Armenia Raises Criminal Penalty Threshold for Tax Crimes to 30 Million AMD
YEREVAN, April 16. /ARКА/. During its session on Thursday, the National Assembly of Armenia approved amendments to the Tax Code along with several related laws in their initial reading.
Eduard Hakobyan, the Head of the State Revenue Committee, stated that the amendments to the Criminal Code aim to raise the current thresholds for criminal liability concerning tax offenses. At present, a significant amount of unpaid taxes is classified as 10 million AMD or more, while an especially significant amount is categorized as 20 million AMD or more.
He mentioned that the proposed legislation seeks to elevate the large amount threshold to 30 million AMD, and for liabilities over the next two years, to 45 million AMD. The threshold for an especially large amount is suggested to be increased to between 25 and 50 million AMD, and for liabilities in the subsequent two years, to 75 million AMD.
Hakobyan emphasized that this change would enable a considerable number of such cases to be handled at the administrative level, thereby reducing criminal penalties in certain instances.
Additionally, the bill suggests modifications to the SRC's procedures when they receive information regarding a suspected tax offense. According to the committee head, the tax authority should not rush to file a crime report; instead, they should first analyze the data using internal tools, inform the taxpayer, and seek a reasonable explanation.
If the taxpayer fails to provide such an explanation, the tax authority will have the option to document the violation as part of a thematic audit and create an administrative act, which can be contested following the established process. Subsequently, the SRC will determine whether to proceed with filing a crime report.
Hakobyan highlighted that exceptions will be allowed in situations where prompt action is necessary to safeguard facts and evidence.
Another modification pertains to thematic audits. He mentioned that the suggested changes would remove regulations concerning "knowingly known transactions" and eliminate the limitation on performing such audits only once a tax year.
The head of the State Revenue Committee indicated that at least half of the roughly 600 preliminary settlements each year might be shifted to administrative processes.
Additionally, the bill introduces an alternative method for seizing property in criminal cases. It specifically suggests that, based on the decision of the investigator, the court, or with the approval of the supervising prosecutor, the seizure of property could be revoked if a bank guarantee equivalent to its value is provided. ($1 = 374.16 drams).-0-
