Protest: 6 Million Dram Government Fee Instead of 100,000 for Pawnshops and Currency Exchange Points

Several protests have been taking place since early morning in front of the Government building. Representatives from companies involved in the production of carbonated beverages, pawnshops, and currency exchange points have taken to the streets to make their voices heard.

Participants in the protest are holding placards with messages such as "No to the increase in lemonade prices," "I am becoming unemployed," "Aspartame is not sugar, 0 calories," "The government is killing small business," "A government for big business," and "No to the increase in prices for carbonated beverages."

Employees of pawnshops and currency exchange points state that the draft law on amendments and additions to the Law on State Fees in the Republic of Armenia is set to increase the state fee for these sectors by 60 times, approximately 6000%. According to this proposal, the fee for pawnshops will rise from the current 100,000 drams to 6,000,000 drams, while the fee for currency exchange points will increase from 50,000 drams to 3,000,000 drams.

“As the authorities, we have come to the government. Wasn’t it said by Nikol Pashinyan that we are the authority?” said one of the participants in the protest during a conversation with reporters.