ArmInfo. The criteria for risk assessment have been revised in Armenia, moreover, the volume of thematic inspections has decreased by 25%. The chairman of the Committee on State Revenues Vardan Harutyunyan reported on it to RA President Serzh Sargsyan the day before.
According to the press service of the Armenian leader, presenting the priorities of the Committee's activities in 2018 in connection with the new Tax Code that came into force in early 2018, Vardan Harutyunyan stressed that due to the launch of the monitoring center, the ongoing inspection supervision over the activities of taxpayers .
The head of the Committee informed the president that as a result of 3,171 operational search operations conducted in 2017, an additional 3 billion drams were recorded, subject to transfer to the state budget. And according to the criminal cases completed in 2017, 8.5 billion drams were returned to the state budget, which is 4.6 billion drams or 85.3% more than in 2016. From the reforms of the legislative field, the head of the SRC of Armenia singled out an initiative to free imports of industrial-scale machines, equipment and raw materials from VAT.
Vardan Harutyunyan stressed that 2000 self-employed persons are exempted from paying taxes, and taxpayers who are provided with a tax amnesty are exempted from paying fines and penalties in case of self-adjustments. The Head of the Committee also noted that VAT is returned to exporters in just 4 days on the basis of applications for up to 20 million drams. Vardan Harutyunyan presented the RA President and the results of work on developing the capabilities of the electronic control system.
The chairman of the SRC also stressed that in the course of 2017, about 97% of taxpayers were submitted to the tax authority electronically. In addition, there are opportunities for online viewing of tax liabilities. V. Harutyunyan said that a unified system of treasury accounts has already been launched, and thanks to the development of receipts for customs receipts and an electronic system for declaring goods, customs clearance is implemented using modern information technologies. V. Harutyunyan stressed that the tax inspectorates and customs bodies had been liquidated, and the agencies formed instead of these bodies were included in the structure of the Committee.
Turning to the programs planned in 2018, V. Harutyunyan stressed the expansion of the monitoring center, whose purpose is to conduct more targeted inspections. V. Harutyunyan assured that the taxpayers will have the opportunity to declare, without leaving the office, via the Internet. The report of the SRC head also presented anti-corruption measures and ways to improve the internal security system. During the meeting, the implementation of the program for upgrading the Meghri checkpoint was also presented.
The Head of State instructed to continue work on ensuring the budgeted revenues, excluding any obstruction of the natural activities of economic entities. Serzh Sargsyan urged to focus on documentary checks to identify risky entrepreneurs; continue the process of increasing the level of transparency of the activities of tax and customs authorities, pay special attention to simplification of customs procedures, accelerate the introduction of an electronic system for processing customs documentation, minimize contacts between customs officials and business entities.
The President also instructed to ensure the implementation of the program for the modernization and reconstruction of the Meghri checkpoint, thus completing the modernization and equipping of the checkpoint at the borders of the Republic of Armenia. The Committee was also instructed to continue the targeted work to improve the rating estimates provided by various international organizations regarding tax and customs procedures.