GYUMRI. – Feliks Tsolakyan, Governor of the Shirak Region of Armenia, on Thursday met with the small and medium-sized business merchants of Gyumri city, who are protesting—for already three days—the new Law on Turnover Tax.

Tsolakyan, however, met with the merchants solely after when they blocked the street across the Governor’s Office and clashed with the police.

After negotiating with the merchants, the governor convinced them to have twenty merchants come up to his office to talk, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informed from the location. In his office, the governor urged the merchants to have a common sense approach toward this matter.

At present, Feliks Tsolakyan is holding a closed discussion with these merchants.

Hundreds of other merchants, who have assembled outside the Governor’s Office, are waiting for the results of the meeting.

Pursuant to the new Law on Turnover Tax, which has come into force on Wednesday, a business enterprise will be warned at first, and, subsequently, it will be fined for not submitting a document on its commodity circulation. The large businesses, however, often do not provide documents to the small and medium-sized enterprises concerning the products. The government justifies these amendments with the need to prevent tax evasion by Armenia’s large businesses.