Since 2003, Armenian citizens who have reached the age of 27 and are wanted for evading compulsory military service have a legal opportunity to be exempted from criminal responsibility after paying certain sums to the state budget of the Republic of Armenia.

This way of exemption from potential criminal prosecution and termination of initiated criminal proceedings has been approved by the RA Law “On citizens who have not completed their compulsory military service in violation of the established order”.

The procedure of application and its consideration

Currently in Armenia only those dodgers who have turned 27 years old between the autumn call-up of 1992 and May 1, 2015 can be exempted from liability. The National Assembly is actively discussing the possibility of extending this term until May 1, 2017.

In this regard, it should be understood that now those born after May 1, 2017 cannot be exempted from criminal liability.

As a general rule, the application for the payment of mandatory fees in order to further terminate criminal prosecution is submitted to the military commissariat at the place of registration of the citizen. Taking into consideration that the majority of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, who have faced criminal cases against them for evading military service, reside abroad, the law allows applying and paying the obligatory payment through a trusted person.

Applications of citizens who have not completed military service are submitted to a special commission, which is created to make decisions on the submitted applications. The application and the documents submitted with it are usually reviewed within one month. Under certain circumstances, the period may be lengthened to 2 months.

If the citizen’s application is granted, the mandatory payment must be transferred to the special budget account within 10 days of the application being granted. An important proof of payment is a bank receipt, which must be handed over to the commission immediately.

After that, the commission sends the receipt to the prosecutor’s office within a week, where the prosecutor issues a resolution to terminate the criminal case and sends a sample of said resolution to the territorial body of the military commissariat at the place of registration of the citizen. After that you can stay on the territory of Armenia without any obstacles and without the threat of being held criminally liable.

You may appeal in court against the refusal of the commission.

Rates of mandatory fees

It is envisaged that for each draft from which the citizen evaded, he/she has to pay AMD 100000, that is if the citizen evaded from 3 drafts he/she has to pay AMD 300000 and if the citizen evaded from 10 drafts – AMD 1000000 (number of drafts multiplied by 100000).

For persons liable for military service who have not completed military service but later acquired grounds for exemption from military service, there are somewhat different amounts of payments:

1. Persons deemed unfit for military service pay AMD 30,000
2. Persons liable for military service having a scientific degree and engaged in professional, scientific or teaching activities pay AMD 50,000
3. Persons deferred for further studies pay AMD 50,000

Special amounts of obligatory payments are also envisaged for citizens who have obtained the right of deferment due to marital status and meet one of the following conditions։

1. Citizens who have parents, both of whom have reached retirement age, are recognized as handicapped of the 1st or 2nd group or have been recognized as incapacitated by a court decision
2. Citizens with two children or raising a child without a mother
3. Citizens whose wives have been declared handicapped of the 1st or 2nd group
4. Citizens who have a brother or sister recognized as handicapped of the 1st or 2nd group, or recognized as legally incapable by a court decision, provided there are no other capable persons who are considered members of their family and living with them
5. A citizen whose wife is expecting her second child or twins in the 6th month of pregnancy
6. Citizens eligible for a family status deferment in cases not provided for by law

All citizens falling under the aforementioned conditions shall pay AMD 30,000 to the state budget.

For reserve officers (reservists) who have reached the age of 35 and have evaded compulsory military service, more stringent requirements are set. Thus, a fee of AMD 200,000 is fixed for each case of evading (not passing) the levies. If a citizen has acquired grounds for deferring the military service, he has to pay AMD 100,000.