CIS tax services set updated formats for cross-border income and asset data
Tax authorities from across the Commonwealth of Independent States have agreed updated formats for sharing information about income and assets held by people and businesses across borders. The work was taken forward at a meeting of the CIS Coordinating Council of Heads of Tax Services in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, held from 21 to 23 October.
The agreement concerns the structure used when tax authorities exchange information about individuals and legal entities. It is intended to make it easier for participating administrations to request and receive the information needed when a taxpayer or business has activity, income or assets in more than one country. The meeting brought together representatives from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Turkmenistan taking part as an associate member.
The updated formats are part of a wider effort to modernise tax cooperation within the group. Delegates also considered amendments to existing arrangements on electronic tax-information exchange and mutual assistance. A draft protocol to amend the 1999 CIS agreement on tax cooperation and mutual assistance received approval at the meeting. The proposed changes are intended to update the legal framework used by participating tax services.
Further work is expected before that protocol becomes a formal intergovernmental instrument. The text has been agreed at expert level, and its signing is planned for a meeting of CIS heads of government in Moscow in December. That distinction matters: the Dushanbe gathering advanced a shared framework and approved a draft, but the amendment process is not yet complete.
Information exchange was one of several practical subjects on the agenda. Delegates examined the development of electronic document management, modern analytical tools and systems for assessing tax risk. They also discussed the use of artificial intelligence in tax administration, including ways technology can support the quality and efficiency of services provided to taxpayers.
Kazakhstan presented its experience of tax-risk management, analytics and artificial intelligence. The discussion focused on operational uses of those tools, including the handling of data and the identification of tax risks. The meeting concentrated on cooperation between administrations and on sharing approaches that have already been developed in participating countries.
The council also approved an educational platform on client-centred tax administration for use by CIS tax services. It is to be hosted on the CIS Executive Committee’s internet portal. Professional training and knowledge-sharing among younger tax officials were also included in the follow-up work agreed by participants.
The meeting marked 25 years since the coordinating council was formed. Its role is to provide a forum for tax-service leaders to discuss common administrative issues and develop joint approaches. The latest session placed the work in the context of a broader CIS economic-development strategy running to 2030, which includes updating intergovernmental documents and strengthening professional cooperation.
Farrukh Pulatov, chair of Uzbekistan’s Tax Committee, was elected to lead the council for 2026 and 2027. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan in the second half of 2027. Until then, the immediate test will be whether the agreed formats, proposed legal changes and training initiatives move from discussion into the routine work of the tax authorities involved.
