Speaking at the meeting that the Milli Majlis Committee for Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising called on 5 May, Committee Chairman Tahir Mirkishili went through the items on the agenda and pointed out that promoting the progress of business enterprising and making pertaining procedures more transparent made the chief goals of the economic legislative work being done in Azerbaijan. The proposed amendments to the State Procurement Law serve the same purposes, according to Mr Mirkishili. While there is a positive and all-encompassing enough new law on state procurement is in the works, these amendments to the currently-effective law will, once enacted, provide for regulation of many important current issues, especially so, those that concern business enterprises.

The acting Head of the State Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Market Supervision Service Sahib Mammadov said that the Bill had been drawn up in fulfilment of the instructions of the President of Azerbaijan regarding transparency and efficiency of state procurements. Another contemplated goal is for our country to secure better positions in the relevant international rating systems, Mr Mammadov added before informing the gathering of the broader e-procurement scope, generation of extensive business opportunities in the e-procurement, procedural streamlining, improvement of the claims processing mechanism and definition of the liability sanctions, all proposed in the new Bill.

As the deliberations followed, Deputy Chairman of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee Ali Masimli and the MPs Vugar Bayramov, Rufat Guliyev, Aydin Huseynov, Mahir Abbaszade, Igbal Mammadov, Mashhur Mammadov and Elnur Allahverdiyev made known their ideas and suggestions regarding better transparency and efficiency in state procurement complete with inviting more sound competition and ensuring tighter public controls.

Ultimately, the Committee passed a recommendation that the draft amendments to the State Procurement Law and the accompanying set of draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences should be put before the Milli Majlis in the first reading at a plenum.

Next, the Committee looked at the draft amendments to the Civil Code and the Insurance Law, another parcel of amendments concerning the laws ‘On Medical Insurance as well as the Land Code and the Code of Administrative Offences and, then, the proposition concerning the laws ‘On the Antimonopoly Practice’, ‘On the Use of Energy Resources’, ‘On Mineral Resources’, ‘On Gas Supplies’, ‘On the Energy Sector’, ‘On Licences and Permits’ and ‘On Implementing Construction and Infrastructure Facility-Related Projects based on Special Finance.’

The MPs were told that the Bill on modifying the Tax Code and the Laws ‘On Licences and Permits’ and ‘On the 2021 State Budget of the Azerbaijan Republic’ had been composed in pursuance to the Strategic Road Map to Development of Financial Services in the Azerbaijan Republic (affirmed with a presidential decree) as well as in order to improve the corresponding supervision facility.

Further, the meeting participants recommended for submission to a Milli Majlis plenum (in the second reading) the set of draft amendments to the Azerbaijan Republic Law dated 1 February 2008 on the adoption of ‘The Seaman’s Identity Paper Provisions’ and of ‘The Specifications, Description and Specimen of the Seaman’s Identity Paper’, the adaption-wise amendments to the State Duty Law and, last but not least, the amendment act concerning the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic ‘On the “Alat” Free Economic Zone’.

Then, the Committee considered the draft amendments to the Tax Code and the draft amendments to the Civil Code as well as the laws ‘On the State Real Estate Registry’ and ‘On Mortgage’ (both interlinked substantively and composed by the Milli Majlis). Also, the Committee discussed the amendment act on the Labour and Tax Codes.

The MPs Mazahir Efendiyev and Anar Mammadov, Head of the State Procurement Department of the State Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Market Supervision Service Ahmad Hasanov and other officials were taking part in the committee session.

Tahir Mirkishili summarised the deliberations.

All the twelve issues analysed by the Committee were then cleared for tabling at a plenary sitting of the Milli Majlis.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis