The State Revenue Committee Begins Sending Notifications and Will Fine Those Who Fail to File Tax Declarations

In 2022, the Armenian government adopted a decision mandating that all citizens residing in Armenia must submit income declarations to the tax authorities starting from a certain point. The process will unfold in phases over 2023, 2024, and 2025.

In the first phase, income declarations for the year 2023 must be submitted by those citizens who hold community or state positions as of December 31, 2023, according to the Law on Public Service. Additionally, this first phase includes Armenian citizens who are participants (shareholders, equity owners, members) of commercial organizations that are residents of Armenia and have declared gross income of 1 billion dram or more based on 2022 outcomes. It also includes those considered ultimate beneficiaries under the Law on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, as well as those who have received loans of 20 million dram or more in 2023.

The number of individuals required to submit declarations amounts to approximately 120,000. They were expected to have submitted their declarations by July 22; however, according to data provided by the State Revenue Committee (SRC), less than half of the designated filers—around 53,000 people, or 45 percent—have complied thus far.

MediaHub recently inquired with SRC Chairman Rustam Badasyan about the fate of those who fail to file their declarations. “The figures you mentioned are approximately correct, and we continuously update them, as the number of submitted declarations increases following the deadlines. The ultimate beneficiaries of large businesses, shareholders, and participants were also considered filers in the first year, and they are included in your mentioned 120,000. We are sending notifications and warnings, and after the initial notifications, we will proceed to administrative responsibility,” Badasyan stated, expressing his belief that the number of declarations will significantly increase. “However, if the notifications do not yield results, we will move on to stricter administrative measures,” he added, indicating that such measures would involve the imposition of fines. He emphasized that the aim is not to penalize citizens but rather to promote discipline in the process.

The SRC has also extended the deadline for submitting declarations. “The deadline was initially set for May 1, but knowing there were issues with identification documents and that many were unable to comply, we extended the deadline to July 22. Now, in fact, the deadline has passed,” Badasyan noted.

Regarding the nearly fifty percent shortfall in submission, Badasyan speculated that this might reflect a common behavior among our citizens who tend to wait until the last moments to file and expressed hope that there would be a significant increase towards the target of 120,000 with another review. It is important to highlight that this is a non-public declaration that can only be viewed by specific employees of the SRC due to the presence of numerous personal data points, and its purpose is to ensure analysis, fiscal transparency, and more.