A Fee of 50,000 Drams Proposed for Mobile Trade Points, Says Gabrielian

Today in the National Assembly, Sisak Gabrielian, a member of the 'My Step' faction, proposed amendments to the law on trade and services in Armenia, along with a package of related draft laws.

The main goal of the draft, as noted by Gabrielian, is to regulate the relationships related to mobile trade points in Yerevan. “At this moment, the law on trade and services defines what a mobile trade point is, but there is no specification on who will regulate a number of legal relationships associated with them, particularly what products they can sell, where, what services they can provide, and during what hours,” stated the MP.

The draft proposes to give this authority to the Yerevan Council, which, upon amendment, would have the power to approve the main locations where mobile trade can be conducted, and a local fee of 50,000 drams would need to be established for this purpose. As Gabrielian indicated, the aim of this draft is not to impose a ban, but rather to ensure that only legal entities or individual entrepreneurs can operate through mobile trade points.

“Several dozen organizations engaged in mobile trade have united to form an association of mobile cafes, and I have met with them twice,” said Gabrielian, adding that several demands have been presented. According to him, they have not reached a principled agreement on one of the issues, as the entrepreneurs demand that the permit be valid for 3 or 6 months, meaning that one entrepreneur would be granted a 6-month permit to operate at one location, which contradicts the concept of a mobile trade point.

Another aspect is that if the Mayor of Yerevan removes illegal stalls from the sidewalks, there is unfair competition. Gabrielian believes that those same stall owners have a legitimate complaint, as they argue that if their stall is removed from that area, they should not be blamed for not having two wheels on their stall.

When asked by Anu Samsonyan, an MP from the 'Bright Armenia' faction, whether the Council would define beforehand the locations intended for mobile trade or if it would be based on applications from entrepreneurs, Gabrielian replied, “The Council will define the places in advance, marking them out and providing the possibility of electrical connections in those areas.” He also added that parking of any other vehicles would be prohibited in those areas.