The Competition Protection Commission Initiates Proceedings Against the Ministry of Economy

The Competition Protection Commission has decided to initiate proceedings against the Ministry of Economy at its open meeting held on June 9, 2021. This information is provided in the decision published on the Commission's website.

The Commission's decision specifically states that the companies 'Silicon Trade' and 'Jermuk International Pepsi-Cola Bottler' have submitted a request to the Commission indicating that the import of white sugar is exempt from import duties. Furthermore, during the mentioned period, an import license is granted only to those economic operators who imported both white sugar and raw sugar in 2020.

The companies argue that this requirement is illogical since the government's decision has already exempted the import of raw sugar from customs duties. According to the companies, this situation will lead to a limitation of competition in the white sugar circulation sector, as only one economic operator meets the established requirement.

The decision also notes that an examination of the issues raised in the applications submitted to the Commission reveals that the procedure for applying a tariff quota for white sugar imported into the Republic of Armenia, established by Government Decision No. 838-N, as well as the process of selecting economic operators, may contain characteristics of restricting, preventing, or prohibiting economic competition by a government body.