Armenia`s economic authorities ready to reduce size of proposed state  duty on export of gold, platinum and palladium bars

ArmInfo. Armenia intends to introduce a state duty on the export of gold, platinum and palladium bars. It will be approximately 0.8-1% of their market value. Deputy Minister of Economy Narek Teryan stated at a meeting of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on April 3 during the discussion of amendments to the law "On State Duty".

According to Teryan, the size of the state duty was calculated in  such a way as to, on the one hand, provide additional revenue to the  country's state treasury, and on the other, not harm business.  As  the deputy minister pointed out, in 2023, the profit of exporters of  these goods was approximately 4-5%, and the income tax paid was about  5.5 billion drams. Based on the results of the first quarter of this  year.  Companies have already deposited an amount of about 7 billion  drams into a single taxpayer account.  However, between the first and  second readings of the law, a number of changes were made to the  document. In particular, if earlier it was about collecting a state  duty, for example, 200-fold of the base duty from each kilogram of  gold, then in the current version of the draft, the Ministry of  Economy has somewhat "reduced" its appetite - up to 180-fold of the  base duty (180 thousand drams ).  When asked how justified the  proposed reduction in the size of the state duty is compared to the  original version, given that the price of gold pdated its historical  maximum during trading on the Comex exchange u yesterday (rising  above $2,300 per troy ounce), Narek Teryan explained that, firstly ,  the margin remains the same, secondly, forecasts from international  companies indicate that the price will decrease and the average cost  of gold will be the same as it was in 2023.

The initiative does not apply to gold processors, and therefore  economic authorities are thinking about regulating the export of  semi-finished products, a representative of the Ministry of Economy  clarified.  Earlier, when presenting the draft law in the National  Assembly, former Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Vahan  Kerobyan said that recently there has been a significant increase in  the trade in gold, platinum and palladium, and there is a need to  quickly resolve the situation in the market. He noted that the  country does not yet have enterprises for the production of gold bars  that meet banking standards; only gold extracted from the mines is  exported. But work towards organizing such production continues.   This year there will be good news on this project. It was noted that  about 10 companies are engaged in foreign trade in gold, platinum and  palladium in the Republic of Armenia.