Armenia`s vice-premier proposes recylcing fee for eletric cars 

ArmInfo.  Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan proposes to introduce recycling fees for  electric vehicles. He made this initiative on October 10 at a cabinet  meeting, during which a decision was made to distribute the remaining  600 electric vehicles in reserve for import into the country at zero  customs duty.

<Among the privileged countries, we provide the largest volume of  privileges for the import and operation of electric vehicles. This  gives about a 30% price effect compared to other countries>, he said  during the discussion.

At the same time, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, Armenia is  among the few countries that have not yet established recycling fees,  which again is a serious incentive for the import of electric  vehicles, but at the same time, a serious challenge in the future.

<We need to establish (recycling fees), since the costs of recycling  these vehicles far exceed the costs of traditional ones>, he said.

In addition, Grigoryan pointed out, it will be quite difficult to  obtain a preferential regime within the EAEU in the future, since  Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan plan to produce or localize the  production of such vehicles. <This suggests that obtaining quotas  will become more difficult in the future>, he noted.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in response, noted that over time it  will be necessary to return to the topic of the advisability of  establishing a recycling fee. To which Deputy Prime Minister Tigran  Khachatryan noted that environmental fees are already being levied in  Armenia.

<Is this covered?>, the prime minister asked. In any case, it must be  recorded that the further recycling of electric vehicle batteries  around the world is becoming a problem, he continued.

In this context, Pashinyan proposed in 2025 to give an advantage to  the importer of electric vehicles who will import new cars that are  no more than 2 years old. He called on the Cabinet of Ministers to  come up with a corresponding initiative by the end of the year.