Autukhovich required paying insurance deduction for time of his confinement

Tax-collectors prosecute the former political prisoner Mikalai Autukhovich.

The businessman and former political prisoner is forced to pay compulsory insurance deduction to the Social Protection Fund for the time he was in prison. Tax authorities claim it is legal.

However, according to the court decision of July 7, 2006, when the entrepreneur was imprisoned for the first time for 3 years and 6 months, Autukhovich was forbidden to do business within 5 years, Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

On February 8, 2009 he was repeatedly detained and in 2010 sentenced to 5-year imprisonment under Article 295 paragraph 3 - "Illegal actions into firearms, ammunition and explosives". Autukhovich was additionally sentenced to 2 months of imprisonment as he alleged committed another crime without 2 month-completion of the previous one. At the same time Vaukavysk officials claim Autukhovich is not forbidden to do business and the 5-year ban expired in the prison.

However, paragraph 4, Article 51 of the Criminal Code "Deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or be engaged in certain activities" clearly states that "the punishment as additional to the arrest, limitation of freedom, sending to disciplinary military unit applies to all period of serving the main sentence and, moreover, for a period specified by a verdict".

Exactly this paragraph is not being noticed, as a result he is forced to pay tax. In this case, officials refer to the provisions of Lukashenka's Decree No. 87 of February 21, 2014 "On amendments and changes to Decrees on State Social Insurance", which states that an entrepreneur is not subject to mandatory insurance contributions if he has officially terminated his activity and been excluded from the taxpayer registration. Mikalai Autukhovich had no such an opportunity. In 2006 the entrepreneur was additionally fined Br350 million, he was not able to terminate his business without clearing arrears in payment. He could not pay this sum either because he was in prison.

Valiantsin Stephanovich, the Deputy Chairman of Viasna Human Rught Center, observes a certain paradox in this absurd situation:

"The situation is quite strange. The court decision says the person cannot do business, but he is obliged to pay out money to Social Fund during this period. In prison Mikalai could neither terminate his business activity nor pay out funds to Social Protection Fund. It is a vicious circle".

Since the adoption of Lukashenka's Decree No. 87 in February last year, quite a large part of individual entrepreneurs, who physically discontinued their business, but did not register their liquidation, will be subject to the mandatory insurance contributions to the Social Protection Fund.