Armenia Joins EU Customs Programs, but Free Economic Zones Remain Under EAEU Rules

FTZ News: Armenia and the European Union signed two agreements Nov. 12 allowing the country to join the EU’s Customs and Fiscalis programs. The agreements do not change the EAEU rules governing Armenia’s free economic zones and do not open access to the EU transit system.

State Revenue Committee Chairman Eduard Hakobyan and European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra signed the documents. Armenia’s participation runs for one year, in 2027. A government decision approved Nov. 5 set its contributions at €39,991 for Customs and €36,528 for Fiscalis. The programs cover training, digital systems, risk management and information exchange between customs and tax agencies. Officials say the programs will also help align Armenia’s customs legislation with EU standards.

Earlier this month in Brussels, Hakobyan met Matthias Petschke, the European Commission’s customs director. They discussed the Common Transit Convention, the New Computerised Transit System and mutual recognition of trusted-trader programs, the committee said. Armenia remains a full EAEU member. Its government approved an agreement in July 2025 on a unified EAEU transit system open to third countries. Joining the EU system would require a separate step.

Armenia’s zones operate under the EAEU customs code’s free customs zone procedure. Approved activities receive 0% profit tax and 0% VAT, according to a 2026 guide from an Armenian law firm. That guide lists only ECOS in Hrazdan — focused on IT, high tech and crypto-asset creation — as operationally active. Meridian, the jewelry zone in Yerevan, is described as stagnant. Meghri, on the Iranian border, is listed as dormant; it was established in 2017 and has not attracted real residents. The government dissolved Alliance in August 2025. Gyumri lost its status in 2022. Myler, a ski-resort zone in Aragatsotn province, remains under construction. Rules requiring operators to demonstrate real activity took effect Jan. 1.

Separately, the EU’s temporary trade preferences for Armenia took effect Oct. 10, suspending duties on roughly 80% of Armenian exports for two years. The Commission says the preferences include conditions and safeguards for EU producers. They followed Russian trade restrictions on Armenian goods that began in May. In July the government approved grant agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for customs and logistics centers near Yerevan and in Syunik. The Yerevan project is valued at €45 million.

Faster electronic clearance and risk-based checks under the new programs could affect the cost of moving goods into and out of the zones, depending on implementation. In the World Bank’s 2024–25 Enterprise Survey, 115 Armenian firms gave a median import clearance time of 14 days. The responses were unweighted and should not be taken as a national estimate./.