OREANDA-NEWS. On January 22, 2009 President Serzh Sargsyan held a working meeting with the Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, Gagik Khachatrian. The President of Armenia was briefed on the last year activities, current works, and the planed activities of the Committee, reported the Official website http://news.president.am.

“Despite the price fluctuations in the international market, the current financial crisis, and the difficulties resulting from the conflict between Georgia and Ossetia, the Committee finished 2008 with positive numbers, fulfilling the budgetary obligations, in accordance with the reform plans making a considerable progress in simplifying the customs and tax procedures, curtailing the paper work, amending the legal field, expanding the institute of brokerage and self-declaration, advancing the process of installation of cashier machines.

Positive results have also been registered with regard to the improvement of tax administration,” the Chairman of the State Revenue Committed reported to the President of Armenia. President Sargsyan assessed as a positive move the reduction in the number of tax inspections which didn’t reflect on the total of the collected taxes. “In the framework of fight against corruption, 231 employees of the Committee were relieved of their duties. Administrative penalties filed by customs authorities have increased by 70 per cent and those filed by the tax services have increased by 22 per cent,” noted Gagik Khachatrian.

The President of Armenia directed the Chairman of the State Revenue Committee to continue works aimed at the increase of customs and tax revenues and enhanced fight against smuggling, to undertake steps to increase efficiency of measures directed at different infringements, simplification of procedures, transparency of the system, equal distribution of customs and tax burdens among the different business entities, development of customs system’s supervision based on risk management, and the technical modernization of the system.