Based on the Article 11 of the Act on Associations, Founding Assembly of the Association of Tax Consultants and Advisors has adopted on its meeting held on 8 March 2004

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
    

Article 1.

1) This Statute regulates the name, the seat and the scope of activities of the Association; representation; the objectives; the activities to meet the objectives; achieving publicity of work; membership and membership fee; rights, duties and responsibilities of members; internal organization; bodies of the Association, their structure, authorities, decision-making, conditions and way of electing and revocation, mandate and responsibilities, property and use of possible profit; property acquisition; termination of Association and handling with properties in case of termination.

 

Article 2.

1) Association of Tax Consultants and Advisors (“Association”) is a voluntary not-for-profit association of citizens of the Republic of Croatia, who are providing tax consultancy and advisory services to taxpayers in line with the General Tax Act. A foreign citizen can also become a member of the Association, under conditions and in a procedure determined by this Statute.
2) Members of the Association must fulfill conditions for the membership and must join the Association on the basis of their personal voluntary decision with the purpose to fulfill goals and tasks determined by this Statute.

 

1) Activity of the Association is based on the following principles: voluntariness, independence, non-profitability and publicity of work.

2. STATUS PROVISIONS

1) Association is a legal entity represented by president and vice president.

 

1) The name of the Association is: THE ASSOCIATION OF TAX CONSULTANTS AND ADVISORS.
2) The Association operates on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, and its seat is in Zagreb.
 

1) The Association has a stamp. The stamp is round shaped with the diameter of 30 millimeters. The full name of the Association, Zagreb, is written on the stamp.
 

1) The Association can cooperate with similar associations/organizations in the Republic of Croatia as well as with national and international associations and organizations with similar goals and activities determined by this Statute, correlate with them and enter into their membership.
2) The Assembly of the Association makes the decision on correlation or joining on the basis of basic guidelines of work and development of the Association, which the Assembly has adopted.

3. GOALS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE ASSOCIATION

 

Article 8.

1) The Association is founded for the purpose of organized and active participation in establishment, building and improvement of modern tax system in the Republic of Croatia, with the basic activity to professionally educate and prepare members of the Association which are active in the tax field and who will work as tax consultants or advisors. The goal of the Association is to bring together the interests of tax consultants and advisors with the purpose of realization of the Association’s activities.
2) The activities of the Association are:
- Participation in establishment, building and improvement of the tax system and tax politics in the Republic of Croatia,
- Cooperation with other related institutions in Croatia and abroad,
- Pledging for construction of ethical codex of tax consultants and advisors,
- Pledging for reputation and status of profession of tax consultants and advisors,
- Pledging for additional non-institutional education and exchange of professional opinions of the Association’s members,
- Organization of consultations, seminars, round tables and other forms of informing members about the novelties in legislation, profession and practice in the tax consultancy field and other complementary fields.
3) Association can also organize other activities, congresses, symposiums, round tables, participate in public media and publish professional articles, all with the purpose of accomplishment of the main goals of the Association.
4) All activities of the Association must be in line with legal regulations and the Statute of the Association. 
 

4. MEMBERSHIP IN THE ASSOCIATION
    MANNER OF ADMISSION AND TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
 

1) Membership in the Association is voluntary. The Association keeps records of its members.
2) Members of the Association are full members and honorary members.
3) The records of membership will be kept by a person appointed by the Executive Board.
 

1) Every citizen of the Republic of Croatia, with secondary and past secondary qualification in areas of economy or law, primarily tax consultants and advisors in line with the law, can become the member of the Association.

 

1) A foreign national with secondary and past secondary qualification in areas of economy or law, primarily tax consultants and advisors in line with the law, can also become the member of the Association.
 

1) A person becomes a member of the Association by signing the membership form which is presented to the Executive Board of the Association and by paying membership fee in the amount and in the way defined by the Assembly. The Executive Board decides on admission to the membership.
2) The membership fee is paid annually by March 31 for the current year or upon admission.

 

1) The Association can have honorary members. A person who has immensely contributed to the development of the Association and the tax profession can become an honorary member of the Association. A person who works in other professional areas can also become an honorary member.
2) Executive Board proposes and the Assembly decides on the honorary membership.
3) The honorary members have all the rights as full members, except the right to be elected for the Association’s bodies.
4) Honorary member is not obliged to pay membership fee.
 

1) Every member of the Association has a membership card.
2) The Executive Board of the Association defines the form and the contents of membership card.
 

1) Member’s rights are:
- To elect and be elected for the Association’s bodies,
- To participate in the Association’s work and give suggestions for its progress,
- To participate in Assembly’s work and other sessions and collectively decide on  adoption of decisions,
- To be present at all events and use all benefits that the Association provides to its members within its activities,
- To be informed about the Associations’ activities,
- To have insight into documentation and activities of the Association.
 

1) Member’s duties are:
- To actively participate in the work of the Association and its bodies, to actively contribute to accomplishing goals and tasks of the Association, which are defined by the Statute and annual plans of the Assembly,
- To execute decisions of the Association’s bodies,
- To honor the Statute and other basic acts and decisions of the Association’s bodies,
- To promote the Association’s reputation,
- To regularly pay membership fee and other contributions determined by the Assembly,
- To take care of the Association’s assets with the diligence of an orderly and conscientious businessman.
 

1) Member of the Association generally does not receive compensation for his/her work and activities in the Association. The Executive Board of the Association can decide to reward one of the members for tasks of permanent and extraordinary importance to the Association.
2) The Executive Board can decide to conclude employment contract, service contract or other contract for tasks of permanent importance for the Association.

 

Article 18.

1) The Association of Tax Consultants and Advisors operates on the whole territory of the Republic of Croatia based on territorial principle. The members are connected by regional or interest boards and working groups to effectively meet the goals and interests of the Association.
2) The Association can set up branch-offices, as its formation units. The Assembly decides on set up, internal work, representation and termination of branch- offices. Subsidiaries are not legal entities and are obliged to work in accordance with the Statute of the Association. For their work, branch offices are accountable to the Assembly.

 

1) The membership in the organization is terminated in case of:
- Voluntary withdrawal from the Association on the basis of member’s written statement,
- Exclusion on the basis of decision made by the Court of Honor,
- Member’s death.

 

1) The member who wishes to withdraw from the membership in the Association must inform the Executive Board of his/hers decision in writing. The member who wishes to withdraw is not exempt from the obligation to pay the membership fee, in within the time limit prescribed by this Statute. Already paid membership fee is not returned to the withdrawing member.

 

1) The Court of Honor decides on exclusion of a member.
2) The Court of Honor will exclude from the Association a member who harms its reputation, has inadequate relation towards other members of the Association, is in serious breach of the Statute provisions or decisions of the Association bodies and causes or could cause greater material or moral damage to the Association with such conduct.
3) The excluded member has the right to appeal to the Assembly, within 15 days after receiving decision. The Assembly finally decides on exclusion.
4) Every member of the Association can submit a motion to exclude a member. The motion has to be in writing.

5. THE BODIES OF THE ASSOCIATION

 

1)  The Bodies of the Association are:
- The Assembly,
- The President of the Association,
- The Executive Board,
- The Supervisory Board,
- The Court of Honor.

5.1. The Assembly

Article 23.

1) The Assembly is the highest body of the Association, and all regular and honorary members are a part of it.

2) The Assembly can be ordinary and extraordinary.

3) The ordinary Assembly is called by the Executive Board, usually every year by the end of May. In case the Executive Board cannot call it, the Assembly can be called by the President of the Association.

4) The Executive Board has the duty to call the session by request of:
- The Supervisory Board
- 1/3 of the Association’s members

5) The extraordinary Assembly will discuss only the questions for which it was called.

6) The Executive Board has the duty to call the extraordinary Assembly within 30 days from the day of receipt of the written request. If it fails to do so, the extraordinary Assembly is called by the proposer.

7) The convener decides on the agenda, place and time of the session and informs members in writing, not later than 8 days before the session. The same applies to the extraordinary Assembly.
 

1) The Assembly has a quorum if at least one half of all the members are present at the scheduled beginning of the session. In case the Assembly has no quorum at the scheduled beginning of the session, the session is postponed for 30 minutes. After expiration of that period, the Assembly can make valid decisions if at least one third of all members are present.

 

1) The president of the Association presides over the Assembly’s session and leads it up to the election of the working Presidency of the Assembly.
2) Aside from the working Presidency, the Assembly elects keeper of the minutes and two certifiers of the minutes, and if necessary the electing commission, verification commission and other working bodies. 

 

1) The Assembly makes the decisions with the majority of votes of the present members. Every member of the Association has one vote. The decisions on Statute amendments, the Association’s high value financial obligations, or the Association’s termination, are made with at least 2/3 majority of the present members. High value financial obligations are considered those exceeding 20,000.00 kunas.
2) The Assembly decides on the manner of voting (secret or public voting).
3) In case of voting on premature dismissal of the Association’s bodies or the rights of certain members, they do not have the right to vote.

  

1) The Assembly has the following authorities:
- To introduce the Statute of the Association, its changes, additions and other acts,
- To give interpretation  of the Statute and other acts that it introduces,
- To introduce the work program and give guidelines for the work of the Assembly,
- To discuss and decide on the reports from the Executive board, the Supervisory board and the Court of Honor,
- To discuss and accept the financial plan and final calculation,
- To elect and to release the members of the Association’s bodies,
- To decide about admission of honorary members of the Association,
- To elect the President of the Association,
- To determine the amount of membership fee,
- To decide on objections and complains against the decisions of the Executive board, Supervisory board and the Court of Honor,
- To decide on questions related to real-estate of the Association,
- To form a commission, section and other working bodies of the Association,
- To finally decide on exclusion of the member from the Association,
- To decide on associating and connecting with other related organizations,
- To decide on termination of the Association
- To perform all other tasks determined by the Statute or by the law.
2) The elections in the Association’s bodies are generally secret, but they can also be public if suggested, except in case one of the members of the Association is opposed.
3) The work of the assembly is noted by the minutes of the assembly, which are signed by the president of the working Presidency, keeper of the minutes and two verifiers of the minutes.
 

5.2. The Executive Board

Article 28.

1) The Executive board is the Assembly’s executive body, and consists of a president and four members elected by the Assembly for the period of two years.
2) The Executive board is constituted on its first session after election, it appoints vice president and treasurer of the Association among its members and decides on specific tasks and obligations of every member of the Executive Board.
3) The Executive board leads the Association between two sessions of the Assembly according to the program and decisions made on the Assembly, and performs organizational, expert technical and administrative work. The sessions of the Executive Board are called and chaired by the President of the Association, who is also the president of the Executive Board. In his absence, the session of the Executive Board is chaired by vice president of the Association. In case the vice president is absent, the session is chaired by one of the members of the Executive Board. The Executive board is convened as necessary, but at least four times a year. The Executive board has a quorum if majority of its members are present at the session. The Executive board makes decisions by majority of votes.
4) All members must be called to the session of the Executive Board, or the decisions made will be invalid.
5) All the members of the Supervisory Board are called to the session.
6) If the number of members chosen for the Executive Board is decreased during their mandate by two members at the most, the Executive Board has the authority to temporarily appoint two more members, with the obligation to confirm such appointment on the first session of the Assembly.

 

1) The Executive board has the following authorities:
- To call the Assembly and prepare materials for its sessions (the work report for the previous year, financial statements, work program, financial plan…),
- To take care and be responsible for implementation of the Association’s work program,
- To decide on admission into membership of the Association,
- To prepare basic acts of the Association,
- To appoint vice president and treasurer of the Association,
- To appoint permanent and ad hoc commissions and other working bodies,
- To appoint regional committees and sections of the Association,
- Appoints members of the Executive Board between session of the regular Assemblies,
- To gather financial assets for financing the Association’s business activities,
- To manage material and financial activities of the Association,
- To perform other tasks which are determined by this Statute or are given to it by the Assembly,
- To manage the assets of the Association,
- To decide on changing the address of the Association.
2) The Executive board and its members are responsible for their work to the Assembly.
3) The Executive board can appoint commissions for execution of specific tasks. Tasks, number, members and president of the commission are determined by the Executive board. The members of the commissions are members of the Association. The commissions are accountable for their work to the Executive board. Exceptionally the Association can include external associates in the work of the commission.
4) The Executive board elects the Secretary of the Association from existing members, for a four year mandate.
 

5.3. The Supervisory Board

Article 30.

1) The Supervisory board has three members elected by the Assembly, for a four year mandate. The members of the Supervisory board appoint the president among themselves.
2) It is the obligation of the Supervisory board to control the work of the Association’s bodies between two regular Assembly sessions and oversee financial and material business of the Association.
3) The Supervisory board performs the audit of the complete business of the Association, operations and financial status, at least once a year.
4) The Supervisory board is responsible to the Assembly, to which it has to report on its work at least once a year.
 

1) The Supervisory board makes the decisions by the majority of votes of all members of the Supervisory board.
2) The members of the Supervisory board are called to the sessions of the Executive board, but without the right to vote.
3) The members of the Supervisory board have the right to participate in sessions of all of the Association’s bodies.
 
5.4. The Court of Honor

Article 32.

1) The Court of Honor has three members, which are elected by the assembly, for a four year mandate.
2) The members of the Court of Honor appoint the president among themselves.
3) The Court of Honor convenes, if necessary, on the basis of the written request of members or the bodies of the Association.

The Court of Honor's authorities

Article 33.

1) The Court of Honor decides on written requests for resolving conflicts between the Association and its members, which come from executing rights and obligations of the members determined by this Statute, and conflicts between citizens and the Association in connection with becoming a member.
2) The Court of Honor can apply the following disciplinary measures to the member of the Association:
- Public warning,
- Temporary exclusion for the period of six months,
- Permanent exclusion.
3) The Assembly, as a second degree body, decides on the appeal on the Court of Honor’s decision.
4) The Court of Honor makes the final ruling on the appeal made, on the decision to reject the membership request.
5) The Court of Honor leads the procedure and declares a penalty on the basis of provisions of this Statute the Court of Honor’s ordinance.
 

The President of the Association

Article 34.

1) The President of the Association is elected for a one year mandate. The President of the Association is at same time the President of the Executive Board.
2) The President of the Association has the following authorities:
- To introduce and represent the Association,
- To answer for legitimacy of the Association’s work,
- To take care of appropriate and successful performance of the Association,
- To take care of and be responsible for implementation of the program of the Association,
- To prepare final calculation of the Association,
- To manage material and financial operations of the Association,
- To manage the assets of the Association,
- To perform other important operative tasks of the Association,
- To perform other work important for the operation of the Association.
3) The President of the Association is responsible for his work to the Executive board and the Assembly of the Association, in accordance with the Statute and legal system of the Republic of Croatia.
4) The President of the Association signs all individual and basic acts of the Association. Co-signers are Vice-president and Treasurer for the financial area.
5) The President of the Association, who does not wish to perform the function of the president due to objective circumstances, is obliged to inform the Executive board of his decision in writing. The President is responsible for performing the tasks from his scope of authority until the Assembly releases him and points the new President

 

Article 35.

1) The member of the Association’s Executive Board in charge of organization of the Association’s work, or an authorized Company which meets the legal requirements for performance of such activity, is responsible for performance of specific technical, administrative and accounting tasks, and for coordination among the bodies of the Association
2) The Executive Board is authorized to choose a company for performing tasks stated in the paragraph 1 of this article.
 

6. FINANCING OF THE ASSOCIATION AND CONTROL OF FINANCIAL ASSETS
 

  

The sources of financing

Article 36.

1) The Association is financed from the following sources:
- Membership fees, paid by members,
- Material rights of the Association and activities of organizing seminars, symposiums, congresses etc.,
- Gifts and other giving by donators,
- Public funds and other sources.
2) The Association acts on the principle of self-financing in a way that all the expenses of the Association in that year are covered with membership fee.
3) The Association can receive donations. The donators can be natural or legal persons which help the Association materially, morally or in some other way. The donators can participate and discuss on the sessions of the Assembly, but have no right to vote.
 

1) The Association is the owner of movable property and real estate which it has acquired during its existence.
2) Movable property can be acquired and disposed on the basis of the Executive board’s decision.
3) Real estate can be acquired and disposed on the basis of the decision of the Assembly.
4) If the Association’s revenue exceeds expenses in the course of its action, such surplus must be used for the activity for which the Association was founded.
5) Every division of the Association’s property among its members is invalid.
6) Financial and material activities are managed by the treasurer in accordance with accounting regulations relating to associations and other regulations which determine such business activity.
7) The Association manages independently its assets, according to adopted business and financial strategy within the adopted financial plan accepted by the Assembly. Every year, during the regular Assembly, members discuss and pass final calculation. The Association has its own transfer account.
 

1) The Executive board of the Association must prepare a report on the work of the Association for each calendar year in accordance with accounting standards for associations. In this report, financial and material activities of the Association are shown, as well as actual condition of the Association’s property and its financial position.
2) Legality of financial activities is controlled by the members of the Executive Board, individually and together as a body of control. The President and the Treasurer are obliged to provide all documentation of the Association related to its financial activities, at request of a member of the Supervisory board.
3) Every member of the Association has the right of insight into the documentation relating to financial and material activities of the Association. If the member has any objections, he/she has the right to demand an explanation from the President and the Treasurer. If not pleased with the explanation, the member can demand a discussion on his question before the Supervisory Board. The Board has to inform him on conclusions in writing. If there is a violation of financial activities, the Supervisory Board must demand that the President of the Association calls extraordinary session of the Executive Board. The Executive Board has to examine the Supervisory Board’s opinions and accept appropriate measures.
 

7. THE BASIC ACTS OF THE ASSOCIATION
 

Article 39.

1) Association has the following basic acts:
− The Statute,
− The Ordinance on Material and Financial Operations,
− Other basic acts, if determined by law or by the Assembly of the Association.
2) The acts from paragraph one of this article are adopted by the Assembly of the Association.
 

8. ENSURING PUBLICITY OF THE ASSOCIATION’S WORK

 

The manner of ensuring publicity

Article 40.

3) Work of the Association is open to public. The Association ensures the publicity of its work and the work of its bodies work by informing the public through financial and tax related magazines. Information on activities of the Association must be available on the entire the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
4) The Association informs its members primarily through:
− Member’s insight into the Association’s bodies minutes,
− Leaflets,
− Means of public informing,
− The Association’s announcements.
5) The president of the Association is responsible for ensuring publicity of work and providing accurate information on the work of the Association.

9. THE TERMINATION OF WORK AND PROPERTY DISPOSAL

 

Article 41.

1) The Association ceases with its activities based on law or if the Assembly decides so with a two third majority of the present members.
2) The Assembly decides on the termination of the Association at the extraordinary session. Decision-making requires preparation of written material which contains broad explanation of reasons for the termination. The appendix must contain the opinion of the Executive Board and the President of the Association.

 

1) In case of the Association’s termination, all assets of the Association are transferred to an association performing similar activity or to some humanitarian organization.
2) The Assembly decides on legal person to which the assets will be transferred after the termination of the Association.
3) Prior to transmission of the assets to other association or humanitarian organization, all liabilities must be settled as well as all claims of the Association and final calculation has to be composed. The final statement has to contain expenses of liquidation of the Association and expenses of extraordinary session which decides on the Association’s termination.

10. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

 

Article 43.

1) This Statute is effective upon the adoption by the Assembly and registration in the state’s Registry of Associations.

Zagreb, 8 March 2004

President of the Association of Tax Consultants and Advisors

Dunja Hitrec