ArmInfo. The Armenian company "Hakobyan Rustam" will be exempted from VAT payments for imported raw materials for three years. The decision on this was made on February 6 at a meeting of the RA government.
As the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan noted in his speech, the enterprise is small, having expanded its activities in Gyumri since 2008, where it is engaged in clothing production. Earlier, the company invested in the organization of production of 90 million drams, part of which was directed to the purchase of equipment, and the other part - to construction works. According to the new application, it is proposed to exempt imported raw materials in the form of cotton fabrics from VAT payments for a total of 77 million drams. At present, 4 people are working at the enterprise; with the implementation of the second stage of the investment program, it is planned to create 12 more new jobs with an average salary of 120 thousand drams.
In turn, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan pointed out the signals that have appeared, which indicate abuses in the raw materials market. According to him, often companies, using tax and customs privileges, import larger volumes of raw materials than their own production, after which they resell surpluses to other enterprises. "Thus, we ourselves create preferential conditions for companies importing raw materials, in fact, creating monopoly advantages for them," said the head of government, drawing attention to these signals from the Minister of Economy and the head of the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition.
In this regard, the head of the SCPEC Gegham Gevorgyan recalled the laws adopted by the country's parliament, which envisage tightening control for companies enjoying tax and customs benefits. He announced the final stage in the formation of an electronic database at which these companies will be presented, which, in turn, will allow for effective monitoring of their activities and eliminate market monopolization.
At the same time, David Ananyan, Chairman of the Committee on State Revenues of the Republic of Armenia, proposed to evaluate investment programs, the path taken by companies and their image. He stated the readiness of the SRC to join this work together with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia. "The Committee cannot evaluate investment programs, from their start until completion, due to the lack of such authority," said David Ananyan.
