is preparing suits against the deputies who voiced this false information about MMZ.
President Yevgeny Shevchuk has instructed the corresponding services to conduct an inspection of the enterprise's financial and business activities.
