Over a period of time, information from paper archives was digitalized, digital electronic databases were created. Based on them, the price of the real estate approximated to the market value is calculated with the appropriate electronic formula, from which the property tax is collected.
As a result of the implementation of the electronic system in the Cadastre Committee and communities, problems regarding property tax calculation were revealed. According to the Head of the RA Cadastre Committee Suren Tovmasyan, there have been cases when wrong information was entered into the database of the Cadastre Committee.
It was noted that before the implementation of the electronic system, the citizens fulfilled their obligations conscientiously, but after the implementation of the system, it was found that there is a certain unpaid property tax liability, for which penalties/fines are also calculated. With the initiative, the Government is planning to nullify those fines.
Suren Tovmasyan answered the MPs’ questions, mentioned that thousands of corrections were made in the field after the introduction of the system.
According to the Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, the co-rapporteur Babken Tunyan, the initiative proposes to exempt citizens from the fines and penalties arising from tax obligations. According to the MP, during the debate of the issue in the Committee, an opinion was voiced about whether the citizen should be exempted only from fines/penalties or from additional tax liability as well. According to Babken Tunyan, the citizen should also be freed from the taxes that were not their fault. According to the Deputy Chair of the Committee, an agreement was reached to organize an additional debate on the draft with the participation of the concerned parties before the second reading.
The draft law on Making Addenda to the RA Tax Code was debated in the first reading at the NA sitting on September 9.