The Court Annuls the Administrative Act, Citing Procedural Violations in the Execution of a Test Purchase
- 2025-05-08
The claimant applied to the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia, seeking to annul an administrative decision issued by a government authority that imposed an administrative sanction on them.
According to the administrative act, the claimant was held liable on the grounds that, during a test purchase conducted at a gas station involving a transaction in the amount of 1,000 AMD, no receipt was issued via the fiscal cash register (FCR). The administrative body asserted that this omission constituted a violation of the rules governing the use of FCRs.
In response, the claimant challenged the legality of the administrative act, citing several procedural and legal violations. In particular, the claimant argued that the test purchase carried out by the administrative authority lacked a duly issued authorization order, as required by law, thereby breaching Article 345 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia. The claimant also emphasized that the submitted documentation failed to clearly define the “examined time period,” which contradicted the provisions of Part 3 of Article 345 and Part 6 of Article 343 of the Tax Code.
Moreover, the administrative authority conducted the test purchase without a proper legal basis, which the court qualified as an unlawful administrative act.
After reviewing the facts and legal arguments presented, the court concluded that the administrative act had been adopted as a result of a test purchase procedure that failed to meet the statutory requirements. The court confirmed that the legal foundation for the test purchase—the authorization order—did not comply with the mandatory conditions established by tax legislation.
On this basis, the Administrative Court rendered a judgment annulling the administrative act issued by the administrative authority.
This judgment once again reaffirms that, in the context of conducting test purchases and imposing administrative sanctions, authorities must strictly adhere to the principle of legality. Any breach thereof is subject to judicial review, and administrative acts adopted in violation of this principle are subject to annulment.
Notice.
The judgment of the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia in administrative case No. VD/2707/05/22 has entered into legal force.