A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. The Government approved a measure to reduce the additional costs incurred in the case of export of cargo from the territory of the Republic of Armenia or import to the territory of the Republic of Armenia by ferry. Accordingly, reimbursement of ferry transportation costs is proposed. The decision will enable the logistics infrastructure related to the transportation of cargo during the period of high seasonal prices to for the freight companies of the Republic of Armenia to be more accessible, to reduce obstacles, to promote the export of Armenian goods to the international market, to significantly increase the volume of cargo transportation. Referring to the decision, Nikol Pashinyan noted that this is not Armenia's first attempt to establish a ferry route. "The previous ones have not always been successful. I hope we will finally succeed. The Government will subsidize for 6 months, hoping that the system will start working and cover its own expenses."

The executive has approved the procedure for providing state support to IT companies and individual entrepreneurs. According to Rustam Badasyan, chairman of the State Revenue Committee, the decision will reimburse 50 percent of the income tax to IT companies paid for newly created jobs if certain conditions are met. The Prime Minister attached importance to the decision, noting that by doing so, the Government is promoting the creation of new jobs in the field of information technology.

The draft laws of the Republic of Armenia on making amendments to the Law on Customs Regulation, the Law on State Control of Food Safety, and to a number of related laws were approved by the Government were approved by the Government. As mentioned by Rustam Badasyan, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, the package of draft laws envisages optimization of control exercised by various bodies at the state border and introduction of the "one-stop shop" principle.

"Currently, five bodies are represented at the state border. After the changes, there will be two bodies left at the border point: the customs body and the NSS border troops, which will exercise control at the border point based on the redistribution of the functions of state bodies. The purpose is that the person submits the package of documents to one state body, so that he / she does not have to apply with the same package to different windows when crossing the state border. There will be double control or such a control, which can be carried out by one body at the document level," said the chairman of the State Revenue Committee.

Referring to the draft laws, the Prime Minister noted that the Republic of Armenia is a free country in terms of exports and imports, but there are many obstacles, hassles, difficulties and complications at the border checkpoints. The Prime Minister stressed the need to rate exporters and importers according to their behavior, including tax-related behavior. "If we see that a company pays duties taxes in a responsible manner, we can generally create green zones for them to come, pass in minutes, seconds, do their usual paperwork."

The Government gave a positive conclusion and presented proposals on the draft laws of the Republic of Armenia on making changes "On Gambling, Internet Gambling and Casinos” and in the related laws. As mentioned by Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan, this legislative initiative submitted by the MPs envisages the establishment of regulations aimed at restricting the access of citizens to the platforms of organizing online gambling games, reducing the vulnerability of the socially sensitive segment of the society. Accordingly, it is proposed to limit cash recharging of accounts through payment terminals immediately after the adoption of the law, and after 6 months - recharging through electronic wallets. "And, in fact, it is required that after that the account recharging be done in a way that is exclusively non-cash, through bank accounts."