The Inspection Body for the Protection of Nature and Subsoil will  receive additional powers to suspend the activities of economic  entities.

ArmInfo. The Inspection Body for the Protection of Nature and Subsoil will receive additional powers to suspension of activities of business entities. The  country's parliament at a meeting on September 15 in the first  reading discusses amendments to the law "On environmental control"  and in a package of related laws.

According to the head of the office for coordinating the activities  of the inspection bodies of the RA Prime Minister's Office Artur  Asoyan, the need for the package is due to the situation related to  the spread of COVID-19.

Current regulations do not allow the  authority on the spot to suspend the activities of economic entities  that carry risks to the health of citizens, environmental protection.  Now, the new regulation will provide the body with such  opportunities, but to a limited extent. In total, the package  established 10 cases, in the presence of which the body will receive  the right to suspend the activities of economic entities.

When subjects go to court, the decision of the inspection body will be  valid until the court verdict. Artur Asoyan informed that currently  work is underway to introduce a modern system that cannot be  bypassed. In each case, 2 working days are allotted to monitor the  situation, after which, upon receipt of the results of the  examination, an appropriate decision is made to suspend the  activities of the business entity.

In some cases, instead of suspension of activities, the mechanism of administrative influence will be applied. In addition, there may be cases in which certain types of activities of a business entity are subject to suspension.   Artur Asoyan also said that as of today, the inspection bodies of  Armenia have carried out 81 thousand checks, the activities of over 5  thousand business entities were suspended.

Currently, under conditions of quarantine, the suspension of activities is not carried out, only administrative measures are taken. In the first case, the  subject is warned, in the second, a fine is applied in the amount of  100 times the minimum wage, if the violation is repeated - 100 - 300  times the minimum wage. If a given subject of an offense is  identified, the amount of fines increases to 150-350 times the  minimum wage during the year.