Quality of decisions in business regulation discussed in Bishkek

Many laws have been adopted without taking into account views of business in Kyrgyzstan, and Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) has become a procedure just to report about it, International Business Council’s (IBC) Executive Director Askar Sydykov said.

On June 17, the IBC took part in a press talks on the theme: "Quality of decision-making in regulation of business activity".

President of the Association of Suppliers (IBC member) Gulnara Uskenbaeva gave an example: the fact that the Economy Ministry together with the State Tax Service has changed the form of VAT statements back in May, she was told over the phone the other day. Changing this form was not coordinated with the business, and the Government regulation is already in force.

The situation is ambiguous, as some ministries and departments listen to the opinion business associations, who know the problem from the inside, and they try together to solve problems, Uskenbaeva added.

According to the meeting participants, business in Kyrgyzstan faces a lot of problems due to the lack of a clear regulatory policy. Therefore, the country needs to strengthen the smart regulation principle, executive director of the BizExpert analytical center Ainura Chekirova said. “Smart regulation" means delivering EU policies and laws that bring the greatest possible benefits to people and businesses in the most effective way.

Public policies in Kyrgyzstan are aimed at economic development and business activities, therefore, the state regulatory burden on business should be reduced, but the formalization of procedures in decision-making does not give the desired effect, business representatives concluded.