Cement and concrete firms in Armenia face major tax evasion probe

Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) has uncovered large-scale tax violations in the construction materials sector, alleging millions of dollars in losses to the state budget.

Investigators said they received intelligence suggesting that cement and concrete producers were underreporting sales, issuing false invoices and using sham transactions to reduce tax liabilities. In a series of covert operations, officials tracked trucks leaving a cement plant in Ararat Province and compared delivery routes with company tax filings.

Authorities reported that on one day alone, 101 trucks left the plant, but 35 shipments worth about 43.2 million drams were not recorded in tax documents. That omission allegedly deprived the state of 7.2 million drams in value-added tax.

Further analysis raised suspicions that the company had also documented 1.2 billion drams in diesel purchases using potentially fictitious invoices, reducing both VAT and profit tax obligations. The SRC estimates the damage to the state at 442 million drams ($1.1 million).

Investigators also examined a related concrete producer operating in Yerevan and Kotayk Province. Officials said the company failed to declare 73 million drams in sales, causing a 23 million dram shortfall in taxes. It allegedly used another 49 million drams in questionable invoices, inflicting an additional 23 million dram loss.

Criminal cases have been opened and preliminary investigations are underway. The SRC said it will continue to pursue tax evasion schemes aggressively, using surveillance and data analysis to protect state revenues.