Compliance
Streamlining Withholding and Excise Reporting: Azerbaijan’s New Declarations Overhaul
New announcement: Azerbaijan overhauled several tax declaration forms in August 2026 — a must-read for businesses filing withholding tax and excise returns.
By NomadicTax Research Team • 5-8 min read • September 13, 2026
## What Changed
On **August 11, 2026**, Azerbaijan’s State Tax Service approved **new formats** and **submission rules** for several tax declarations related to:
- Withholding taxes (“ödəmə mənbəyindən tutulan vergi”);
- **Excise tax declarations**, including several annexures. ([taxes.gov.az](https://www.taxes.gov.az/az/post/4959?utm_source=openai))
The updated forms **replace earlier versions**, and older fill-out rules are **revoked**. ([taxes.gov.az](https://www.taxes.gov.az/az/post/4959?utm_source=openai))
## Who Must Pay Attention
- Businesses paying salaries, interest, dividends, or other payments from which withholding tax must be deducted in Azerbaijan.
- Entities dealing with excisable goods who report to the tax authorities on imported or manufactured excise products.
- Accountants, tax practitioners, and tax software providers who generate these reports.
## What You Need to Do Now
1. **Download the new forms**: Visit State Tax Service website, locate the latest declarations and annex templates. ([taxes.gov.az](https://www.taxes.gov.az/az/post/4959?utm_source=openai))
2. **Revise your reporting process**: Ensure your payroll or financial department uses the new schema and includes all annexures required.
3. **Check filing deadlines**: Confirm that submission dates haven’t changed — forms changed, but deadlines may remain or shift.
4. **Update software or in-house templates**: Automated systems should reflect the new structure for accurate validation.
## Practical Example
A manufacturing company in Baku:
- Previously submitted **Excise Declaration Form No. 2 with its annexes**.
- As of this revision, both the **form structure** and **numbering of annexes** changed. If the company continues using old forms, reports could be rejected.
- The same goes for withholding tax filings related to dividends and salaries — new forms need to be used.
## Why This Matters
- **Filing accuracy**: Using outdated forms can lead to rejections or penalties.
- **Time management**: Adjusting internal reporting now avoids last-minute rushes or deadline misses.
- **Consistency with international best practice**: many advisory firms like PwC have observed that document/report template changes are one of the frequent sources of non-compliance risks in cross-border operations.
## Action Plan Checklist
| Task | Deadline |
|--|--|
| Identify all teams affected (payroll, excise, finance) | Immediately |
| Obtain new templates | Within a week of announcement |
| Train staff / update software | Before next filing period |
| Reconcile past filings if needed | Check impact on past month(s) where old form was used |