Parties due to submit financial statements by Tuesday

BELGARDE - The deadline for the submittal of annual financial statements for 2013 will expire on Tuesday, and a total of 97 political parties and 90 groups of citizens are due to submit the reports, Tanjug was told at the Anti-Corruption Agency on Monday.

“All registered political parties and groups of citizens in the representative bodies are due to submit annual financial statements and reports on donations and real estate with an opinion of authorized auditors sought beforehand,” said Predrag Knezevic, advisor at the Agency's service for control of financing of political entities.

The political entities are due to submit the electronic version of the report by April 15, and then they have another eight days to put forward a written document with a signature and stamp of an authorized person, Knezevic said.

The failure to submit the annual financial statement shall be punished with a fine ranging from RSD 200,000 to two million for political parties and from RSD 50,000 to 150,000 for the responsible persons in the political entity, he said.

“So far the Agency has submitted 28 motions for initiating misdemeanor proceedings over non-submittal of annual financial statements,” Knezevic said.

As for the non-submitted financial statements for 2011, the Agency has filed 13 motions for initiating misdemeanor proceedings, and two fines have been determined - RSD 200,000 for legal entities and RSD 50,000 for responsible persons and one letter before action was issued for non-submittal of the report, he said.

For 2012, the Agency submitted 15 motions for the launch of misdemeanor proceedings, and one verdict was reached according to which a legal entity was due to pay RSD 100,000, while a responsible...