Thursday, 4 August 2011
Drastic Changes In Seed-Breeding Industry
A cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
Understanding that the previous sitting’s assignment concerning the drafting of ministry and agency FY2012 budget requests for Ministry of Finance consideration has been complied with by the latter, Tigran Sargsyan charged the Minister of Finance to draft a schedule of debates with the Prime Minister so that the next year’s State budget bill might be approved by late August, 2011.
Down to the agenda, the government made a re-distribution in the 2011 State budget and amended two previous decrees to enhance efficiency in the implementation of Armenia’s 2010-2014 wheat seed breeding program. “This is an unprecedented step. We thereby seek to reach the mark of 27-30 thousand tons of first-reproduction elite seeds produced annually in Armenia for which the State is spending unprecedented amounts. We will continue importing premium-quality seeds from Russia during the year. Besides, we are prepared to buy some 800 tons of elite seeds from our 15 seed-breeding companies. Obviously such an impressive rise in government investments is due to bring about drastic changes in this sphere in the long run,” the head of government said.
The government approved a set of procedures to follow in making a selection of eligible entities under “Temporary import” and “Temporary export” customs modes for application and extension of VAT holidays over the import and export of goods and equipment to the cost of over AMD 300MN. To this end, the meeting amended and invalidated two previous government decrees.
According to this new arrangement, VAT holiday extensions will henceforth be applicable to government-backed investment programs as well. Besides, operational schemes will be developed to promote the imports of modern technologies.
The meeting next approved a procedure to follow in providing 50% reimbursements for certification of extra-small entity-manufactured goods. To this end, AMD 10 million will be made available to the Ministry of Economy in the third quarter of 2011. In this way, the State will be supporting domestic extra-small economic entities allowing them greater access to foreign sales markets.
The Cabinet overhauled a previous decree concerning the labeling of footwear component materials bringing it into full conformity with the directives and recommendations issued by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. This is expected to enhance our exports’ competitiveness through strengthened foreign customer trust in Armenian footwear.
The government next backed a draft amendment to the law on repression victims. The victims of political repressions and their first-rate successors have been entitled to housing improvement-aimed long-term preferential loans since 2000.
Considering that the borrowers’ welfare status prevents them from paying back the borrowed funds, the government decided that lending should henceforth be provided by trade banks with the government assuming the payment of interest on the loans so extended.
The above bill will be submitted to the National Assembly in the manner established by law.
