2 representatives of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) express different thoughts on the Restrictions on Cash Deals bill.
The bill provides for making deals exceeding 3 million AMD non-cash. So, if a customer buys something worth 3.5 million AMD, he will not pay that money in cash, he will transfer it through a bank.
The Cabinet claims that this bill is the best means for fighting against shadow economy and making cash circulation in big deals controllable and transparent. “It isn’t like that at all, making deals exceeding 3 million non-cash will not diminish the shadow economy; the shadow economy has nothing to do with cash, the shadow economy may be both cash and non-cash,” Hrant Bagratyan, a member of the ANC and the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia thinks so.
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And another member of the ANC, former director of the Central Bank Bagrat Asatryan is all for the bill. According to him, that bill will really diminish the shadow economy, “The amount of cash and cash deals is very large. And through this bill rather large amounts of money will flow into banks.”
In response to our observation that 3-million-AMD-worth non-cash deals were made every day through markets and deliverymen that got money cash and gave that money to their company account department and it also caused shadow money circulation and the bill did not provide for the fight against those, Mr. Asatryan said, “I agree with you, the bill is not a universal means for completely eliminating the shadow economy, but it will diminish the shadow economy to some extent.”
In response to a question of Aravot.am whether some businessmen complaining that they didn’t have big revenues in the first place would be compelled to pay the bank for the deal at their own expense, Mr. Asatryan said, “Those banks will not provide expensive service. I think there will be banks in the future that will be interested in making deals through their banks; therefore, they may even do it for free. It will be in their interest, since more finances will flow into their banks.”
Nelly BABAYAN
