ArmInfo. In 2020, the volume of revenues to the state budget of Armenia from customs duties will increase by 15%. Shushanik Nersisyan, deputy chairman of the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia, stated this at a press conference in Yerevan on February 14. According to her, 2019 was very successful in terms of customs duties. Even if we exclude the collection factor from car imports, all the same, the customs authorities recorded according to the results last year, the growth of customs duties.
An important factor, according to her, is also revenues from the budget of the Eurasian Economic Union, in which Armenia's share is 1.22%. Shushanik Nersisyan noted that the republic, as a rule, received more funds from the Union budget than it supplied. However, in 2018-2019. there is a tendency to increase payments by the Armenian side to the budget of the EAEU countries, which, on the one hand, is evidence of an improvement in the quality of administration, and on the other, of honest relations with partners from the Eurasian Economic Union. In addition to December of last year, in all the other months, Armenia constantly increased the volume of receipts in the Union budget, the Deputy Chairman of the SRC emphasized.
She also noted that in the last 1.5 years there has been an increase in the number of business entities engaged in export operations. So, if in 2018 5,500 entities were officially registered, then a year later this figure increased to 12,200 (an increase of 120%). Only in 2018, the number of subjects of foreign economic activity increased by 4 thousand. These figures, as Shushanik Nersisyan noted, indicate that the number of subjects of foreign economic activity is growing in proportion to the growth of the country's economy. The growth of foreign economic activity is also evidenced by the fact that if in 108 customs authorities of the country recorded 570 thousand registrations, then by the end of 2019, this figure had increased by 50%, amounting to 900 thousand registrations.
Competition has also increased in the market of customs brokerage services. If 50-60 customs brokers were registered two years ago, then by the end of 2018, this number has doubled. This form of services, as noted by the deputy chairman of the CGD, has been liberalized, and there are no artificial obstacles to obtaining a license by any individual or legal entity. True, as Shushanik Nersisyan noted, this area is still not up to par and needs to be improved.