OREANDA-NEWS. On November 26, 2007 the President of the Republic of Belarus issued Ordnance No 7 which introduced amendments and additions to the Provisions on licensing certain types of activity, reported the Presidential website http://president.gov.by.

The document aims to enhance individual and corporate rights protection with a view to eliminating excessive bureaucratic procedures, preventing law violations and addressing other licensing-related issues.

The Ordinance reduces the number of documents required for obtaining a license and introduces the declarative principle for prolonging the license validity period. The Ordnance forbids the licensor to require the licensee to provide the documents that the licensor can inquire about in government bodies and other organisations on its self. This approach is expected to help materialise the one-stop shop principle within the system of licensing.

With a view to streamlining tax payment schemes, the document abolishes the license duty and introduces the state duty as payment for issuing a license, introducing amendments and (or) additions to it, prolonging its validity period or issuing its duplicate.

The Ordnance comes into force on 1 January 2008.