News

 IOTA is pleased to announce that all twenty-two VITARA modules, including the newest on Payment and Debt Management, are now available for registration. Registration is through the IMF training platform. The modules will be accessible until April 15, 2026, and the registration deadline is April 1, 2026. 

Dear Colleagues, IOTA Members, and Partners,

As we begin the new year, I would like to reflect on IOTA’s achievements over the past year and consider the challenges ahead in 2026.

As the festive season and the final days of 2025 draw near, our thoughts gratefully go to all IOTA member tax officials who have contributed to our success and supported our organisation throughout 2025.

On 10-11 December 2025, IOTA successfully concluded the final event under its 2025 Work Programme Activities with the Digital Workshop on the ‘Practical Application of Double Taxation Avoidance Conventions (DTACs): Tax Residency Issues’, broadcast live via MS Teams.

From November 26 to 27, 2025, IOTA had the pleasure of organising the IOTA Digital Forum on the Use of Data from the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), as one of the online events in the IOTA 2025 Work Programme Activities Calendar. This two-day event attracted more than 230 participants from 34 IOTA member tax administrations and was streamed live on MS Teams.

On 3–4 December 2025, IOTA successfully conducted its Digital Workshop on Using AI Solutions to Detect Tax Evasion. Organised under the IOTA 2025 Work Programme Activities, the two-day virtual event brought together over 250 tax administration officials, data specialists, and technical experts from across the IOTA membership to examine emerging applications of artificial intelligence in the detection and mitigation of tax evasion. The event was broadcast live via MS Teams.

IOTA is pleased to announce its latest publication, the IOTA Report on the Use of Alternative Payment Systems in Cross-Border VAT Fraud Schemes, created by a dedicated Subgroup within the IOTA Forum on Combating VAT Fraud. The Report was successfully finalised in November 2025.

For the first time in IOTA's history, the Day of Excellence in Taxation was celebrated among the membership at the end of October—a new initiative recognising outstanding professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in international taxation. During this inaugural event, IOTA members from Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, and Slovakia participated in the newly established tradition.

IOTA is pleased to introduce the latest VITARA online module, 'Payment and Debt Management,' now the 22nd module in the portfolio, with thirteen modules available in English. Initially, government officials will have access for three weeks, from December 3 to December 24, 2025. Registration must be completed by December 16, 2025, through the IMF training platform. The module will be available again in early 2026.

On November 5-6, 2025, IOTA successfully organised its final in-person technical event of the year: the Case Study Workshop on Transfer Pricing Issues. Held in Budapest, Hungary, the Workshop brought together 38 tax officials from across 24 IOTA member tax administrations, focusing on the complexities of transfer pricing transactions across various sectors.

Ferenc Vágujhelyi, the Commissioner of the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NTCA), extends his greetings to the IOTA membership as he has recently begun his second term and Hungary’s fourth term as IOTA President. 

Bern, Switzerland - November 4, 2025 — The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) is pleased to announce that the FTA’s HR Team recently welcomed five delegates from the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for a two-day professional exchange in Bern, Switzerland.