Importers Protest: No Need to Go to Gyumri for Customs Clearance of Imported Vehicles

Following the prohibition on the re-equipping of right-hand drive vehicles in Armenia, importers are forced to carry out the modifications in Georgia. Last week, they held a protest in front of the government, demanding the lifting of this ban and allowing the modifications to be conducted in Armenia.

Automobile importer David Gasparyan spoke with Aysor.am, stating that they have already submitted a letter to the government and are awaiting a response. “Until the government responds to our letter, our protests will continue. Just yesterday we held a protest in the car market. Our main demand is that there should be no need to go to Gyumri for customs clearance of imported vehicles. The construction work for the new customs office has not yet been completed, there are still no facilities at the customs office, and they are forcing us to go to the old customs office, which can barely serve the residents of Gyumri; there are lines there too,” said Gasparyan.

Besides the financial losses from modifying right-hand drive vehicles in Georgia, now craftsmen are also refusing to accept cars. “Until the New Year, everyone is busy; the flow of vehicles is very large. Furthermore, scammers have emerged in Georgia, presenting themselves as re-equippers; they take the cars, promising to return them modified in a month or two, but they dismantle the vehicles and then call back, demanding more money, forcing us to pay high prices. Primarily, Azerbaijanis are involved in this business. There have been cases where cars were taken and stolen, dismantled, and sold as spare parts. Fortunately, we managed to find and prevent that,” he added.

Importers expect the government to respond to their letter soon, without waiting for the legally prescribed 45-day period.

For more details, refer to the source material.