ARMENIA’S MINING INDUSTRY, CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT, SERVICES AND TRADE SECTORS ARE SHADOW

Noyan Tapan
Jan 23, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Tax bodies envisage to collect 365
bln 859.9 mln drams (at the current exchange rate – about 1,19 bln
USD) this year, which is more by 81 bln drams as compared with last
year. The head of the RA State Tax Service Vahram Barseghian said at
the January 23 press conference that this growth in tax collection will
be mainly ensured at the expense of big enterprises. Accoridng to him,
there are 120 thousand tax payers in Armenia, 270 of which ensure 70%,
while 2 thousand – 90% of tax collection.

V. Barseghian said that tax administration will be tightened this
year: tax bodies will not limit their activities to examination of
the submitted accounting documents but they they will also check
realization volumes. In his words, at present the country’s mining
industry, construction, transport, services and trade are the main
shadow sectors.

As for checkings conducted at Sil Concern last year, V. Barseghian
said that these checkings are continuing and until now facts of tax
evasion of 1.5 billion drams have been registered. As regards "Bjni"
factory of mineral waters, according to the STS head, the company
did not install a water meter at the source and failed to make the
respective environmental payment, for which a fine of 3 billion drams
was imposed on it. The same problem exists in Dilijan Frolova company,
which did not make an environmental payment of 300 million drams.