DUSHANBE, December 25, 2008, Asia-Plus -- On recommendations and with technical support of IFC (International Finance Corporation), the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development, Tajik delegation headed by Dustmurod Murodov, head of legal department within President’s Executive Office, traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan on December 1-4 to learn the Azeri experience in implementation of “One-stop-shop” (OSS) principle of state registration of enterprises and entrepreneurs.

According to Iskandar Murodov of the IFC Dushanbe Office, the delegation consisted of the representatives of president’s executive office, tax committee,, business associations and international organizations.

The IFC Dushanbe Office together with the Tax Committee organized the discussion of the results of the delegation’s travel, Murodov said.

Dustmurod Murodov, in particular, noted, “To implement OSS in our country, it is important to take into account system features, improve technological and communicative features between different ministries, agencies and territorial form of tax committees, which will register and maintain records of entrepreneurs.”

During the discussion, it was noted that the implementation of the new registration system would give an additional impulse to economic reforms and further development of business environment in Tajikistan.  Tajik government with the assistance of international organizations exerts every effort to improve the investment climate and simplify the registration system in the sphere of small and medium business.

Ms. Matluba Uljaboyeva, chairperson of the National Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Tajikistan, noted that while working out the draft law on “State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” the national working group had taken into consideration international best practice, especially the CIS countries.  “It covers all issues of the most effective ways of OSS implementation in Tajikistan.  The issue is still being discussed,” Ms. Uljaboyeva said.

The OSS principle will allow reducing the registration period to 5 working days.  In the meantime, according to the IFC report “Business Environment in Tajikistan as Seen by Small and Medium Enterprises – 2006, the registration process for Tajik entrepreneurs took from 16 to 40 days in 2006.