A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

The Executive approved the investment program of the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran road section within the framework of the North-South road corridor investment program, defining the peculiarities of the pre-qualification procedure. Accordingly, the implementation of the investment program for the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran road section, including the Bagrushat tunnel, has been set as a priority, the investment program has been approved, defining the peculiarities of the organization of the pre-qualification procedure of the construction procurement within the framework of the project, as well as regulating the peculiarities of the land alienation process necessary for the implementation of the project. Particularly, given the importance of the investment program and its strategic importance for the socio-economic development of the country and regional development, as well as taking into account the scale of the program and the chances of being funded by international organizations, it is proposed to organize the pre-qualification procedure for the procurement of construction works on the basis of sample documents for the organization of the pre-qualification procedure defined by the international procurement guidelines of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Referring to the decision, Nikol Pashinyan said, ‘’This is a very serious task and we must implement it with honor. This will give a new quality to our economy, our communications, and strengthening of our economic ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It will also be of some interest in the sidelines of the projects aimed at connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. Of course, if we look at the issue in a broader context, in the context of the opening of all regional economic communications, this program takes on a completely different scale and significance. And I hope that we will do this at a really good level and in a timely manner’’.

The Government made a decision to automate the process of refunding the amount of the income tax paid on the mortgage loan interest service. Accordingly, it is proposed to establish that the applications for income tax refund are submitted exclusively electronically. The decision will enter into force from January 1, 2022. According to the chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan, when they apply for the return of the income tax for the first time, they submit the necessary documents: the loan agreement, the property deed, etc. “After that, based on the results of each quarter, applications for income tax refund are submitted in the next month, and the service of applications according to the current regulations, takes 15 working days. As a result, many difficulties and dissatisfactions emerge. We are changing the system. When applying the first time, the same procedure will take place, they will again submit the same documents, with one difference: during the 15 days the applicant will receive a username and password, by which the latter will have a personal office. According to the results of each quarter, 2 kinds of data will be generated automatically in that personal office on the payment of the interest rate of the loan and the income tax paid through ACRA system. An application will be generated on an autated principle, which will be submitted exclusively electronically to the tax authority. And instead of the current 15 days, the income tax paid will be returned to the relevant bank account within 3 working days’’, the SCR Chairman said.