Illegal massive exaction is state “racketeering”
19:27, February 11, 2016 | News, Own news | Customs unionOn February 8, 2016, azatutyun.am news website published a news release entitled “EEU Minister: Armenia levies illegal tax” mentioning that during the teleconference among Moscow, Yerevan and Astana, Tatyana Valovaya, Minister of EEU Integration and Macroeconomics, stated that levying 20-percent VAT by Armenia on vehicles imported from EEU countries contradicted the legal and contractual framework of the Union. In her speech, T. Valovaya also mentioned a similar precedent in Kazakhstan, which was prevented.
The above statement of the EEU Integration and Macroeconomics Minister provides grounds to argue that the RA authorities abused their official powers by imposing illegally a value-added tax on vehicles imported from EEC countries, which affected many citizens.
On February 11, 2016, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor submitted a crime report to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office requiring to initiate criminal proceedings, identify and prosecute the officials responsible for the crime.