Thursday, December 19 2019 15:41

ArmInfo.The Armenian government rejected the legislative initiative of the MPs of the  National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on amendments to the Tax  Code of the Republic of Armenia, which proposed to mitigate the fine  for violation of the rules for the use of cash registers in the field  of public catering.

So, according to head of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of  Armenia Atom Janjughazyan,  the proponents of this initiative  substantiated their proposal by the fact that earlier the sector  acted within the framework of the license tax system. Meanwhile, as   Janjughazyan recalled, since July of this year the republic abandoned  2 alternative taxation systems - self-employed and family business,  and from January 1, 2020 Armenia plans to completely abandon the  license tax system with a transition to the general taxation system.  Thus, representatives of the public catering sector can choose the  tax regime under which they will operate - a general taxation system  or income tax.

As Janjughazyan pointed out, the agency is fundamentally unanimous  with the proponents of the initiative on the need for a unified  approach, but not in the direction of reducing the size of the fine,  but on the contrary. The logic is that, according to the Minister,  within the framework of the implemented and proposed amendments to  the current Tax Code, the potential range of preferences for business  has already been expanded. In addition, the financial authorities of  the country proposed such a preferential system as  micro-entrepreneurship - with an untaxed threshold of up to 24  million drams, which will replace the system of self-employed and  family entrepreneurship.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in  turn, explained that currently there are two principles for imposing  a fine for violation of the operating rules of the cash registers, in  particular for non-issuance of cash receipts, in the field of  catering, the offense is punished with a fine of 600 thousand drams,  the rest - 150 thousand drams. MPs, he said, suggest establishing a  unified approach - a fine of 150 thousand drams for everyone. The  government agrees with them only partially - to establish a single  fine for all in the amount of 600 thousand, since otherwise it would  run counter to the policy proclaimed by the Cabinet - zero  concessions to businesses that did not issue a cash receipt.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the Armenian financial authorities at  this stage refrained from raising the tax burden for representatives  of public catering. So, the sales tax for them at the level of 10%  will not come into force in 2020, as provided for in the new Tax  Code. For them, the adjustments that came into force on July 1, 2018,  that is, 6% VAT, with the possibility of a tax deduction of 3% of  documented expenses, but not less than 4% of the turnover, will be  preserved. To recall, from July 1, 2018 new taxation norms came into  force - the licensing tax for restaurants (tax per square meter) was  replaced by a 6% VAT