Video: Mobile Trading Points to Operate Only with City Hall Permission - What Rules Will Apply?

Mobile trading points will operate only with the permission of the city hall starting this year. This requirement is defined by law, and the special locations and standards for mobile trade will be determined by a city council decision. This was announced by the Yerevan City Hall.

“For more than 10 years, the possibility of trading through mobile points was established by law, but there were no regulations. By amending the law, the city council was empowered to determine how to conduct the activity,” said Hvovik Safaryan, head of the Department of Trade and Services of Yerevan City Hall.

For conducting mobile trade in the city, 52 locations have been designated and equipped. To start the activity, entrepreneurs must first submit a paper or electronic application to the city hall, attaching the necessary documents:

1. Proof of payment of local tax (50,000 dram),
2. Copy of the applicant's state registration certificate,
3. Copy of the vehicle registration certificate,
4. Photographs of the mobile trading point,
5. Copy of the ID of the executive body head or the individual entrepreneur,
6. If you do not yet have a mobile trading vehicle, an outlined version must first be submitted to the city hall, to obtain a conclusion about its external appearance, which also must be attached to the application.

“If a citizen already has a prepared mobile trading point with existing advertisement, when applying, the application is also referred to the department for external design and advertising. That is, the process is conducted simultaneously,” noted Hvovik Safaryan.

After submitting the application, the mobile trading point must undergo inspection within 6 days. Permission is granted or denied within the subsequent 4 days.

“Mobile trading points must be equipped with appropriate equipment for storing goods and providing retail services. Additionally, vehicles and/or their trailers can have a maximum length of 10 meters, a width of 2.5 meters, and a height of 3 meters. Mobile trading points must also be provided with an independent energy production system,” emphasized Edward Amiraghyan, the deputy head of the Department of Trade and Services.

Once permission is granted, the location must be chosen. Reserving a place can only be done electronically. The platform arevtur.yerevan.am has been launched for this purpose. It also contains complete information about the permission granting process.

“When submitting the application, by leaving an email address, the citizen receives a response letter, and a password is provided to access the system to choose and reserve a spot. The locations will be marked in green and red. By selecting the green spot, the necessary number of days can be reserved. Since the permission is granted for a monthly fee, payments for renewal can also be made online,” said Isabella Nikoghosyan, head of the Systems Implementation and Support Division of the Yerevan City Management Technologies Center.

“We have minimized the time-consuming process of granting permission, so that citizens spend less time and only interface with us once. Entrepreneurs should spend more time developing their businesses,” noted Hvovik Safaryan.

The locations have mainly been allocated near universities, public spaces, and stations. Reservations in the center are made for 1 day, in Arabkir for 2 days, and in other administrative districts for up to 3 days. This way, equal competitive conditions will be ensured for all entrepreneurs. Reservations cannot be canceled. Mobile trading points will operate for no more than 14 hours daily, until 11:00 PM. Entrepreneurs who do not comply with the standards or operate without permission will be fined.

“Operating without permission or violating the conditions will result in a fine of 100,000 dram for the first offense and 500,000 dram for repeat offenses. The penalties also include towing,” emphasized the head of the Trade and Services Department of Yerevan City Hall. Legislative changes have been made considering the observations of entrepreneurs. The city authorities will continue to cooperate.