Less Licenses – More Sub-Licenses? :: Charter'97 :: News

A long-promised decree on licensing has finally been signed. The number of licensed types of activities contracted by three times – and it seems to be quite an important achievement. One could at first marvel and rejoice at such a progress, but somehow it turns out that decree #17 isn’t at all so great, as one could get an impression at first glance.

The presidential press-service reports that the decree introduces an order of licensing certain types of activities and draws a list of those, for which one needs special permits (or licenses), as well as enumerates the state bodies, responsible for issuing them. The document allegedly targets the protection of interests of all Belarusian citizens, especially the consumers, as well as the state in general.

However, the curtailment of the number of licensed activities by three times is quite relative. As claimed by a pundit of the analytical center “Strategy” Yaroslav Romanchuk, the officials still have plenty of possibilities to set up within the framework of the existing types of activities versatile sub-types, for which they will require special licenses. So, the statesmen will in no wise be left workless, the businessmen will keep paying as much as before, while the foreign investors will be told about liberalization, as far as on paper the number of types of activities, liable to licensing, has been indeed reduced.

As a matter of fact, Belarus repeated Russia’s mistakes. There they also spoke a lot about the defense of citizens’ rights and interests, while afterwards the state’s interests were put at the first place and prevailed. As a result, licensing turned into a somewhat convenient tool of pressurizing business.