Inspector to Connect Camera, Enter Store, Conduct Test Purchase and Report on Receipt Provision

The requirement to install cameras in retail spaces will be removed from the draft law amending the Armenian Tax Code before the second reading. This was announced to Sputnik Armenia by Babken Tunyan, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

“Since this imposes additional difficulties and uncertainty for entrepreneurs, we have agreed that this part should be removed from the package before the second reading,” Tunyan stated, adding that the regulation in question had not been excluded from the package presented for the parliamentary discussion in the first reading solely due to time constraints.

It is recalled that on January 15, the National Assembly discussed and approved in the first reading the draft law amending the Armenian Tax Code, among which the State Revenue Committee had proposed to install audio-visual recording devices in sales outlets with an annual turnover of 24 million drams and above to prove issues arising during inspections. This requirement, which would incur additional financial costs for entrepreneurs, had been discussed both in the session of the primary committee and in the National Assembly session on January 15. In his speech, Babken Tunyan had mentioned that the requirement concerning stores will be removed from the draft in the near future.

The goal of the legislative package presented by the State Revenue Committee, including the aforementioned provision, according to its authors, is to strengthen the tax authority's toolkit and provide the tax authority with additional evidence during proceedings where receipts are not issued.

In this regard, the draft proposes two regulations: one provision grants inspectors the right to carry out recordings, while the other envisages the installation of recording devices in sales outlets that should document the sale and receipt issuance process. Both provisions were approved in the first reading.

For the second reading, there is, in fact, a verbal agreement to remove the requirement concerning entrepreneurs from the draft. Instead, the regulation concerning tax inspectors will remain in the draft.

“In other words, the inspector will connect the camera, state the date and time, enter the store to conduct a test purchase, after which he will go out and report whether he received a receipt or not, in order to fix both his location, as well as the time and other actions,” the parliamentarian clarified.

With the promised modifications, the draft is expected to be presented by the State Revenue Committee to the National Assembly for the second reading within the legally stipulated one-month period after receiving the relevant proposals from the deputies. Babken Tunyan expressed the opinion that the State Revenue Committee will fulfill the agreed-upon conditions and remove the contentious provision from the draft. Otherwise, he reminded, the deputies are inclined not to accept that regulation.