Minister Hakob Simidyan presented the draft law on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia during the second reading at the April 14 session of the Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environmental Protection The draft law proposes revisions to the rates of nature use fees established for biological resources that are objects to fauna, as well as the procedure for their payment.
The Ministry of Environment of the RA launched a phased review of nature use fees and environmental taxes.
In the first phase, the project proposes a complete revision of the nature use fees established for biological resources that are objects to fauna. These fees are expected to increase by approximately two times, with the exception of whitefish, for which the fee will be raised about three times, from the current AMD 65 to AMD 200 per kilogram.
The whitefish species is considered a very important and valuable resource for the conservation of Lake Sevan’s ecosystem and food security.
The submitted draft also proposes revising the procedure for paying the natural resource use fee, according to which it will be implemented not for the actual volumes used, but for the amount provided by contract or license. 
Minister Hakob Simidyan informed that the written proposals were of a technical nature and were accepted. The Minister expressed confidence that the changes will not cause any social problems for the population.
The committee issued a positive conclusion on the discussed draft law.