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Currently, the provision of passenger transportation services through online platforms is widely used in the republic, but the sector is not legally regulated. Organizations that have created online platforms actually carry out illegal passenger transportation activity by accepting orders and transferring them to individual drivers, regulate passenger transportation tariffs through their platforms, and set transportation requirements without tax obligations and control. This was stated by the RA Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan at the regular sitting of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs during the presentation of the package of draft laws providing for amendments and addenda to the draft law on Automotive Transport and the enclosed laws.

“With the legislative package developed in order to solve the existing problems and fill the legislative gaps, it is proposed to regulate the activity of organizations or individual entrepreneurs that formulate and transfer orders for passenger transportation through online platforms as an activity subject to notification, to establish a state fee for the passenger transportation service on the online platform in the amount of 1 million AMD per year, licensed with passenger taxi cars,” the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure said.

The draft established the mandatory use of an electronic cash register machine and the requirement to issue an electronic license in case of passenger transportation by an online platform and by individuals in a passenger taxi car, and in case of violations in the field, the application of administrative liability measures.

According to the representative of the Ministry, in case of adapting the legislative package, equal competitive conditions will be created for passenger transportation by light passenger vehicles and taxi services, the process of passenger transportation through electronic platforms will become more transparent and controllable, tax obligations will be established for activities in the field, which will contribute to the increase of revenues to the state budget.

The Deputy Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Babken Tunyan noted that the objectives are fiscal: As a result of the regulations, an opportunity is created to bring passenger transport operators from the shadow field to the tax field through electronic platforms and organize civil and safe passenger transportation. The Deputy Chair of the Committee inquired whether it is possible that as a result of the adoption of the draft, passenger transportation services will increase their fares, whether there will be regulations that will force passenger transportation drivers to meet certain standards?

“I find it difficult to say whether there will be price increases as a result of the regulation or not, but if there is no abuse of the dominant position and fair market conditions are in place, then the market will settle the problem and there will be no significant price increases. As for quality standards, it is not defined with this draft. As soon as we have complete statistics, quality standards presented to drivers will be defined,” Armen Simonyan said.

Babken Tunyan also inquired what will happen to the citizen who provides taxi service without having the necessary license to carry out passenger transportation, to which Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan said that the person will be held accountable.

The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Arsen Torosyan asked the representative of the Government whether there is an approximate forecast that if all taxi drivers who are physical entities and work on online platforms, enter the field of logic of the law, how much additional tax will be generated.

“Approximately 80-100 billion annual turnover is generated from the taxi services on online platforms, according to the average statistics of annual orders. If the interest rates set by law on state duty are applied, then state duty in the amount of 1-5 billion AMD should be paid annually,” the representative of the department said.

The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Hayk Tsirunyan proposed to the State Revenue Committee to buy a taxi control programme to carry out passenger transportation, because the problem also includes security issues. The MP also asked who will check whether the licensed taxi driver meets the requirements for carrying out passenger transportation.

“Perhaps applicants for taxi driving through online platforms should take courses, acquire skills and quality standards to transport citizens? It is also possible to add the shadow: The taxi driver registered on the online platform who carries out non-regular passenger transportation can carry a lot of passengers, but not provide a cash machine to the passenger, in that case, how should the issue be solved?” the deputy asked, in response to which Armen Simonyan again reaffirmed that this draft does not solve the problem completely, new regulations will be necessary in the future.

The deputy of the same Faction Hovik Aghazaryan also made a proposal. According to the deputy, it is not enough to pay 1 million state tax annually for the taxi services that provide passenger transportation services through electronic platforms. The MP proposed to increase the fee.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee Babken Tunyan noticed that there are minimum requirements that should be set in case of impossibility of connecting to the taxi service through the online platform.

“It is obvious, isn't it, that if a person has been convicted 5 times for drug addiction, he should not be able to join the taxi service on the online platform,” the Deputy Chair of the Committee said.

Babken Tunyan also touched upon one of the recently circulated news, according to which the special services of the Russian Federation get access to all the information of the users of the ‘YnadexGo’ taxi service, how the issue is regulated in our country and whether it doesn’t cause contradiction in terms of personal data protection.

“When we entered our data while launching the application, we also gave consent for that organization to use our personal data. Only within the framework of specific criminal proceedings can the criminal investigation bodies of different states have access to them. I can't imagine why the Russian law enforcement agencies should have widespread accumulation of such information, I have not come across any official information about its authenticity,” the Deputy Minister of Justice Armenuhi Harutyunyan said and warned that by giving consent when downloading an application, the RA citizens give their consent to their access to personal data.

The Committee approved the draft.

The package of draft laws providing for addenda to the Codes on the Lithosphere of the Republic of Armenia and Administrative Offenses went out of circulation.

“With the legislative package developed in order to solve the existing problems and fill the legislative gaps, it is proposed to regulate the activity of organizations or individual entrepreneurs that formulate and transfer orders for passenger transportation through online platforms as an activity subject to notification, to establish a state fee for the passenger transportation service on the online platform in the amount of 1 million AMD per year, licensed with passenger taxi cars,” the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure said.

The draft established the mandatory use of an electronic cash register machine and the requirement to issue an electronic license in case of passenger transportation by an online platform and by individuals in a passenger taxi car, and in case of violations in the field, the application of administrative liability measures.

According to the representative of the Ministry, in case of adapting the legislative package, equal competitive conditions will be created for passenger transportation by light passenger vehicles and taxi services, the process of passenger transportation through electronic platforms will become more transparent and controllable, tax obligations will be established for activities in the field, which will contribute to the increase of revenues to the state budget.

The Deputy Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Babken Tunyan noted that the objectives are fiscal: As a result of the regulations, an opportunity is created to bring passenger transport operators from the shadow field to the tax field through electronic platforms and organize civil and safe passenger transportation. The Deputy Chair of the Committee inquired whether it is possible that as a result of the adoption of the draft, passenger transportation services will increase their fares, whether there will be regulations that will force passenger transportation drivers to meet certain standards?

“I find it difficult to say whether there will be price increases as a result of the regulation or not, but if there is no abuse of the dominant position and fair market conditions are in place, then the market will settle the problem and there will be no significant price increases. As for quality standards, it is not defined with this draft. As soon as we have complete statistics, quality standards presented to drivers will be defined,” Armen Simonyan said.

Babken Tunyan also inquired what will happen to the citizen who provides taxi service without having the necessary license to carry out passenger transportation, to which Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan said that the person will be held accountable.

The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Arsen Torosyan asked the representative of the Government whether there is an approximate forecast that if all taxi drivers who are physical entities and work on online platforms, enter the field of logic of the law, how much additional tax will be generated.

“Approximately 80-100 billion annual turnover is generated from the taxi services on online platforms, according to the average statistics of annual orders. If the interest rates set by law on state duty are applied, then state duty in the amount of 1-5 billion AMD should be paid annually,” the representative of the department said.

The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Hayk Tsirunyan proposed to the State Revenue Committee to buy a taxi control programme to carry out passenger transportation, because the problem also includes security issues. The MP also asked who will check whether the licensed taxi driver meets the requirements for carrying out passenger transportation.

“Perhaps applicants for taxi driving through online platforms should take courses, acquire skills and quality standards to transport citizens? It is also possible to add the shadow: The taxi driver registered on the online platform who carries out non-regular passenger transportation can carry a lot of passengers, but not provide a cash machine to the passenger, in that case, how should the issue be solved?” the deputy asked, in response to which Armen Simonyan again reaffirmed that this draft does not solve the problem completely, new regulations will be necessary in the future.

The deputy of the same Faction Hovik Aghazaryan also made a proposal. According to the deputy, it is not enough to pay 1 million state tax annually for the taxi services that provide passenger transportation services through electronic platforms. The MP proposed to increase the fee.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee Babken Tunyan noticed that there are minimum requirements that should be set in case of impossibility of connecting to the taxi service through the online platform.

“It is obvious, isn't it, that if a person has been convicted 5 times for drug addiction, he should not be able to join the taxi service on the online platform,” the Deputy Chair of the Committee said.

Babken Tunyan also touched upon one of the recently circulated news, according to which the special services of the Russian Federation get access to all the information of the users of the ‘YnadexGo’ taxi service, how the issue is regulated in our country and whether it doesn’t cause contradiction in terms of personal data protection.

“When we entered our data while launching the application, we also gave consent for that organization to use our personal data. Only within the framework of specific criminal proceedings can the criminal investigation bodies of different states have access to them. I can't imagine why the Russian law enforcement agencies should have widespread accumulation of such information, I have not come across any official information about its authenticity,” the Deputy Minister of Justice Armenuhi Harutyunyan said and warned that by giving consent when downloading an application, the RA citizens give their consent to their access to personal data.

The Committee approved the draft.

The package of draft laws providing for addenda to the Codes on the Lithosphere of the Republic of Armenia and Administrative Offenses went out of circulation.