Annual Service Tax for Regular Passenger Transport Replaced by One-Time State Fee: Tunyan

The permanent committee on economic issues of the National Assembly of Armenia held a meeting on December 3, during which it discussed in the first reading a legislative package concerning amendments to the law on "State Duties" and the law on "Automobile Transport."

Armen Simonian, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, mentioned that legislative changes made in 2014 removed the licensing requirement for organizing regular passenger transport, while maintaining the annual state duty requirement. In various sectors, a state duty is established for businesses operating under an indefinite license, while a one-time fee is set for activities conducted for a specific period.

According to Armen Simonian, a similar approach should be taken for granting the right to service routes for regular passenger transport, as the right to service routes through a competitive process is granted for a specific duration. The proposed regulation substitutes the annual service tax for regular passenger transport with a one-time state duty for granting service rights. The existing fee of 100,000 AMD is not eliminated; however, it becomes a one-time payment.

In response to the question from MP Babken Tunyan, the deputy minister explained that regular passenger transport service can be conducted for a period of 10 years. Organizations that receive the right to provide service through a competitive process will pay 100,000 AMD once, instead of paying 100,000 AMD each year.

The draft has received a positive conclusion from the committee.