During the penultimate session of the government, the legislative initiative of the executive was approved review taxable under excise tax excise duty rates set for goods. As a result, the price of cigarettes, alcohol, diesel, gasoline will increase.

In particular, due to the expected inflation in the coming years, to index the excise tax rates of the goods subject to excise tax, setting the coefficient for each year at 3 percent. It is planned to increase the excise tax rates on tobacco products by 7 percent each year, on heated cigarettes by 30 percent each year, on electronic cigarettes by 100 percent in the first year, then by 25 and 20 percent in the following two years, and on hookah cigarettes by 40 percent in the first year, then by 30 percent each year in the following two years.

Karen Chilingaryan, President of “Consumer Advice Center” NGO in other words, the increase in the excise tax will first of all hit the consumers’ pockets, because any businessman must pursue his profit, that is, if he has to pay tax through the excise tax, then he must increase the price of his services and goods.

“The only victim of all this is the consumer, if as a result of the increase in the price of diesel, the price of public transport will also increase, then this will not be justified in any way. In addition to transport, there is agriculture, agricultural machinery runs on diesel fuel, which means that agricultural products will also become more expensive.” 168.amKaren Chilingaryan said in a conversation with

According to him, if the Government does not want the burden of all these price increases to remain on the consumers, then it should make certain subsidies for agriculture, apply certain discounts related to agricultural machinery.

“I hope that at least the cost of the public transport fare will not increase, because you remember that 2 years ago they announced that the transport fare would be 300 drams, they just made up those numbers without taking into account what income it would bring. But realizing that those 300 drams will cause a great protest among the public, they immediately reduced it to 150 drams. Meanwhile, they should have announced AMD 150 from the very beginning, but even by raising the fare, the problem of public transport was not solved. They should do so that our consumer does not suffer, at least they should follow the example of Georgia, instead of selling a new bicycle. They did a half-baked job, and if they increase the transport fares after all this, it will be absurd, I think in this case, a wave of protest will rise,” emphasized our interlocutor.

According to him, if agricultural products become more expensive by 10-20 drams, it will be understood, but if diesel fuel becomes more expensive, then the price of agricultural products will increase even more.

“The government should deal with these issues in order to control the inflation of agricultural products,” emphasized Karen Chilingaryan.

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