Driver's Union Appeals to Armenian President Regarding Amendments to Tax Law

Today, Tigran Keyan, the president of the Driver's Union NGO, and his representative, lawyer Tigran Ghazaryan, submitted a petition to Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, urging the president to refer to the Constitutional Court regarding the compatibility of the recent amendment to the "Law on State Duties" concerning the 4000 dram state duty required for judicial appeals.

The amendment adopted recently by the National Assembly has sparked discontent among drivers. Previously, under Article 22 of the "Law on State Duties," non-profit organizations and individuals could appeal administrative violations to the administrative court without any fee. However, following the amendment, drivers will be required to pay 4000 drams when challenging decisions made by the traffic police in court.

This new state duty is set to take effect on January 1, 2020, should the Armenian president sign the law approved by the National Assembly.

Tigran Keyan of the Driver's Union NGO stated, "They are attempting to discourage citizens from pursuing appeals, meaning that in addition to a 5000 dram penalty, they would have to pay an additional 4000 dram state duty. Many will understandably refrain from appealing. Furthermore, if they are unable to achieve a result at the first instance, they would need to pay another 10,000 drams for an appeal and then 20,000 for the Court of Cassation. In total, they would have to spend 34,000 drams to achieve results in relation to a 5000 dram penalty. This makes no sense at all," commented the president of the Driver's Union.