In the first half of the year, we have secured 94 billion drams more tax revenues than planned, and that is good, but we know that there is a huge shadow in the economy, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at the Cabinet meeting of the Armenian government Thursday.

He complained that in Armenia’s cafes they bring the receipts at the very end—and only after reminding. "That is, this problem has not been solved," Pashinyan added.

Also, the premier noted that the amount of smartphone smuggling in Armenia is huge, calling for solving this problem.

And here, by his own admission, in the ninth year of being in power, there are corruption risks, as well as in the entire public administration system of Armenia. According to him, since 2018, Armenia has made serious progress in the Corruption Perceptions Index, but now the country has found itself in stagnation, and even regression is observed.

The prime minister recalled that since 2020, the Armenian authorities have been busy with other matters, setting the task to focus on the implementation of the tasks set during the "velvet revolution."

Nikol Pashinyan stated that it is necessary to label all products in Armenia as much as possible—and to do this gradually.

"We must accelerate the pace of reducing the shadow economy," concluded the Armenian premier.