Business licensing services to be fully integrated
State structures will fully integrate their licensing services with the new portal until March 2018, said Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov.
Addressing the presentation of the license issuance portal (license.gov.az) in Baku on December 20, he noted that it is necessary to amend the relevant legislation to ensure the operation of the portal, saying that proposals have already been sent to the government and their adoption is expected in the near future.
Mammadov further noted the portal for issuing licenses will also have a mobile version.
The licenses issued to entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan mainly cover such areas as pharmaceutics, construction, veterinary, plant growing, agricultural chemistry, metallurgy, transport and other activities. Encouraging local entrepreneurship is one of the priorities for the Azerbaijani government, which supports entrepreneurs through creating necessary conditions for the development of a healthy business environment in the country.
Mammadov noted that starting from 2018, entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan will be able to apply for business licenses online.
Through the new portal, entrepreneurs will be able to send appeals for obtaining, liquidating or restoring a license. The portal will also allow for a single register of licenses and permits.
“The ministry started to issue licenses through the ASAN Service centers from November 2, 2015, and for the past two years, 4,832 licenses have been issued, 2,676 of which were issued for the first time, and 2,156 were replaced by unlimited ones,” he said.
He added that as a result of the reforms carried out, the number of licenses necessary for doing business decreased from 59 to 37, and the number of permits decreased four times and amounted to 86.
“Employees of the Economy Ministry through the centers of the ASAN Service rendered consulting services to over 35,000 entrepreneurs,” Mammadov said. “At the next stage, we aim to ensure full digitization of licensing services, and it will be possible to achieve this by means of an online portal. This will allow entrepreneurs, without leaving their offices, to apply for licenses online.”
Speaking at the event Chairman of the State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovations Inam Karimov said that over the past two years, about 5,000 licenses have been issued through the centers of the ASAN Service.
“In Baku, the licenses are issued through the ASAN Service Center No. 5, and in the regions through the regional centers,” said Karimov.
He added that currently, there are five ASAN Service centers in Baku, and seven in Azerbaijan’s regions.
“Over 250 services of 10 state agencies and private companies of the country are rendered by ASAN Service centers. The number of appeals to the centers reached 19 million,” Karimov said.