Lukashenko signs licensing bill into law

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed a bill on licensing into law, BelTA has learned.

The law preserves the main approaches to licensing as specified by Belarus president decree No.450 “On licensing certain kinds of activities” of 1 September 2010 and enables continuity of basic licensing principles.

In particular, the law regulates the entire licensing sphere in a systemic and comprehensive manner. Among other things it defines what kinds of activity need to be licensed. It also specifies licensing bodies, requirements for license applicants and licensees, and the procedure for getting a license. The law specifies the blatant violations of licensing laws and regulations that may result in the license's termination.

The law provides for licensing activities in the area of railway transport as part of Belarus' efforts to honor the country's commitments within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The law provides for a transition to digital licensing by means of creating a unified digital registry of licenses.

As an important innovation the law introduces licensing for pre-school education and school education.

Education activities require close attention on the part of the state since they are related to the formation of a healthy, ideologically stable, and diversified individual. Licensing of education services will guarantee the legality and quality of these services. It will allow evaluating the organization of educational processes. It will also prevent the emergence of commercial entities that pursue purely material gains in education to the detriment of interests of the society and the individual.

The requirements for state and private kindergartens and schools to get licenses will come into force as of the publication of the law. The other requirements will come into force on 1 January 2023. The Education Ministry will determine the timeframe for applying for a license in accordance with a dedicated schedule. The Minsk City Executive Committee, city administrations, and district administrations will be tasked with granting the licenses.

The law will reduce the administrative burden of commercial entities. It will make sure that licenses have to be obtained only for business operations, which are potentially associated with the threat of harm to state or public interests, rights and legitimate interests of citizens.

BelTA – News from Belarus