Deadline for Refund of Value Added Tax Reimbursements Shortened: State Revenue Committee

The State Revenue Committee has announced that, in light of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), it has set a goal to significantly reduce the timeframes for the refunds of reimbursable value-added tax (VAT) for economic operators, as part of a program aimed at ensuring tax and customs discipline and mitigating existing risks related to current turnover.

According to the information and public relations department of the RA State Revenue Committee, as a result, for the period from January to April 2020, the average time from receiving applications for the study of the reimbursement amounts (including those subject to budgetary compensation) to the actual entry into the unified account was reduced by approximately 9 calendar days compared to the relevant period in 2019.

The amount of reimbursable VAT being received by taxable economic entities has also increased year by year, a trend supported by numerical indicators. In particular, during the period from January to April 2020, a total of 41.8 billion drams of VAT reimbursements was credited to the unified account, compared to 36.1 billion drams in the same period of 2019. This indicates an increase of around 5.7 billion drams, or 15.8%.

Specifically, during January to April 2020, the amount reimbursed for VAT arising from zero-rated transactions was 24.4 billion drams, compared to 24.1 billion drams in the same period of 2019, showing a nominal increase of around 334 million drams, or 1.4%.

Furthermore, a total of 17.4 billion drams of VAT was credited to the unified account by the 21st of the month following the reporting quarter (half-year) in January to April 2020, compared to 12 billion drams in 2019, marking an increase of approximately 5.4 billion drams, or 44.6%.

Regarding the reimbursements of the excise tax, in January to April 2020, a total of 69.1 million drams was credited for excise tax reimbursements based on the conducted studies, whereas no amounts were credited in the comparable period of 2019.

Additionally, a noticeable increase was observed in the income tax amounts related to the payment of mortgage loan interest. In this regard, the total income tax sum presented in payment orders for mortgage servicing amounted to 3.4 billion drams between January and April 2020, compared to 2 billion drams in the same period of 2019, reflecting an increase of about 1.4 billion drams, or 71.4%.