Monday, 24 February 2014
Ministry of Finance, State Revenue Committee, Central Bank Report Back CU Accession-Aimed Activities
Today’s Government Press Center-hosted press conference addressed the activities carried out by the Ministry of Finance, the State Revenue Committee and the Central Bank in anticipation of Armenia’s planned accession to the Customs Union.
Head of Finance Ministry’s Customs and Taxes, Macroeconomic Policy, Customs Duties Distribution Working Group Suren Karayan said they had studied the complex of customs regulations and tax relations streamlined in the framework of the Customs Union. Turning to fiscal relations, he said, “The problem is a little different here. We have to reconsider the way we charge indirect taxes as we join the CU.”
CBA board member, Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Task Force Supervisor Arthur Stepanyan advised that since the CU-member States used to abide by different currency restriction policies, they signed an arrangement to lift restrictions over time. “At this point, Armenia is not facing any problems regarding its monetary policy, legislative and fiscal policy harmonization,” Arthur Stepanyan noted.
Financial Monitoring Center Head, Money Laundering and Terrorism Funding Counteraction Task Force Supervisor Daniel Azatyan said all those issues are currently duly addressed by the laws applicable in Armenia. Nevertheless, some legislative changes are still needed. “Mostly of technical nature, the amendments are meant to harmonize the general rules of the game,” Mr. Azatyan said.
The SRC-coordinated activities relate to the exchange of information in the field of customs registration, as well as the modernization and identification of customs checkpoints.
“According to Eurasian Economic Commission experts, things in terms of CU accession stand fairly good at our border checkpoints. Considering that we are in process of modernizing the checkpoints, the conclusion is that we will have high-standard checkpoints upon overhaul completion,” Deputy Head of State Revenue Committee, Customs Information Technology and Border Checkpoint Requirements Working Group Supervisor Vakhtang Mirumyan said.
