The City Administration requested the Office of the Attorney General dismiss charges against 3,000 taxpayers, who are accused of alleged tax fraud.

Initiated by the city's Revenues Authority, Deputy Mayor Takele Uma requested that the charges be dismissed under the approval of the  Attorney General before the new tax year starts. Before tabling the recommendation, the Authority has scrutinised the cases filed for tax fraud.

This was disclosed during a meeting held at the Intercontinental Addis Hotel in the presence of more than 2,400 taxpayers and representatives from the Attorney General's Office and the Police Commissioner last week.

The measure is aimed at closing the backlog of taxpayers charged with fraud that have been accumulating for the last five to seven years and streamline still pending cases at the Attorney General's Office and Police Commission, according to Shisema Gebresilassie, director general of the Authority.

“Our aim is to start the new tax year with a new anticipation," Shisema said.

Termination of charges does not include those with a record of printing and using fake receipts and those who have cases pending with auditors, according to Shisema.

The case dismissal will affect those who committed minor offences related to the failure of issuance of value-added tax (VAT) receipts during a transaction. The taxpayers have advanced different opinions during the discussions focusing on the challenges encountered during utilisation of cash register machines, corrupt auditors and improvement of the tax system in general.

Issuing VAT receipts for goods sold by wholesalers or importers that do not have legal price receipts or under-invoiced documents is very difficult, said Tadesse Tewodros, a participant at the meeting and retailer of edible products in Merkato.

The City Revenues Authority, which has collected around 29.7 billion Br in 11 months of the current fiscal year, has achieved 93.5pc of the plan for the specific months, according to the director.

The Authority plans to collect 33.5 billion Br this fiscal year from direct and indirect taxes, while the city government has set a 46-billion-Br budget plan for the same year.