ArmInfo.We have been contacted by dozens entrepreneurs, we are studying the situation with Wildberries, in order to understand whether there are violations that encroach on competition. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan told reporters aout this during a briefing on September 7.
He noted that local business representatives can also contact the Commission for Protection of Competition and try to solve their problems there.
"Last year, we created conditions for all business entities to be in equal tax conditions. When an Armenian consumer buys a product from Wildberries, the company is obligated to pay VAT to the state budget, something that many SMEs do not do because they operate in a tax regime with turnover. We can say that Wildberries is in more unequal conditions in a bad sense than our SME representatives," the minister said.
Kerobyan explained the cheapness of Wildberries goods by the fact that the products imported by our local economic entities are purchased through a number of intermediaries, while Wildberries is a direct sale of goods by the manufacturer to the consumer.
When asked if it is planned to stop the activities of Wildberries in Armenia, Kerobyan mentioned that the country operates under a liberal system, and the ministry promotes the flow of foreign investments. "Our task is to ensure equal competitive conditions among all players," he emphasized
Today a protest rally of Armenian entrepreneurs against Wildberries took place near the government building. The latter are convinced that the company is harming the country's economy, since it can leave about 130 thousand business entities without job. Protesters believe that the cheapness of goods on this online platform is detrimental to the interests of local businesses. The Wildberries online sales platform has been operating in Armenia since 2018. In 2021, partner pick-up points opened for the first time, and direct sales started at the end of 2022.
