Ararat Mayor Acquires Volkswagen ID 6 for $45,000 from Son of Lawmaker Hovik Aghazaryan

The Ararat municipality has acquired a Volkswagen ID 6 Crozz electric SUV for $45,000 for Mayor Aslan Avetisyan. The purchase specifications were stipulated to ensure that this specific vehicle model was obtained. The supplier is a newly established company owned by Hovik Aghazaryan's son, a member of the 'Civil Contract' faction, with the contract signed on April 15.

This information was reported by Civilnet.am. On March 11, the Ararat municipality announced an electronic auction to procure a service passenger vehicle. In the specifications, it was stated that the vehicle must be a Volkswagen ID 6 Crozz or a comparable model.

However, Article 13, Clause 5 of the Law on Purchases stipulates that 'the characteristics of the subject of purchase should not require or reference any brand, trade name, patent, design, or model, country of origin, manufacturer, or specific source, except in cases where it is impossible to describe the characteristics of the subject of purchase without them.' In this case, the municipality had the opportunity to include necessary parameters such as the year of the vehicle, transmission type, engine capacity, and other characteristics without specifying a preferred brand, yet the specifications included brand names and other details.

Additionally, the technical specifications indicated that the vehicle must have been on the market since 2022, have a three-year warranty, and a preferred dark blue metallic color with a dark alcantara interior.

According to Armenuhi Bournazyan, Executive Director of the National Center for Public Policy Research, referencing the brand in the specifications is questionable: 'The law states that conditions should be set so that as many participants as possible can participate. It specifies that direct reference to names and brands should not be made, and when the specifications are narrowly defined, it limits potential participants' access to the process, thus violating the principle of accessibility. This has been a restrictive regulation,' she said.

Bournazyan also found it problematic that the vehicle acquisition was conducted through an electronic auction rather than an open competition. She pointed out that one of the significant differences between these two procedures is that open competitions provide more time for bidders to submit proposals, whereas electronic auctions have limited timeframes. 'There may be doubts about how necessary such a functional vehicle is for this small entity. Honestly, I don't see the point in acquiring an SUV in this case,' the expert noted. She observed that while some competition was ensured in the purchasing process, referencing the vehicle brand posed a restricting factor.

The Ararat municipality allocated a maximum of 18 million AMD for the purchase, which included 1.5 million for value-added tax. On March 25, a session of the evaluation commission for the electronic auction was held. Five companies submitted bids to supply the vehicle: LA Import LLC, Yukar LLC, Andra LLC, Jermuk Group LLC, and Shinkort LLC. The lowest bid was made by Shinkort at 16,560,000 AMD, with Jermuk Group bidding only 180,000 AMD higher than that, resulting in Shinkort being selected. On April 15, the Ararat municipality signed a contract with Shinkort for the delivery of the Volkswagen ID 6 Crozz, with the total cost amounting to 18 million AMD.

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