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Every business subject has a right to operate any business activities that are not prohibited by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, to perform some business activities, entrepreneurs must obtain a licence or permit, depending on the type thereof. In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on "Licences and Permits” (hereinafter, the “Law”), entrepreneurs must have the licence (hereinafter, the "Licence") for the activity (hereinafter, the “Activity”) on the diagnostic of equipment and technical installations operated at potentially hazardous facilities and conducting other technical inspections.

Requirements

To obtain this licence, the entrepreneur should apply to a licence issuing authority – the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan(hereinafter, the “Ministry”) with the required documents mentioned below:

• An application
• Corporate documents (the extract, Tax ID, and charter), if the applicant is a legal entity;
• A copy of the ID card and Tax ID, if the applicant is an individual entrepreneur;
• The Power of Attorney issued by the applicant if another person applies on behalf of the applicant; and
• The documents that confirm to meet special requirements of the Activity depending on its characteristics, set forth in the legislation.

In accordance with “Additional requirements for issuing a special permit(license) depending on characteristics of the type of activities” confirmed by the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, dated 07 November 2002, №174(hereinafter, the “Decision”), following additional requirements are required for obtaining the License:

• Copies of the documents confirming that employees and specialists have respective specialties for the Activity(including employment agreements and respective diplomas);
• The list of normative-technical documents that are required for the activity;
• The copy of the certificate on accreditation of the laboratory belonged to the applicant(including the documents confirming the existence of the ownership or lease rights of the applicant over the laboratory);
• Information about having the tools and technical equipment for carrying out respective works (including the documents confirming the existence of the ownership or lease rights of the applicant on these tools and equipment).

Application process

Initial process

The applicant may apply with the above-mentioned documents through the electronic portal (https://lisenziya.gov.az/) or physically at the Asan Service Centers. In the case that the applicant applies via the electronic portal, it does not need to submit the first four documents mentioned above in the second paragraph.

The Ministry reviews the application and attached documents within 5 working days after the date of receipt hereof. During this time, in the case that remediable deficiencies are detected, the applicant is informed about the reasons for the deficiencies.

The applicant must remedy these deficiencies within no later than 10 working days from receipt of this information, otherwise, the Ministry issues an act on pending the application and informs the applicant within 2 working days. Nevertheless, the applicant may re-submit after the detected deficiencies are remedied.

Main process

In the case that the Ministry did not detect any deficiency or the applicant can remedy it in duly time, the following measures may be taken as the next step of the process:

Involving an expert or specialist from the relevant authority. If the Ministry may apply to the relevant state authority (the Ministry of Emergency Situations) to engage experts or specialists, the authority must provide their experts or specialists within 1 working day. The term for obtaining a decision or opinion of the experts must not exceed 5 working days. This term is not included in the term of issuance of the Licence. Assessing the enclosed documents in the area of the laboratory indicated in the respective document.

In any case, the Ministry must issue an act on whether to give a licence or not, based on the results of a review of the application and attached documents, but no later than 10 working days from the date of registration of the application. In practice, the general process may exceed 10 working days because of the remediation of deficiencies and the involvement of an expert.

In the case that the Ministry grants the application, it informs the applicant to make a payment of the state fee in the amount of 250 AZN (735 USD) for the License. Upon the applicant pays the state fee, the Ministry must issue the Licence within 2 working days and the applicant can take the Licence from the respective ASAN Service Center.

The Licence is issued for an indefinite term, but the applicant must re-issue it in the event of any amendments to the name and (or) address of the applicant. The applicant must apply with new documents to the Ministry no later than 5 working days from the date of occurrence of these amendments, without any charge. The Ministry makes appropriate amendments and submits the re-issued License to the licence holder within 3 working days of receipt of the relevant application.

For the following reasons, the Ministry may accept the act of refusing to issue the licence:

• The application and the attached documents have incorrect information, which cannot be remedied;
• the applicant did not adhere to the terms of issuing a licence set out in the Law.

In the events mentioned above, the act of refusing to issue the licence must be justified by stating the reasons. The applicant may appeal the act through administrative and judicial processes.

Potential risks

The entrepreneurs may face some critical risks if they perform this activity without obtaining the licence and without using it properly, and their operation may be interpreted as “an illegal business activity” by the legislation. Depending on the amount of income received or damage caused as a result of this activity, the entrepreneur may be punished for committing an administrative offence or a criminal act.

Under the Code on Administrative Offences, the entrepreneur may be punished by paying a fine in the amount of two to four times the income damage as a result of the administrative offense if this income or damage does not exceed 50,000 AZN (29,411 USD), otherwise, this act may be accepted as a crime.

As per the Criminal Code, if the entrepreneur receives income or reasoned damage in the amount of more than 50,000 AZN (29 411 USD) as a result of this Activity, it may be punished by paying a fine in the amount up to four times the damage or income arising out hereof or charged up to seven years imprisonment.

Recommendation

In practice, entrepreneurs face some challenges when they apply for a licence.

It should be noted that the applicant should make sure that it has duly technical infrastructure and staff to meet the requirements completely outlined in the decision before applying to the Ministry.

As a next step, the applicant should adhere to all requirements indicated in the Law and Decision. Otherwise, the Ministry may refuse to issue the licence as previously noted, and it requires extra time for re-application or appeal. Therefore, it is advisable to consult with experienced professionals in this procedure.

About the author

Imamverdi Novruzlu is a professional lawyer with over 3years of experience in the area of law. He graduated from the «Faculty of Law» at the Academy of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan with a bachelor's degree in 2020.

He specialises in dispute resolution, corporate law, contracts, intellectual property, and especially customs law. Currently, he is a senior lawyer at Legalize Law Firm. For more information about the author, please see the following link:

https://www.legalize.az/en/team/imamverdi-novruzlu