Over 50 Million Drams in Damages Due to Illegal Imports; Seven Accused Including Tax Committee Employees

Based on materials received from the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, a criminal case has been initiated and is being investigated by the Special Investigative Service of Armenia. During the pre-investigation, multiple instances of illegally importing a large quantity of automotive oils from Georgia into Armenia without declaration and proper customs procedures were uncovered. As a result, the state budget suffered significant losses, with unpaid taxes, fees, and mandatory payments amounting to 53,911,257 Armenian drams.

According to the factual data obtained during the pre-investigation, on January 17, 2020, drivers A. T. and A. Y., under the instruction of L. A., a resident of Tavush engaged in the illegal import of goods from Georgia, transported two trucks loaded with 1150 barrels of oil to the territory of the Bagratashen customs checkpoint of the State Revenue Committee. In collusion with duty officer V. A., customs inspector H. M., and scale operator T. A., they approached the customs wall at a specified time and, with the consent of these officials, entered the territory of Armenia without submitting a customs declaration for the goods.

This resulted in L. A., the owner of the cargo, failing to pay significant taxes, fees, and mandatory payments totaling 16,034,896 Armenian drams to the state budget. The investigation established that V. A. and H. M., acting from group interests and abusing their official positions, repeatedly allowed the illegal importation of batches of L. A.'s goods into Armenia. On January 25, 29, and March 1, 2020, these officials permitted the transport of 680 barrels of oil through the Bagratashen customs checkpoint on each occasion, resulting in further unpaid taxes, fees, and mandatory payments totaling 37,876,361 Armenian drams.

During the investigation, another incident of oil import organized by L. A. was revealed. Specifically, it was established that E. A. illegally moved 680 barrels of motor oil into Armenia through the Bagratashen customs checkpoint on February 14, 2020, without declaration and appropriate customs procedures. On September 2, 2020, E. A. was arrested and charged under Part 1 of Article 38205 of the RA Criminal Code. T. A. was charged under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 38308, Part 2 of Article 38205, while drivers A. T. and A. Y. were charged under Part 1 of Article 38-205.

Charges were filed against V. A. under Part 2 of Article 308, Part 1 of Article 308 (three episodes), Part 2 of Article 38205, and Part 1 of Article 38205 (two episodes). Customs inspector H. M. faced charges under Part 2 of Article 308, Part 1 of Article 308 (two episodes), Part 2 of Article 38205, and Part 1 of Article 38205 (two episodes).