A group of MPs headed by R.Bud and L.Gantumur have submitted a draft law to exempt electronic voting machines purchased by the state from customs taxes and the VAT. The draft was submitted to Speaker D.Demberel on Thursday.

Parliament allocated MNT 24 billion in the 2011 state budget to purchase an electronic voting system for the 2012 parliamentary election. Parliament also directed the Election General Committee (EGC) to enter into negotiations with companies that manufacture electronic voting machines.

The EGC has reached an agreement with the American company Dominion Voting to purchase electronic voting machines for MNT 16.8 billion. The remainder will be used to purchase a voter registration system.

Parliament has ruled that the MNT 24 billion allocated for the electronic voting system does not cover the cost of customs taxes and the VAT, which is why the MPs have submitted the draft law to exempt the purchase of the voting machines from those taxes.