Annual 1 Million Dram Fee for Passenger Transport via Electronic Platforms

At the meeting of the Government of Armenia, a presentation was made concerning passenger transport services via electronic platforms. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan introduced the legislative package, stating that drivers are carrying out passenger transport with their own vehicles, which are not monitored or taxed.

According to Sanosyan, organizations that create electronic platforms are effectively engaged in passenger transport activities, accepting orders and transferring those orders to drivers, regulating the fares through their platforms. "It is proposed to regulate the activities of organizations or individual entrepreneurs that issue and transfer passenger transport orders via electronic platforms as a notification-subject activity. An annual state fee of 1 million drams for passenger transport services via electronic platforms is being proposed. For licensed passenger taxi vehicles, as well as for irregular transports carried out by light passenger vehicles through electronic platforms, a permit state fee is to be established, consisting of two tables for both cash and non-cash transactions. For non-cash transactions starting from September 1, 2024, it will be 1.5 percent, increasing to 2.5 percent in 2025, and 4 percent in 2026, while the cash percentages will be higher at 2, 2.5, and 5 respectively; thus we are trying to encourage non-cash transactions. Additionally, it is proposed to set a mandatory use of electronic cash register systems for passenger transport by licensed taxi vehicles, and the requirement for the issuance of electronic receipts.

Sanctions for administrative violations in the sector are also proposed,” said the minister. It is suggested that the package come into effect on September 1, 2024.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that the reform is important and recalled when the need for legislative changes in the sector arose: “We were observing clear trends in the market, that the electronic platforms for taxi services were growing rapidly, and at that time our perception, our long-term goal was that, so to speak, we would not follow behind individual taxis, but rather go after the platforms that provide work. When we consider that in the case of pursuing a taxi driver to collect, say, a 10,000 dram fee, we may spend 15,000 or 9,800 or 10,700 drams purely in administrative costs, it felt like a Sisyphean task. Through many complicated discussions, we have reached this conclusion.”