Friday, 30 January 2009
Today the Government discussed the 2008 performance reports of the RA ministries and government agencies.
In the first half of the day, reports were presented by the minister of energy and natural resources, the head of the general department of civil aviation, the head of the State committee of immovable property cadastre by the government, the minister of transport and communication, the minister of urban development.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan reminded that the full texts of the reports will be posted on the websites of the ministries and agencies concerned, while these discussions are only meant to address the shortfalls and controversial issues.
To begin with, the Prime Minister highlighted the responsibility of the ministries and government agencies in terms of contributing to revenue collection under their respective terms of reference. In particular, Tigran Sargsyan stressed the need for keeping in touch with the State Revenue Committee to ensure proper compliance with the rules of fiscal (financial) discipline, more stringent control over the receipt of State duties and higher efficiency in data exchange operations. The Prime Minister stated in part: “Those entities receiving State orders under the Capital Repair of Administrative Buildings and Premises item commit fund redistributions, procurement-induced VAT-inclusive accounts receivable prove to be inflated at the expense of pay-roll allocations and profit statements which sometimes leads to profitability returns below the minimum standards. We must strictly observe that such behavior is ruled out in the ministries as it deprives the State of the amounts due to the Treasury. Any relevant information required by laws should be made available in a timely manner so as tax authorities can trace out the whole process. Each minister will bear personal responsibility for proper control and surveillance.”
Speaking about the problems faced up in the energy sector, inclusive of fiscal receipts in particular, the Prime Minister pointed out the adverse impact of natural losses, cancelled accounts receivable, long-standing arrears and reassessed fixed assets. According to the Prime Minister, corresponding units in the ministry should be responsible for routine control and notify tax authorities about problems, if any. “Any minister should realize that together with tax authorities they have a responsibility in ensuring that revenue is collected in full and in a timely manner. This is a new task for the energy ministry. You are well aware that the management of natural resources has been assigned to the ministry of energy which is quite a new function for the ministry,” the Prime Minister said and went on to stress the importance of such endeavors as will have to be carried out after streamlining this field.
Then ministry and department heads reported back their shortcomings and the instances of non-performance, the reasons and causes behind them and outlined the steps towards addressing the situation. The Prime Minister gave a number of instructions in this regard. With reference to the report made by the head of the General Department of Civil Aviation, Tigran Sargsyan noted that a legislative amendment is out concerning the duty levied from natural persons on leaving the country. He urged the General Department of Civil Aviation and the State Revenue Committee to inform thereof the public-at-large. “As a matter of fact, while this amendment is supposed to ease the task of our citizens, we will have to raise the awareness of the public so as to rule out any misunderstanding whatsoever,” the Prime Minister has stressed.
The Ministry of Finance, too, was given an assignment regarding the collection of the so-called “air duty” considering that any decision on funding of civil servants’ business trips are endorsed by this very agency. The Prime Minister recommended stakeholders to cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in this matter.
Tigran Sargsyan called the attention of RA ministers and heads of government agencies on the irregularities revealed by the Control Chamber of the Republic of Armenia and urged to take all necessary action in order to rule them out in future.
In the second half of the day, reports were presented by the head of the State Property Management Department by the Government, the Diaspora and justice ministers, the head of the Water Management Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration.
