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ARMENIA. The Armenian parliament is reported to have today passed new regulations allowing for the operation of land border duty free shops.
According to a press release carried by state-owned Arka News Agency, the amendments to Armenia’s VAT laws, will permit such shops for the first time (The Moodie Report, as always, is seeking verification of the apparently official report and will bring you updates as appropriate).
In the release, Deputy Economy Minister Garegin Melkonyan said the proposal to amend the law was made by Duty Free Alliance. The Georgia-based travel retailer is being permitted by the government to operate a duty free shop at a land border checkpoint in Meghri, southern Armenia, on the border with Iran.
The report said that Duty Free Alliance plans to invest €1 million in the construction while also developing a shop on the border with Georgia which currently has no duty free shop.
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How the Arka news agency in Armenia reported the state-released story |
The Minister noted that similar services are already provided by Georgia and Iran, including on their respective sides of the border with Armenia.
He said the VAT refund system effective at Armenian border check points will be extended to all border crossings.
Duty Free Alliance is based in Tblisi, Georgia. It is part of the holding company “˜Duty Free Internationale” holding, operating on the Armenia and Azerbaijan borders. It also opened a duty free store at Sochi International Airport, Russia in 2011.
It currently has 3 border shops on the Georgia side of various land borders, as follows:
– Georgian-Armenian border checkpoint (Sadakhlo)
– Georgian-Azerbaijani border checkpoint (Red Bridge)
– Georgian-Turkish border checkpoint (Sarpi)
It also operates a ship chandling service in the port of Poti and a Diplomatic duty free store in the heart of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi.
FOOTNOTE: Armenia is bordered by Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east; Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south; Turkey to the west; and Georgia to the north,
