31st Session of the SME Development Sub-Council Led by RA Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan

On March 18, the 31st session of the SME Development Sub-Council was held under the chairmanship of RA Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan.

During the session, discussions were held on the draft law "On Making Amendments and Additions to the RA Administrative Procedure Code," published on the E-draft platform. The proposed amendment concerns the removal of the general rule on suspending the enforcement of an administrative act when it is appealed.

The members of the SME Development Council expressed their negative stance on the issue, presenting important opinions and proposals. In particular, those who voiced their opposition included:

• Ara Khzmalyan, representative of the "American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia,"

• Tatevik Asatryan, representative of the "Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE),"

• Hakob Avagyan, representative of the "SME Cooperation Association,"

• Vladimir Shatverov, representative of the "2B" Business Support Foundation,

• Vahagn Hambardzumyan, representative of the "Republican Union of Employers of Armenia," and

• Gurgen Grigoryan, representative of the "Armenian Association of Developers" NGO.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economy also expressed their concerns and proposed reconsidering the solutions suggested in the draft law, taking into account the recommendations voiced during the session.

Continuing the discussion, Arman Mnatsakanyan, representative of the State Revenue Committee, made a statement, clarifying that the proposed changes would not affect the regulation set forth in Article 18, Clause 2.1 of the RA Tax Code. According to this regulation, the payment of tax, penalty, and/or fine imposed by a tax authority through an audit or another administrative act must be made within 10 days following the date the act becomes unappealable.

Davit Gharibyan, representative of the Ministry of Justice, also stated that the draft law does not aim to amend Article 88 of the RA "Law On Fundamentals of Administration and Administrative Proceedings," which stipulates that monetary claims are enforceable based on administrative acts that have become unappealable.

As a result of the discussions, an agreement was reached to clarify in the draft that, based on the stated positions, it will be explicitly defined that administrative acts imposing monetary claims (fines, tax obligations) will not be enforceable while under judicial appeal.

However, the negative stance remained regarding the proposal to not suspend the enforcement of other administrative acts, and the participants agreed to continue discussions.

The SME Development Council chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister operates under the coordination and professional support of the EBRD-backed Investment Council of Armenia, supported by the UK Government's "Good Governance Fund.