Armenia

Taxable period

In Armenia, the taxable period is the calendar year.

Tax returns

The annual CIT return for resident entities must be filed by 20 April.

Payment of tax

The annual CIT should be paid to the state budget by 20 April.

Starting from 18 June 2020, taxpayers should make advance CIT payments by the 20th day of the last month of each quarter in the lower amount of 20% of the CIT calculated in the previous tax year and 2% of the income generated from the supply of goods, performance of works, and/or provision of services during the previous quarter. For payments before the previous year’s tax is calculated (e.g. January to March), tax is paid based on the last filed tax return, and an adjustment is made in the first advance tax payment made after the previous year’s tax is calculated to correct the amount paid. If advance payments exceed the CIT liability for the year, the excess may be refunded.

Newly registered companies don’t pay CIT prepayments for the year of the registration.

Tax audit process

Risk based audits

For the purposes of planning audits, the authorities develop risk criteria that are approved by the Armenian government. Based on the risk criteria, entities are classified into the following three categories:

• High risk entities.
• Medium risk entities.
• Low risk entities.

The authorities should approve the audit plan (list of audit targets) before 1 June of the preceding year for the 12-month period beginning on 1 July. The list of audit targets is published during three days after the audit plan has been approved.

Tax audits

The tax authorities may carry out scheduled audits a maximum of once each year for high risk taxpayers, once each three years for medium risk taxpayers, and once each five years for low risk taxpayers.

Business entities must be notified of the audit in writing at least three days before the scheduled audit.

The tax inspector must present a written order to the taxpayer outlining the scope and period of the tax audit before starting the audit. The written order specifies the names of the officials who may participate in the audit.

For normal business entities, the scheduled audit should be carried out within 15 business days, although the period may be extended by up to ten days. For companies whose annual revenue exceeds AMD 3 billion, the period may be extended by up to 75 business days.

Statute of limitations

The statute of limitations is three years.

Topics of focus for tax authorities

There are no specific topics of focus for the tax authorities. In practice, the tax authorities perform a comprehensive audit of the taxpayer’s books, covering all taxes and mandatory payments.