On July 15 2011 the president signed the Law on Amendments and Additions to Certain Legal Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning Improvements to the Licensing System (461-IV). The aim of the law is to improve and simplify norms in licensing legislation and lighten the administrative burden for entrepreneurs by reducing the number of licences and permits required for business activities.
The law amends a total of 57 legal acts. The amendments are mainly focused on abolishing the norms used for issuing certain licensing documents, as well as cutting excessive requirements and shortening the waiting period from application to issuance. The law was officially published on July 30 2011 and will enter into force six months after its official publication.
In particular, the amendments to the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities, Branch Offices and Representative Offices provide that when registering the termination of a legal entity's activities, it is no longer necessary to submit an interim liquidation balance sheet and an official notification of approval to the judicial authorities.
Among other things, Law 461-IV removes licensing requirements for:
- installation and maintenance of security alarms;
- conveyance of passengers by rail and sea;
- international telephone communications; and
- imports of ethyl alcohol and alcoholic products.
For other licensed activities, the term for considering licence applications (or attachments thereto) has been reduced from 30 working days to 15, except for activities involving nuclear energy use, financial services or activities related to the concentration of financial resources, for which the 30-day period has been retained.
In addition, the requirement to renew a licence (or attachment) in the event of a change in the description of the activity type or sub-type has been lifted, provided that this change does not involve a fundamental alteration in the operations being performed.
For further information on this topic please contact Yerzhan Kumarov or Sevil Gassanova at Macleod Dixon ELP by telephone (+7 727 311 24 80 88), fax (+7 727 311 24 89) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]).