Kazakhstan set to extend moratorium on business inspections until 2024

To reduce the administrative burden on businesses Kazakhstan intends to extend the moratorium on inspections of business entities until 2024. Kazakh Ministry of National Economy prepared the amendments to the relevant draft decree ordered by the Head of State. According to the ministry, the moratorium applies only to small and micro businesses, which will not be controlled and monitored by central and local executive state bodies until the end of 2023. However, some inspection measures will take place, in particular, in regard to businesses engaged in citizens’ health and safety, the ministry stressed.

“The moratorium has been in operation for three years, starting January 1, 2020. The draft decree provides for 12 exceptions. Compared to the previous moratorium, the basis for inspections has been significantly reduced, inspection measures related to the mass character of threat have been removed in this draft decree,” Erik Dzhambulov, Director of Entrepreneurship Development Policy Department of the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy, said.

The moratorium extension is part of the measures aimed at reducing the burden on small business. The ministry notes that as part of the implementation of the Presidential reform “Fresh start,” a completely new regulatory policy in business is being formed. Thus, state control and supervision of business will be automated.

“Considerable amount of work is being done to revise the entire regulatory policy to change the burden on business. This work is planned for 2022-2023, and to do this the moratorium will be extended until January 1, 2024. Additionally, risk management systems will be automated during this period, that is, scheduled inspections, as well as preventive control will be carried out without human participation,” added Dzhambulov.