Belarus: The procedure for licensing certain types of activity changes with Presidential Decree No. 475 of 26 November 2015.
Under new amendments, perpetual licenses will be issued for all activities which require licensing. Additionally, licenses valid as of 28 November 2015 from the due date will not be extended.
Another positive change is that legal entities which have reorganized in the forms of transformations and spin-offs will not have to obtain a new license. It will be enough to introduce new amendments and additions to the existing license.
The Decree has reduced the list of activities that require licensing. Thus, certain types of activity in the following fields will not be licensed:
1. Medical activity (assembling, maintaining, servicing, repairing medical equipment, healthcare products; phytotherapy; expert medical activity), plus medical activity by public health organizations.
2. Operations with precious metals and precious stones (working, providing services with chemical types and solutions with precious metals content; collecting waste and scrap).
3. Activity connected with environmental impact (neutralization of waste during laboratory analysis, medical waste of 1-3 hazardous substances by chemical method; liquid effluents by means of water dilution into sewage runoff).
4. Ensuring fire safety (exploiting hazardous and explosive objects in crowds; testing for fire risk, production and capital repair of fire-fighting equipment).
5. Activity in the sphere of communication (making available for use of telecommunication channels, data communication at multi-access stations).
6. Exploitation of hazardous facilities of I and II types of danger under the control of the Department for Supervision of Safety in Industry.
7. Positive amendments took place in the field of automobile transportation. Now, a single breach of the law on licensing in this sphere will not end the validity of a licence.
The official procedure for licensing has been simplified: it is not obligatory to provide a copy of incorporation: it is enough to indicate the date and register number plus the name of the registration body.
Business entities which carry out operations under licence must provide the licensing authority with information on compliance with the new licensing requirements before 1 June 2016 as well as to return to the licensing authorities the licence for carrying out activities not subject to licensing from 1 March 2016.
Source: National legal Internet portal of the Republic of Belarus (NLIP) 28.11.2015, 1/16123