SRS Tax Debt Enforcement Office director Cerneckis steps down

On 21 October, director of Latvian State Revenue Service’s Tax Debt Enforcement Office Kaspars Cerneckis submitted his resignation.

«I will not provide detailed comment on this. I did not make this decision myself. I was forced to do it,» – said the now former SRS official. He was transferred to the Tax Enforcement Office at the end of May as part of efforts to rotate workers in SRS.

He added that he will provide more information once acting SRS director Dace Peleka has signed his resignation.

At the end of August, the Administrative Regional Court decided to keep the previous ruling concerning Cerneckis plea to challenge the rotation order unchanged. With that, his plea against the district court’s ruling was declined.

Although the Administrative District Court accepted his application, after reviewing it, the court concluded that he first had to turn to Finance Ministry with a complaint. Only once the appeal process concluded would he have the right to turn to court in order to appeal the ministry’s decision. With that, the court decided to keep Cerneckis’ plea without review.

As previously reported by LTV, in his application to the court, Cerneckis mentioned being transferred without his consent. He also mentioned that his income dropped by nearly EUR 160 a month and that his reputation was ruined, because in the public eyes the rotation process is associated with the desire to get rid of dishonest workers.

Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola had previously said that Cerneckis had failed to uphold his duties. She said his current behavior can be explained with his protest against changes. «His refusal to accept his new post means he opposes the reform. Because he cannot work as deputy head and order around Customs Police and Finance Police, it is clear he is dissatisfied with that and is prepared to challenge the decisions in court. We can consider that opposition,» – said the minister.

The internal rotation process in SRS affected 39 employees, including 22 managers of different levels. 

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