Armenian premier orders closing of shop in central Yerevan; RA State  Revenue Committee provides explanations 

ArmInfo. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia reported on the measures taken in connection with the operations of a store that Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan recently ordered closed under "personal responsibility."  The business entity, represented by the REDstore chain of stores,  also provided an explanation.

"Close this store, find a way, close this store, I will check, no  trading should be conducted in this store, I take personal  responsibility and will visit there every day. Until I receive  personal permission, this store should not open. You will personally  report this. As soon as I learn of such a store (I take full  responsibility), it will be closed, and trading will be prohibited.  Until I give personal permission, trading will be prohibited," Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a government meeting on December  18, addressing SRC Chairman Edward Hakobyan. According to the State  Revenue Committee, the company was placed under investigation  on September 12, 2024. It was determined that had failed to  fulfill its tax obligations in the amount of 95.7 million drams. 

Furthermore, information was received regarding the company's  attempted smuggling of 97 mobile phones of various types, which was  prevented. The total customs clearance cost for these goods amounted  to 6.9 million drams.

It was established that the company continued to carry out part of  its activities on behalf of another taxpayer in order to obtain  preferential tax treatment. As a result, the taxpayer caused damage  to the state in the amount of 64.5 million drams.

"Considering the above, on October 18, 2024, the Investigative  Committee (IC) of the Republic of Armenia received a criminal  complaint regarding a suspected offense, for which a criminal case  was initiated on October 22 under Article 290, Part 3, Clause 2 of  the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. During searches  conducted as part of the criminal proceedings, 90 Apple iPhone 16  mobile phones were discovered, for which the company lacked legal  import or purchase documents. Furthermore, it was established that  277 mobile phones legally imported by the company were sold without  documentation," the SRC noted.

Based on new factual data obtained during the investigation, the  amount of unpaid taxes was estimated at 46.1 million drams, after  which the calculation results were sent to the Investigative  Committee of the Republic of Armenia.

In October 2025, the State Revenue Committee again received  operational information indicating that the company continued to  underreport the actual volume of its economic activity. Consequently,  on October 28, 2025, comprehensive operational and intelligence  measures were taken against the taxpayer, which are currently  ongoing.

The State Revenue Committee reminds that tax audits are planned using  risk assessment systems as part of tax control. Taxpayers subject to  audit are assessed based on pre- developed risk criteria, resulting  in audits being directed to those sectors and taxpayers exposed to  the highest risk.

"It should be noted that the selection of high-risk taxpayers is  based both on information available in the State Revenue Committee's  database and on information received from third parties. When  conducting individual tax compliance audits of business entities, the  data provided by them to the tax authority, as well as information  published on their websites, is taken into account," the Tax and  Customs Committee stated.

"In the electronics industry, it's common to use different  denominations for the same product depending on the payment method.  This difference is due to commission fees charged by banks for  non-cash payments. We note that payments over 300,000 drams are  processed via a terminal, ensuring complete transparency," the  REDstore chain of stores said in a statement.

"REDstore fully shares the government's position on transparency and  regulation of financial relations. At the same time, we believe it's  important to have clear and officially defined rules to ensure a  unified approach in this area. Our goal is to operate within the law,  protect the rights of our customers, and contribute to the formation  of a stable and predictable business environment," the statement  added.