National Security Service of Armenia initiated criminal investigation on results of audits in "Alex Holding"

ArmInfo. National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia presented the results of the checks in Alex Holding.

According to preliminary information,as  the press service of the national security body informs,  Alex Holding, being a VAT payer, has been operating since the end of 2016, under the pretext of not wanting to provoke a rise in prices for local agricultural products, with the former leadership of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia came to an agreement on the purchase of products purchased from villagers in the supermarket chain "Yerevan City" through IP (individual entrepreneur), registered in various private individuals with a turnover of 115 million drams, which allowed  paying  only 2% sales tax instead of 20% VAT and income tax. Then, the company's management, for the period until May 2018 inclusive, registered the names of employees and their families and acquaintances, mainly through a single notary, 461 individual entrepreneurs who operated in the "Yerevan City" network. At the same time, a part was registered without the knowledge of citizens, with the help of documents available in <Alex Holding>, certifying their identity or a copy of these documents. When the turnover of the IP reached 115 million drams, the activity was suspended, after which a new IP was registered.

Taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the former leadership of the KGD, arbitrary and illegal, Alex Holding, in addition to local agricultural products, through these IPs, sold other products, as well as imported agricultural products, paying only the turnover tax.

According to preliminary calculations, in 461 IP the total turnover amounted to over 40 billion drams, of which 2% of the turnover tax was paid, that is, in the course of legal activities, Alex Holding LLC was to pay 20% of VAT and income tax. To determine the damage caused to the state, a professional (tax) inspection and forensic accounting examination was appointed. In fact, the Investigation Department of the National Security Service instituted criminal proceedings on the grounds of part 2 of Article 205 (non-payment of taxes, duties on a particularly large amount) and part 3 of Article 189 (pseudo-entrepreneurship). Within the framework of the criminal case, 10 searches were carried out, during which the accounting documents, electronic carriers, other documents with evidentiary value were withdrawn, the responsible employees of the holding, the notary registering the IP, and also the part of the citizens in whose name the IPs were registered were questioned. In addition, according to reliable data, a similar opportunity was provided to the other senior companies engaged in network trade from the former management of the KGD, which created obviously unfavorable and unequal competitive conditions for other enterprises engaged in agricultural trade and paying VAT.

In the framework of the criminal case, control measures were taken against the 11 enterprises. Therefore, the latter are invited to independently recalculate unpaid taxes on the above schemes and provide relevant information to the preliminary investigation bodies to resolve the issue with compensation for damage within the production. "The preliminary investigation is ongoing, measures are being taken to find out all the details of the case, which are of interest to the investigation, as well as for full recovery of the damage," the National Security Service said.

The National Security Service calls on all economic entities to carry out activities exclusively in the legal, so-called "white field" and refrain from using such schemes and mechanisms of malicious evasion from payment of taxes, fees and other mandatory payments. At the same time, the SNB warns that the units of the Service, within the limits of their powers, acting solely in accordance with the procedure established by law, will conduct a consistent struggle against the shadow economy, and also in the direction of eradicating corruption protectionism.