Penalty to be Imposed for Using Transport Without Payment

The government has approved the bills on amendments and supplements to the Law on Automotive Transport, changes and additions to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Armenia, and amendments to the Law on Local Fees and Charges. The purpose of adopting the package of bills is to regulate and clarify the relations concerning intra-community passenger transport within communities and to establish administrative responsibility for individuals using these services without payment.

According to the justification, the Law on Automotive Transport sets out the requirements and conditions for organizing intra-community regular transportation. According to these regulations, intra-community passenger transport can also be organized by an operator with 100 percent community participation, in which case the fare is determined by the community council. It follows from the provisions of this law that the fare is defined as the cost of the service and not as a local fee. However, the regulations of the Law on Local Fees and Charges indicate that the community council can establish local fees that will be credited to the community budget for the services provided by the community.

Additionally, the Law on Local Fees and Charges also regulates in detail the relations concerning the establishment of local fees and charges, granting exemptions from their payment, and their collection. Therefore, it is proposed that the fees for organizing intra-community regular transport should also be established as a local fee when the service is provided by an operator selected through the procurement process in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Procurement or an operator with 100 percent community participation.

At the same time, taking into account that these services in the Yerevan community are provided by various means of transport, in particular, buses, trolleybuses, and the metro, it is proposed to create the opportunity for the community council to establish a single local fee, which will also allow citizens to use all means of transport at their discretion by paying once, thus facilitating more comfortable and quicker transportation.

The package of bills also proposes to impose administrative fines on individuals who benefit from the service without paying the local fee, to outline the specifics of conducting supervisory activities, and to introduce effective mechanisms for the prevention and detection of these violations. The legislative initiative of the Government of the Republic of Armenia has been deemed urgent and will be formally presented to the National Assembly.