YEREVAN. – If all the small and medium-sized businesses in Armenia were to demand invoices from the major suppliers, the latter will be forced to give in.
Ruling Republican Party of Armenia National Assembly (RPA NA) Faction member Vardan Ayvazyan, who is also Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, stated the aforesaid at a press conference on Monday. He noted this while commenting on the proposed amendments to the Law on Turnover Tax.
“I believe you will not convince that if all more than 60,000 small and medium-sized merchants [in the country] start requiring invoice from the major importer, they will reject them all and not give [them] products. It will be the importer of sugar, vegetable oil, sportswear, or another product,” the RPA MP said. “[And] what will he do if he does not sell this product?”
As reported earlier, pursuant to the initial amendments to the Law on Turnover Tax, which have come into force in Armenia on October 1, 2014, the tax rate for businesses in the country has dropped from 3.5 percent to one percent. But, now, the businesses will have to submit documents on their commodity circulation. And if a business enterprise does not submit a respective document, it will be warned at first, and, subsequently, it will be fined.
But these initial amendments have caused a considerable protest among the country’s small and medium-sized merchants. In their view, asking for these documents from the large businesses is unrealistic because the large businesses often do not provide documents to the small and medium-sized enterprises concerning the products.
The government, on the other hand, justifies these initial amendments with the need to prevent tax evasion by Armenia’s large businesses.
As a result of protests as well as talks with Armenia’s public sector, however, the government had decided to extend the aforementioned deadline for four months, until February 1. And during the special Cabinet meeting on January 31, it was decided to make new amendments and postpone for five more months, until July 1, the aforesaid law’s controversial requirement of product documentation, and the NA has passed the respective bill.
