The basis for the single taxation system is the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus adopted on December 19, 2002. By now only the general part of the Code has entered into force. The part establishes the system of taxes and duties (dues) collected to the budget of the Republic of Belarus, basic principles of taxation in the Republic of Belarus, regulates the power interrelations concerning the establishment, introduction, change, termination of taxes and duties (dues) and relations arising at the process of fulfilling the tax obligation, exercising of tax control, appealing the decision of tax bodies, actions (omissions) of their officials and establishes the rights and duties of payers, tax bodies and other participants of the relations.

Article 8 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus establishes the following kinds of republican taxes and duties (dues): VAT; excises; profit tax; income tax; income tax from natural persons; ecology tax; taxes from users of natural resources; property taxes; land tax; road tax and dues; customs duty and customs dues; stamp duty; offshore duty; consular duty; state duty; registration and license duties; patent duties.

Taxation objects, the procedure of payment, rates and privileges for certain kinds of taxes and duties are provided by special acts of tax legislation. In the Republic of Belarus the following Laws are in effect: “On Payments for Land”, “On Excises”, “On Value Added Tax”, “On Income Tax from Natural Persons”, “On Taxes to Income and Profit” and “On Real Estate Tax”.

On June 18, 2005 the Edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 285 “On Some Measures to Regulate the Entrepreneurial Activity” was passed. The Edict is aimed at solving problems connected with payment of VAT and customs duty by individual entrepreneurs when importing the goods from the Russian Federation, improvement of regulation of entrepreneurial activity as well as conditions of collecting the single tax from individual entrepreneurs and natural persons.

The Edict provides since August 1, 2005 up to December 31, 2006 the payment of VAT in the fixed sum, when individual entrepreneurs who pay the single tax import the goods from the Russian Federation, unless they have documents for the imported goods.

Local bodies within the rights granted to them by legislation may establish local taxes, duties and dues collected on their territory, and to give privileges for their payment to the local budgets. The procedure for providing privileges for taxes and duties are established by the President of the Republic of Belarus and by laws of the Republic of Belarus. In particular, there is the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 28, 2002 No. 21 “On Procedure of Granting the Natural Persons the Privileges for Customs Payments”.

Foreign legal persons carry out their activity on the territory of the Republic of Belarus through their permanent representations. The permanent representation of foreign legal person shall be registered in the tax bodies at the place of its location and shall withhold the taxes and other obligatory payments to be made by the foreign legal person in accordance with legislation of the Republic of Belarus from the sum of payments due to the foreign legal person.

Republic of Belarus has signed agreements on avoiding the double taxation with more than 40 countries of the world.

Liability for certain kinds of tax offences are established by the Edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus of January 22, 2004 No. 36 “On Additional Measures to Regulate the Tax Relations” and Edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus of June 18, 2005 No. 285 “On Some Measures to Regulate the Entrepreneurial Activity”.