Penalty of 20,000 AMD for Not Paying State and Local Taxes to Be Removed

According to Article 170.3 of the Administrative Violations Code of the Republic of Armenia, there is a liability for not paying state and local taxes, ranging from ten to twenty times the minimum wage. The draft law aims to abolish this article due to its ineffective application. Vice Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, Arthur Manukyan, stated this during a regular meeting of the Permanent Committee on Economic Issues held on November 29. The committee reviewed a package of draft laws proposing amendments to the Administrative Violations Code of the Republic of Armenia.

The next amendment in the draft pertains to Article 302 of the code, which states that a decision on administrative penalties cannot be enforced if it has not been executed within three months from the date of its issuance under the current edition. To clarify and ensure consistency between laws, it is proposed to replace the term “from the date of issuance” with “from the date of becoming effective.”

The draft law on amendments and supplements to the Administrative Violations Code stipulates specific types of administrative responsibility that the tax authority must consider. Procedures related to them will henceforth be conducted electronically. “The effective date of these provisions has been set for December 1, 2023, but this timeline is unrealistic; therefore, we propose to move the date to February 1, 2024,” Arthur Manukyan said.

Deputy Chairman of the Permanent Committee on Economic Issues, Babken Tunyan, inquired whether the decision benefits business operators by removing the burden of the 20,000 AMD administrative penalty. “Yes, we are removing the obligation for business operators to pay the 20,000 AMD penalty, as there is already financial responsibility in place for this. Many administrative procedures are initiated, but it often turns out that there is no culpability, and due to this lack of culpability, the fine is either not imposed or is applied at the minimum level,” Arthur Manukyan responded to the question.

The committee has given a positive conclusion to the package of draft laws.