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The parliament debated more than a dozen legislative initiatives in the second reading at the sitting on December 6.

Due to the improvement and development of the whistleblowing system, as well as the need to provide structures in line with the international obligations undertaken by the Republic of Armenia in the field, the Government proposes amendments and addenda to the Law on Whistleblowing System and related ones . According to the key rapporteur, the RA Deputy Minister of Justice Arpine Sargsyan, it is proposed to expand the field of whistleblowing and spread the relations in connection with it to the private sector, commercial and non-commercial, as well as community organizations.

Substantive and technical amendments were made to the bills from the first to the second reading.

The executive body proposes amendments to the Law on Public Service and related ones in order to improve the existing legislative regulations regarding the conflict of interests of persons holding public positions and public servants, incompatibility requirements and the institution of gifts.

A number of amendments were made from the first to the second reading.

The bill on Amending the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia authored by the deputies of the Civil Contract Faction Gevorg Papoyan and Alkhas Ghazaryan was also debated in the second reading. According to Gevorg Papoyan, the purpose of the amendment is to free many RA citizens from additional tax obligations in a certain situation.

The RA Deputy Minister of Finance Arman Poghosyan presented the proposed amendments to the Law on Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia and other attached law . It is proposed to impose an excise tax on electronic cigarettes.

Taking into account the fact that the draft has gone through a long phase of debates, the Government proposes to introduce a new system from January 1, 2023.

The Government presented editorial amendments from the first to the second reading.

The proposed amendments to the Law on Protection of Atmospheric Air, the RA Tax Code and the Code on Administrative Offenses presented by the RA Deputy Minister of Environment Gayane Gabrielyan were debated in the second reading. The adoption of the package will contribute to the reduction of emissions of hazardous materials, as well as to the prevention of their harmful effects on human health and the environment, and it will ensure the safety.

As a result of the proposed amendments to the Land Code of the Republic of Armenia and related laws, the Government and the authorized body of the State Property Management Committee will manage and alienate undeveloped plots of land owned by the Republic of Armenia.

According to the RA Chairman of the State Property Management Committee Arnak Avetisyan, the purpose of the changes is to provide a favorable environment for the investment environment.

The RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Davit Khachatryan presented the proposed amendments to the Laws on State Benefits and State Pensions . It will no longer be possible to withdraw money through an electronic money account opened on the basis of a social account from February 1, 2023, so it is recommended to transfer the transactions of the electronic money account of the Haypost to the banks after February 1, 2023, that is, payment will be carried out through a bank card. Pensions and benefits will have the same procedure for non-cash payments from January 1, 2024.

According to the package of draft laws on Amending the Law on Minimum Monthly Salary and on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Labor Code , the Government proposes to set the minimum monthly salary in Armenia at 75.000 AMD from January 1, 2023. Certain editorial amendments were made to the legislative package during the period between the first to the second readings.

The draft law on Making Addenda to the Law on Medical Aid and Service for Population authored by the MPs Lusine Badalyan and Narek Zeynalyan proposes to introduce the legal bases for professional development, certification during the employee’s working period and remuneration, calculation of the length of professional activity, and continuation of the guaranteed work activity while exercising other rights in the medical worker-employer legal relationship.

The purpose of the adoption of the package of draft laws on Making Addendum to the Law on Postal Communication and on Making Addenda to the Law on Electronic Communications is to establish authorizing norms for the adoption of the secondary regulatory legal acts or other legal acts.

According to the package of draft laws on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Code on Administrative Offences and on Making Addenda to the Law on Trade and Services authored by the deputies Tsovinar Vardanyan and Babken Tunyan, it was recommended to establish proportionate penalty mechanisms in case of under-fueling in gas stations.

It is planned to change the amount of the fine for administrative offenses with the draft law on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Code on Administrative Offences authored by the Government.