Epress.am News from Armenia
The National Assembly has delayed the mandatory documentation (inventorization) component in Law on Turnover Tax until July 1st. The NA voted on the draft law with 75 for, 1 against, and 40 abstained. The Prosperous Armenia Party, Heritage Party, and Rule of Law Party abstained, the ARF-D and Republican Party voted for. Prosperous Armenia MP Naira Zohrabyan stated that by delaying the implementation of the law the issue is only going to drag on and not find a solution to the issue.
The reason for not approving the law in its entirety was the 10-day protest by thousands small and medium sized business owners and entrepreneurs. Mandatory inventorization of products was delayed for the second time; last year when protests began in September against the law, the government delayed the law until February 1st, 2015.
The entrepreneurs were unsatisfied with the decision and gathered in front of the National Assembly to raise the issue, stressing that they want a solution to the problem, not “seasonal protests” resulting from the delays.
They claim that they do not have the ability to document their entire inventory, because large importers often do not give invoices. In addition, in the case of inventorizing, their turnover would be over the legal minimum threshold of 58.3 million AMD ($126,000), so they would be forced to pay VAT, which would be impossible for small and medium sized businesses. Among the business owners, some demand that they increase the threshold, while others demand the law be nullified.