Armenia made starting a business easier by establishing a one-stop shop that merged the procedures for name reservation, business registration and obtaining a tax identification number and by allowing for online company registration.

 

Armenia made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain an environmental impact assessment for small projects.

Armenia improved its credit information system by introducing a requirement to collect and distribute information from utility companies.

 

Armenia made tax compliance easier for firms by reducing the number of payments for social security contributions and corporate income, property and land taxes and by introducing mandatory electronic filing and payment for major taxes.

 

Armenia amended its bankruptcy law to clarify procedures for appointing insolvency administrators, reduce the processing time for bankruptcy proceedings and regulate asset sales by auction.

 

Armenia strengthened investor protections by introducing a requirement for shareholder approval of related-party transactions, requiring greater disclosure of such transactions in the annual report and making it easier to sue directors when such transactions are prejudicial.

 

The enabling environment in Armenia is very much a mixed story. On one hand, the country compares well to others in the simplicity, speed, and the cost of registering property. On the other hand, the number of procedures and time required to enforce a contract are among the worst.

 

Detailed PFS Armenia High Level Financial Sector Overview Oct 2012 can be downloaded here.

Detailed PFS Regional Benchmarking Report Oct 2012 can be downloaded here.