Is VCR right for your business?
VCR is the lawful online cash register under Tax Code Article 380.1. The checklist below maps the most common Armenian sales channels to what the law requires.
- Covered
Customers place orders via your website, app, marketplace, or B2B portal
Yes — VCR is fully applicable (Article 380.1)
Article 380.1 explicitly permits the electronic cash register for orders accepted via internet site, electronic application, or electronic trading platform — for retail and B2B alike. VCR supports both cash and non-cash settlement.
- Partial
Mixed: online orders plus walk-in customers
VCR covers the online side
Run VCR alongside a hardware cash register. VCR handles website / app / e-commerce orders; the hardware register handles in-person sales. Each side stays compliant with the article it falls under.
- Not covered
Orders arrive via WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, or Instagram DM
No — a hardware register is required
The State Revenue Committee has now answered in writing: clarification No. 3-4/50981-2026 of 24.08.2026 states that the electronic cash register is not available for orders accepted through the user accounts of mobile applications. Further, where the order arrives by messenger but the goods are handed over at a sales point or the service is provided to the public, a hardware register is mandatory for cash and card settlements — prepayments and partial payments included.
- Not covered
Customers walk in to a shop, café, or service point and pay there
VCR alone is not enough
Article 380(1) of the Tax Code requires a hardware cash register for in-person cash or card settlements, including prepayments and partial payments. VCR by itself does not cover walk-in retail. Pair it with a hardware register, or use a hardware register only. This changes on 1 January 2027: law HO-309-N makes a registered electronic register an alternative to a hardware one. The sectors and deadlines are still to be set by a Government decree.
What your site or app has to satisfy
The same clarification draws the boundary of the electronic cash register from Annex N 8 of Decision N 1976-Ն: the website or application must satisfy Article 15.1 of the Law on Trade and Services, let the buyer register and sign in with their own username and password, and publish the taxpayer's name, TIN, registered address, email address and phone numbers. A messenger account cannot meet that — which is why it was refused. If your site is a storefront with no customer accounts, raise this point with your accountant before moving to an electronic register.
What changes on 1 January 2027
On 3 July 2026 the National Assembly adopted law HO-309-N, which takes effect on 1 January 2027. From that date a duly registered electronic cash register discharges the obligation to use a hardware one under Article 380(1), and an electronic register becomes mandatory for sales, works and services — with the activity sectors, cases and deadlines set separately by the Government. That decree has not been published yet, so what will apply to a specific business on 1 January 2027 is not settled. Until then the rules described above are what apply.
This page summarises Tax Code Article 380.1 / Article 380(1), Government Decision N 1976-Ն, law HO-309-N of 03.07.2026 and State Revenue Committee written clarification No. 3-4/50981-2026 of 24.08.2026 — as of 2026-08-30. It is not legal advice. Consult an accountant or lawyer for your specific case.
When a receipt is not required
Not every activity needs a cash register. The law carves out several categories where neither a hardware register (HDM) nor VCR is required — and one common case where entrepreneurs mistakenly think they are exempt.
B2B settlements via bank transfer
No cash register receipt required
Article 380(1) of the Tax Code requires a cash register only for cash settlements in retail. If your buyers are legal entities or individual entrepreneurs and payment is by bank transfer, an electronic invoice-bill (հաշիվ-ապրանքագիր) filed in the SRC e-invoicing system is sufficient — the delivery type (առաքման) by default, or its VAT variant (հարկային) for VAT payers. No HDM receipt is required by law.
Typical scenarios:
- Remote work via Deel, Oyster, or Remote
- Freelance via Upwork, Fiverr, or Toptal
- IT outsourcing or consulting for an Armenian LLC
- SaaS subscriptions and licences billed to a company
- Letting commercial premises to a legal entity
Source: Article 380(1) of the Tax Code; Articles 55-56 (settlement documents).
Exempt activities
No cash register required
The Tax Code lists activities for which a cash register is not mandatory even when accepting cash:
- Utility services — provided a separate payment document is issued
- Sale of lottery tickets
- Sale of passenger and freight transport tickets (road, rail, water, air)
- Agricultural produce and second-hand personal items sold at trading venues
- Taxi services with a working taximeter
- Gambling and casino operations
- Religious rites and devotional items — for registered religious organisations
- Postage stamps sold at face value
- Postal and courier services
- Newspaper kiosks — when press accounts for more than 50% of turnover
- Distance selling via electronic communication channels and teleshopping
Since 1 September 2024 taxi drivers must issue an electronic receipt via MyTax / Yandex Go / Utaxi (Annex 9 to Decision 1976-Ն) — the taximeter exemption is de facto superseded by the dedicated e-HDM regime.
Source: Article 380(3) of the Tax Code of Armenia (HO-165-N, 2016).
Individuals without IE status
Outside the scope of Article 379
A one-off sale of personal property or letting out an apartment by a private individual is not subject to the cash register obligation — Article 379 applies only to organisations, individual entrepreneurs, and notaries. Income tax is declared separately. Once the activity becomes systematic commercial activity, IE registration is required and Article 379 applies in full.Source: Article 379(1); Article 147 (personal income tax).
Microbusiness and self-employed — a common misconception
A tax break is not a receipt exemption
Microbusiness (turnover up to 24M AMD per year) and self-employed regimes exempt you from turnover tax and VAT — but NOT from the cash register obligation under Article 379. If you accept cash in a retail setting, a hardware HDM or an electronic receipt via VCR is mandatory. Tax status alone does not lift the receipt requirement.Source: Article 379(1) of the Tax Code; Section 13 on special tax regimes.
Distance selling: exempt, but e-HDM is recommended
Under Article 380(3) of the Tax Code, distance sales via website or electronic application are formally exempt from the HDM obligation. Under Article 380.1 (since 2020) an electronic cash register may be applied voluntarily for the same sales. In practice, buyers and payment providers increasingly expect a fiscal receipt, so VCR delivers transparency even where the law allows operating without one.
Based on the current redaction of the Tax Code of Armenia (HO-165-N) and Government Decision N 1976-Ն as of 2026-05-25. Not legal advice. Consult an accountant or lawyer for your specific case.