Armenian government approves customs duty exemption for Samvel Aleksanyan-linked firm

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government has granted a customs duty exemption worth nearly 2 billion drams ($5 million) to a company owned by the family of former MP and businessman Samvel Aleksanyan, according to a decision approved at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The exemption applies to imports by Lex Tobacco Company under an investment project in a priority sector, covering technological equipment, components, raw materials and other inputs, the government said. The measure was included on the cabinet agenda without a formal presentation.

The company plans to invest 32.4 billion drams in raw materials and 4.3 billion drams in capital expenditures as part of the project, which is being implemented in Yerevan. Lex Tobacco currently employs 258 workers with an average monthly salary of 311,000 drams. By 2028, it expects to increase staffing to 333 employees, with average monthly pay rising to 390,000 drams.

The government said the exemption would stimulate new investment projects, job creation, local production and exports, and help upgrade technical capacity in the manufacturing sector.

The imported equipment and materials will be sourced outside the Eurasian Economic Union, as alternatives from member states do not meet the company’s technical requirements, the statement said.