Proposal for Better Presentation of Local Products in Duty-Free Shops, Says Badasyan

During the discussion on amendments to the Law on Customs Regulation, the Chairman of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Rustam Badasyan, stated: "With this draft, we are introducing a competitive procedure, whereby it will be possible to announce a competition when allocating any space to private entities operating in customs control zones. This also pertains to duty-free shops, and it is specified that all duty-free shops operating in state and municipal territories must be selected through a competitive process, and a pre-qualification procedure is also established."

Addressing the concerns of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hakob Arshakyan, regarding the appropriate representation of Armenian producers’ products in shops and commercial chains, Badasyan noted that the pre-qualification conditions will certainly include a provision that products made in Armenia will have a more favorable position compared to imported products. This means they will be displayed in more visible and accessible areas.

"The project allows all economic actors to rent areas in customs zones and conduct business. He informed that the draft has received a positive conclusion from the Economic Affairs Committee and urged for a favorable vote," said the accompanying reporter, David Arushanyan, a member of the Permanent Economic Affairs Committee.

During the session, ruling party deputy Sergey Bagratyan expressed concern to Rustam Badasyan that the products sold in duty-free shops are much more expensive than those sold in regular stores, whereas the opposite should be true.

In response to the deputy's concerns, Badasyan noted that they are not responsible for pricing. "It is a business choice. Nevertheless, we have not noticed anything that indicates our regulations are incorrect, leading to the higher price of the producer's product in the duty-free shop compared to the domestic market. If there are observations that indicate we can change something, we are open to discussion. We merely propose that local products be presented more appropriately in duty-free shops,” he stated.