LEGAL UPDATE
July 2024
LEGAL ACTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
1. RA LAW ON AMENDMENTS AND CHANGES TO THE LAW "ON URBAN CONSTRUCTION"
2. RA LAW ON AMENDING THE TAX CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
3. DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON
THE APPROVAL OF THE FIVE-YEAR SCHEDULE OF ORGANIZATION
AND VERIFICATION OF THE CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE THE RIGHT
TO PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY IN THE NATURE OF URBAN
CONSTRUCTION
LEGISLATIVE DRAFTS
4. RA LAW ON AMENDMENT TO THE LAW
"ON NON-CASH TRANSACTIONS"
5. RA LAW ON AMENDMENTS TO THE CIVIL CODE
OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
LEGAL ACTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Name of the legislative act
RA LAW ON AMENDMENTS AND CHANGES TO THE LAW "ON URBAN CONSTRUCTION"
DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON THE APPROVAL OF
THE FIVE-YEAR SCHEDULE OF ORGANIZATION AND VERIFICATION OF THE CONTINUOUS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY IN THE NATURE OF URBAN CONSTRUCTION
The status of the change
The law entered into force on August 4, 2024, the tenth day following the date of official publication.
The government's decision came into force on July 23, 2024, that is, the day after its official publication.
What do the changes involve?
One of the key goals of the changes made is to ensure the effectiveness of the licensing process in accordance with the licensing and qualification procedure and in accordance with the requirements set by the "Licensing" law, to contribute to the formation of business entities with the necessary qualifications in the field of urban development, to separate the activities of persons or organizations with different qualifications and experience, to create an equal competitive field.
The need for generally accepted legal regulations is due to:
1) the effective implementation of the licensing process by the state administration body in the field of urban development,
2) filling the existing legislative gaps in the "Urban Construction" Law,
3) the introduction of a schedule of continuous professional development in the field of urban
development in order to increase the qualification of specialists,
4) ensuring the function of continuous professional development through non-governmental organizations, institutions of higher education, which will meet the requirements set by the legislation.
Currently, in the Republic of Armenia, there is no objective and effective system of EMS in the field of urban development, no process of evaluating the quality level of specialists is being
implemented.
Article 11.1. Continuous professional development and basic requirements for professional activity in the field of urban construction
2. Certified specialists in the field of urban planning are natural persons who have the right to carry out professional activities, who have received the relevant certificate of professional activity in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and are registered in the register of specialists maintained by the state management body in the field of urban planning (hereinafter referred to as certified specialist), except for those who provide mengineering geodetic services. persons whose qualification requirements are defined by the Law "On Geodetic and Cartographic Activities".
Article 11.5. The responsible specialist in the field of urban construction, his rights and responsibilities
1. The responsible specialist is the person included in the relevant tab attached to the license issued to the subject of the licensed urban construction activity, who has a certificate of the CPD and is registered in the register of specialists, with the exception of persons providing engineering geodetic services, who can be a responsible specialist exclusively defined by the Law "On Geodetic and Cartographic Activities": in the case of having a qualification certificate for geodetic and markshading activities.
ANNEX OF THE DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON THE APPROVAL OF THE FIVE-YEAR SCHEDULE OF ORGANIZATION AND VERIFICATION OF THE CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY IN THE NATURE OF URBAN CONSTRUCTION
1. This annex defines the schedule of organization and certification of events (hereinafter referred to as the event) that ensure the continuous development of professional abilities, abilities and skills of natural persons carrying out professional activities in the field of urban development during a five-year period.
2. The provision of credits for the measures that provide the CPD in the field of urban development for a five-year cycle is carried out within the time limits specified in table N 2 of this annex.
3. At least 5 working days before the scheduled date of the event, the schedule is published on the official website of the Urban Construction Committee of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) www.minurban.am, and urban.e-gov.am notifies about it through the electronic system. sent to persons with the relevant profession included in the register.
4. Specialists included in the registers confirm their participation through the same system within working days after receiving the notification mentioned in point 3 of this annex.
5. Professionals who are not included in the register can apply in writing to the Event organizer to participate in the event at least 3 working days before the date of the event published on the official website www.minurban.am.
6. During the 5 working days following the end of the CPD course, the organizer of the event submits information on the attendance of the participants to the committee in writing.
Name of the legislative act
RA LAW ON AMENDING THE TAX CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
The status of the change
This law entered into force on July 18, 2024, the tenth day following the date of its official
publication.
What do the changes involve?
After the adoption of this amendment, the necessary changes will also be made in the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia N 727-N of June 6, 2019, namely:
- requirements will be established, within the framework of which it will be certified that this
activity is carried out by the taxpayer using the privilege,
- companies using the privilege will be required to have employees with a sufficient number
and specialization to carry out the privileged activities,
- Companies benefiting from the privilege will be required to have sufficient operating
expenses to prove that they are actually operating.
- structures of control over the mentioned requirements will be established, as a result of
which measures of responsibility will be applied to the operators who do not meet the requirements.
Article 126. Exemption from payment of profit tax
7. Profit tax payers considered as operators of the free economic zone are exempted from the payment of profit tax, in terms of the income received from the sources of the Republic of Armenia or from sources outside the Republic of Armenia, from the activities carried out in the free economic zone created in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Income from the sale of intellectual property rights objects created (developed) or developed in the territory of the free economic zone as a result of the implementation of the types of activities defined in Article 14, Part 1 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On Free Economic Zones" are not exempted from the payment of profit tax or from the provision of the right to use them (that including the increase in the value of the object of intellectual property rights), income from the sale of goods containing objects of intellectual property rights and any other income from objects of intellectual property rights.
Name of the legislative act
RA LAW ON AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON NON-CASH TRANSACTIONS" AND THE CIVIL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
The status of the change
The draft was included in the agenda of the session on June 11, 2024. It was adopted on first reading.
What does the change refer to?
Along with the increase in the volume of circulation of crypto-assets in many countries, including Armenia, public involvement in this field has increased significantly. In addition, many individuals have appeared who have started business activities in this area, being involved in both the creation of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies (DLT), ensuring and developing their applicability in various fields (including the financial system) programs, as well as providing various services with crypto-assets to residents and non-residents of RA, including trading, exchange, transfer, consulting, etc. of crypto-assets.
However, the lack of an adequate regulatory framework is an obstacle to engaging in innovative activities in the field of crypto-assets.
The lack of regulation of the field of crypto-assets creates a number of problems for the
development of the field, namely:
- the lack of a legal framework (including the legal definition of the terms of crypto-assets
and their underlying technologies, types of activities, rights and responsibilities of persons
engaged in activities) does not allow persons engaged in business activities in the field to
plan long-term activities in RA, to involve local and international partners and customers.
- the unregulated nature of the sector hinders the cooperation of the crypto-ecosystem and
the financial system, which negatively affects both the smooth process of providing
services with crypto-assets and the use of AGTs in various projects in the financial
system.
The main provisions of the regulation are as follows.
- financial instruments (securities, deposits, etc.), which are created in the form of
crypto-assets, are regulated by applicable laws, regardless of the underlying
technologies;
- transactions with crypto-assets and payments for the provision of services with crypto-
assets will be allowed exclusively in non-cash form,
In order to solve the existing problems, it is proposed to introduce a model of comprehensive
regulation of the field of crypto-assets, for which purpose the project was developed..
THE LAW OF REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
ON AMENDMENT TO THE LAW "ON NON-CASH TRANSACTIONS
Article 6.1. Implementation of non-cash transactions for the purchase of a crypto asset in non-cash form
Payment and receipt of payment for the alienation of a crypto asset or the acquisition of ownership of it on another basis is carried out by non-cash method, regardless of the amount to be paid.
THE LAW OF REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
ON AMENDMENT TO THE CIVIL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
Article 143.1. Crypto asset
1. A crypto asset is an asset based on encryption (cryptography), which has value or certifies the right and which can be transferred and stored exclusively in electronic form using decentralized registry technology.
2. Within the meaning of this article, a decentralized registry is an electronic registry in which transactions with crypto assets and data about them are recorded, and which is synchronized and, as it is saved, available on the network of decentralized registry technology, using a mutual
agreement mechanism.
3. In the sense of this article, the consensus mechanism is a set of rules and processes, on the basis of which an agreement is reached on the terms of validation and registration of transactions in the decentralized ledger by the decentralized ledger technology network.
4. In the sense of this article, the network of the decentralized ledger technology is the set of equipment or processes, through each of which all transactions registered in the decentralized ledger and the data about them are stored in whole or in part.
5. Expropriation of a crypto-asset in violation of the law, including disregarding the requirements of a judicial or administrative act establishing such prohibition, is null and void.
Article 172. Grounds for acquiring property rights
7. A person acquires ownership rights to a crypto-asset:
1) from the moment of registration in the decentralized registry at the address of the person receiving the crypto-asset according to its rules, if the person receiving the crypto-asset or the person designated by him legally owns the means providing access to the crypto-asset;
2) according to the law, from the moment of registration with the custodian of the crypto-asset in the name of the person receiving the crypto-asset.