"Fact" daily writes:
The Ministry of Economy proposes to make an amendment to the Law "On State Duty". It is noted that the adoption of the law is due to the need to protect the domestic cement market and local production, as well as to ensure an equal competition field for imported and locally produced products.
Studies show that there has been a recent devaluation of Iranian cement, as a result of which local cement has become uncompetitive in terms of price, and an unequal playing field has been created between local cement and imported cement.
Currently, the average cost of locally produced cement is 35-37 thousand drams (without VAT). The main import of cement is from Iran. The price of one ton of Iranian cement varies between 25-30 USD, the customs duty is 0. 9-1 US dollars, and transportation in the territory of Armenia is about 30 US dollars. As a result, the cost of Iranian cement in Yerevan is about 61-62 USD (24 thousand AMD).
Due to these circumstances, imported Iranian cement has caused serious competition problems for local producers in the local market. Under such conditions, local cement producing companies (not withstanding the competition of imported cement and reducing sales) may find themselves in a difficult financial situation and face the risk of even stopping production. .
And the fact of turning from a cement producing country to a cement importing country can lead to the fact that importing companies (having no local producing competitors) can sharply increase the prices of imported cement. In addition, in the absence of local production, even in the case of fulfilling the full demand of the local cement market through imports there may be problems related to the capacity of the necessary infrastructure, considering the fact that more than 100 vehicles with a capacity of 15 tons per day will be added at customs points and on roads.
As a result of the cessation of local cement production, this branch of industry may disappear, and Armenia's cement-using sectors will be completely dependent on imports.
In order to ensure equal competitive conditions in the local market, it is proposed to make a change in the amount of the state duty charged for cement import activities, ensuring an equal competitive field for local producers (compared to importers). It is proposed to set the amount of the state duty for issuing an import license of up to one hundred tons at 1200 times the base duty (instead of the current 200 times), as well as to define the clinker import activity as a licensed activity, setting a state duty for issuing a license at 400 times the base duty. twice as much.
