User 'Suren' on List.am Engaged in Sale of Non-Stamp Duty Foreign Cigarettes

The Investigation and Operational Intelligence Department of the State Revenue Committee is investigating another attempt at illegal online trade. Specifically, the behavior of a user named 'Suren' on the List.am website raised suspicions among the department's employees. Following conducted studies, operational-investigative measures were taken against this user, which included a "controlled supply and purchase" scheme, under which foreign-produced cigarettes worth a total of 98,000 AMD were purchased.

As a result of the measures taken, it was revealed that the user 'Suren' is a citizen identified as S.G. He has been engaged in the sale of non-stamped goods, in this case, cigarettes, without the statutory state registration or tax authority registration.

The Investigation and Operational Intelligence Department urges citizens and business entities to refrain from conducting entrepreneurial activities without state registration or tax authority registration, including the sale of non-stamped goods subject to mandatory stamping for the stated purposes. The Committee assures that such cases are also promptly uncovered as a result of their consistent efforts, and appropriate criminal-law assessments are made.

Such violations entail liability under Article 407 of the RA Tax Code and the relevant articles of the RA Administrative Violations Code. In particular, according to part 2 of Article 1708 of the RA Administrative Violations Code, selling non-stamped goods subject to excise stamps and/or labeling, if their total value at the seller's location is between fifty thousand and two hundred thousand drams, results in a fine of three hundred times the minimum wage. Moreover, according to part 5 of the same article, if such violations are committed by responsible persons, they are punished by a fine of three thousand times the minimum wage.