OPINION

The opinion was adopted in the proceedings concerning the complaint of the organizations AA and BB filed against the Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration due to the inaccessibility of the Tax Administration Branch in Leskovac to persons with disabilities. In the statement of the Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration – Headquarters, Sector for Material Resources, Regional Department of Niš, it was specified, among other things, that to the company VV, with which there is a contract for the ongoing maintenance of TA facilities, a request was sent for urgent intervention on the business premises used by the TA Branch Leskovac, so that they could electronically submit a request and application for works in accordance with the Law on Planning and Construction and the Rulebook on the procedure for implementing the unified procedure electronically, and at the specified location, by creating and installing ramps, remove the architectural obstacle for the movement of people with disabilities. As further asserted in the statement, VV informed the Tax Administration electronically that in order to remove the architectural obstacle for the movement of persons with disabilities, it is first necessary to create a project that is verified by the investor and the designer and which, together with the formed request, is submitted electronically in order to obtain the approval for the execution of the works in question. In the statement, it was pointed out that it concerns a ramp that must be installed in accordance with the Rulebook on technical accessibility standards while occupying a public area (sidewalk) and that the mentioned works cannot be carried out from the position of ongoing maintenance. The Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration – Headquarters, Sector for Material Resources, Regional Department of Niš, indicated in the statement that after the adoption of the public procurement plan for 2019, the Tax Administration would initiate the public procurement procedure for project planning, and then for the execution of works on removal of architectural obstacles for the movement of persons with disabilities, by construction and installation of ramps. According to the statement, these activities are expected to be implemented during 2019. During the procedure, it was established that the Tax Administration Branch in Leskovac is inaccessible to persons with disabilities, which resulted in a violation of the provisions of Art. 6, 17, and 26 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, in connection with the provisions of Art. 13 and 16 of the Law on Prevention of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, which is why the Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration, was recommended to take all necessary measures and activities in order to ensure the accessibility of the Tax Administration Branch in Leskovac, as well as to take care that within its regular jobs and activities, it does not violate legal regulations on the prohibition of discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković