Conditions for career advancement within State Revenue Committee to  change in Armenia

ArmInfo. The conditions for career advancement within the State Revenue Committee (SRC) will change in Armenia. At its February 4 meeting, the National Assembly's  Committee on Economic Affairs approved the amendments to the Law "On  Tax Service" and related legislation submitted by the government.

According to SRC Deputy Chairman Hamlet Sahakyan, current regulations  allow positions within the Committee to be filled by individuals who  have successfully completed a training course, received a certificate  of completion from a training center, and are included in the list of  SRC employee candidates.  The drafts envisage excluding the  requirement for completing training from the requirements for  appointment to positions in the tax or customs services. This change  is due to the need to regulate issues arising from law enforcement  practices, in particular to eliminate discriminatory practices and  ensure uniformity in the conditions of appointment for all citizens,  including tax and customs service employees.  At the same time,  customs and tax officers will be provided with adequate professional  training, and the tax and customs services will be staffed with  qualified, competent, and well-mannered personnel. Furthermore, as a  separate condition of appointment, the right to promotion will be  established based on the results of an annual performance appraisal  of tax and customs officers, determined by their functional  characteristics.  Positive results obtained during the twice-yearly  interviews will serve as grounds for promotion. The regulation  defining the procedure for filling positions in the unit performing  operational and investigative functions has been declared invalid.  Employees in this category will now be appointed to positions in  accordance with the requirements approved for all positions.

Currently, the list of professions required for appointment to  positions in the tax service is approved by the Deputy Prime  Minister. This provision is no longer in effect in the new package.  Now, higher education and a passport will be used as the basis for  appointment to each specific position.

The package also regulates the requirement for interviews and  training at a center for individuals with many years of professional  experience. It is planned to define tax and customs service positions  by group, taking into account the need for specificity and the  results of law enforcement practice. Specifically, the following  positions are defined by group: senior tax service positions (head of  tax authority department), key tax service positions (deputy head of  tax authority department), chief tax authority specialist, chief tax  inspector of the tax authority, and chief operational officer of the  tax authority. It is stipulated that during the six months preceding  the maximum age for holding a position in the State Revenue Committee  services, as well as in the event of an extension of the service of a  tax and customs service employee for up to one year after reaching  the maximum age, the possession of a valid passport confirming  completion of training during the specified period is not mandatory.  It is established that, for the purposes of training tax and customs  service employees, the training center shall organize and conduct  recruitment for training at least once a year. For the purposes of  this part, management positions shall be considered to be the  positions of department head, deputy department head, and division  head. The recruitment procedure, among other requirements, stipulates  the procedure for forming the recruitment committee, the methodology  for completing the reliability questionnaire, reviewing and  evaluating the questionnaire, as well as relations related to  providing assistance to the tax and customs authorities and their  subordinate organizations in organizing and conducting recruitment.  It is stipulated that a citizen who, within one calendar year  preceding the date of filing an application for recruitment, received  a negative assessment based on the results of two interviews may not  participate in the recruitment. It is also recorded that by  completing the due diligence form, the individual consents to the  request and receipt by tax and customs authorities of information  from government agencies and other persons confirming the information  provided in the due diligence form, as part of the review of the due  diligence form.

Based on the interview results, the participant receives a positive  or negative assessment. Within five business days of the final  assessment of the advanced training course, the training center  issues a training certificate electronically to those who  successfully complete the course. The certificate is valid for three  years and is in a form approved by the head of the State Revenue  Committee. If the training center has not conducted advanced training  courses in the calendar year preceding the certificate's expiration,  the certificate's validity is extended until the certificate is  issued. Employees who have completed 60 academic hours of training at  the training center in the last two years and successfully passed the  entrance exam and interview for the advanced training course are  considered to have successfully completed the advanced training  course and receive a certificate corresponding to their position.