VOTE ON PACKAGE OF TAX AMENDMENTS POSTPONED
Noyan Tapan
June 9, 2009
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The speaker of the RA National Assembly
Hovik Abrahamian stated at the June 9 sitting that the vote on
the package of tax amendments – the government’s legislative
initiative discussed in first reading the day before – has been
postponed. According to him, the parliamentary factions and the
government are now jointly discussing the package, and the discussed
package will be either put to the vote on June 10 or withdrawn by
the government.
To recap, at the previous four-day session the package was a subject of
quite a heated debate and severe criticism, after which the government
has amended it. However, the main target of the opponents of the
package – the idea of introducing the institution of representative
of the tax body in big business, which is envisaged by an addition
to the Law on Taxes – has been retained.
At the June 8 sitting, the main speaker, Deputy Minister of Finance
Suren Karayan said that the cases, when a representative of the tax
body is appointed by the State Revenue Committee for tax control,
have been specified in the amended version. By this version, a
representative is appointed when the tax payer’s revenues from goods,
products, services and work, as well as from the sale of assets in
the previous year exceed 4 billion drams, or if the customs value of
goods imported by the tax payer in the "import for free ciculation"
customs regime exceed 500 million drams during three months preceding
some moment in the reporting year. A representative is also appointed
in case when as a result of the law envisaged-measurements made at the
VAT payer in the reporting year, a deviation of 100 million drams and
over between the data in the statements submitted by the tax payer
and the measurement results is recorded, or if the tax payer himself
has filed a written application.
The provisions on current control by representative of the tax body
in production spaces have been removed from the preliminary version
of the bill. It has been clearly stated that a tax representative may
only enter product and commodity delivery, transportation and sale
places. The rights of the tax representative have also been specified:
he can register and examine the amount and prices of only delivered,
transported and sold goods and products, and the documents on these
transactions.
Nevertheless, "Heritage" and "ARF" factions, as well as some
NA deputies were against the legislative initiative of the
government, saying that the introduction of the institution of
the tax body’s representative is contrary to the Constitution and
the program provisions of the government, including the one on
reduction of contacts between an economic entity and tax bodies to
a minimum. According to the opponents, this is also a step against
free market relations and free economic competition.