Head of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC), Eduard Hakobyan, explained why the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) did not appear on the list of the 1,000 largest taxpayers for the first quarter of 2024. He addressed the issue during a joint session of parliamentary standing committees in response to a question from MP Artur Khachatryan of the Armenia faction.

According to Khachatryan, this is a rare case, as ZCMC has always been among the country's top taxpayers, Armenpress reports.

“In 2024, ZCMC had a decline in sales compared to 2023, which reduced the royalties due in 2025. Additionally, due to a higher advance tax payment made in 2024, part of it—about 21 to 22 billion drams—was refunded during the first quarter. This one-time transaction pushed the company off the top 1,000 list,” Hakobyan said.

He added that this does not mean ZCMC will be excluded from the list in subsequent quarters.

Khachatryan noted that the issue began when the Armenian government acquired a stake in ZCMC, according to Panorama.am .

“It’s curious—advance payments have always been made since this country’s founding. The system has always functioned, but I don’t recall a time when ZCMC was not on the top 1,000 list. Let's acknowledge there's a deeper issue here, and it began when the government became a shareholder,” he said.

He also pointed to tension in the business environment and voiced concerns from economic operators.

“You say there’s satisfaction with tax administration, but when we speak to businesspeople, there’s dissatisfaction,” Khachatryan told Hakobyan.

He emphasized that the outflow of foreign capital is tied to these grievances, rooted in administrative issues. He asked whether the authorities recognize certain missteps that have affected tax collection, adding that the problem lies not just in administration but also in the effectiveness of state policy amid slow economic growth.

Until now, Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine had consistently ranked among Armenia’s top 1,000 taxpayers.