The government has approved the legislative package for the regulation of publicity in the field of subsurface use

At the January 25 sitting, the government approved the legislative package submitted by the Ministry of Energy infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia, which proposes to make amendments and additions in the RA Law of Mining, the RA Tax Code and the RA Code on Administrative Offenses Code. The legislative package focuses on publicity and transparency in the field of mining.

The need to develop the project is conditioned by the fact that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard sets out a range of issues related to the scope of information to be published in the field of utilization. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is an international organization promoting open and accountable management of natural resources, which is a member of 51 countries by 2017. Since 2015, the Republic of Armenia has initiated a process of membership in the EITI. By December 28, 2016, the RA Government officially submitted its candidacy and is a candidate country for the EITI as of March 9, 2017.

The purpose of the EITI standard is to make publicly available information on the mining industry ensuring transparency and accountability of the sector, promoting competitive management and control. The EITI member states are obliged to publish annual reports, which should include complete information on government permits, extraction volumes, taxes and fees paid to the state, allocation of revenue from the sector, and implementation of social programs.

Taking into consideration this fact, there is a need to comply with a number of provisions envisaged by the current RA legislation in conformity with the EITI standards. As a result of the adoption of the project, it is envisaged to ensure compliance with the RA legislation to the EITI standard for the smooth implementation of the EITI standard in the Republic of Armenia. In particular, mining companies and relevant authorities will be provided with public reports on financial flows and other data that have been carried out in the sector. They will be subsequently combined by an independent auditing company hired by the government, which will prepare a public report as a result of that analysis. This will allow the public to make mining industry information more accessible, which will contribute to continuous improvement of the sector. It is necessary for the Republic of Armenia to be able to introduce transparency improvement accountability mechanisms, as a result of which only in 2019, passing through the international ratification process, will be able to be recognized as a country that meets the EITI standard.