Translated material
The promised inspection has been awaiting three years.
Dmitry Medvedev asked not to disturb small businesses
If President Dmitry Medvedev devoted his first working day to the problems of people with disabilities , then the second began with a discussion of the problems of small business - a category that also requires special care from the state.The President recalled that one of the goals that the Russian authorities have set for themselves is the massive growth of the middle class, mainly by stimulating entrepreneurial activity. “We agreed and set a goal that by 2020, 60-70% of the country’s active population should be engaged in entrepreneurial activity,” Mr. Medvedev recalled. At a meeting on small business issues in the Kremlin, Mr. Medvedev said that “he would like today to sign a decree on measures for the development of small businesses related to the need to remove excessive administrative barriers.” It became known late in the evening that the president had signed the decree.
During the meeting, as its participants told Vremya Novostey, a number of additional and very important innovations were introduced into the prepared decree. The meeting was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, presidential aides Larisa Brycheva and Arkady Dvorkovich, Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina and the heads of public organizations OPORA - Sergei Borisov and Business Russia - Boris Titov.
The draft decree, in fact, consolidates the proposals that Mr. Medvedev, while still an elected but not inaugurated president, voiced on March 27, 2008 at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council in Tobolsk , dedicated specifically to the problems of small business. First of all, we are talking about the main headache of any small entrepreneur, namely the endless checks of his activities. The most radical idea - a complete ban on inspections, except by court decision, was not implemented. “We are talking about reducing the number of inspections - to one inspection every three years, so that unscheduled inspections of small businesses take place on the basis of special decisions or approvals of the prosecutor’s office,” the president said at a meeting yesterday. However, all these measures are already enshrined in current legislation. But the decree makes an important addition - permission must be issued by a higher prosecutor's office. As Boris Titov explained to Vremya Novostey, “all my friends in my city go to the same bathhouse, but it will be much more difficult to prove that you are right to higher authorities.”
In addition, according to Mr. Medvedev, extra-procedural rights of internal affairs bodies should be eliminated. Sergei Borisov told Vremya Novostey that the police are now issuing batches of protocols on sanitary conditions and fire safety. In this case, up to 70% of the protocols are then sent to the trash.
It is also planned to switch to a predominantly notification procedure for opening a new case. Another innovation is the widespread introduction of compulsory liability insurance for small entrepreneurs instead of licensing. This system is accepted in the West, but it requires additional financial costs at the stage of opening a business. However, Mr. Borisov is convinced that the idea itself is sound, but the compulsory insurance market still needs to take shape. “If these are state-affiliated structures, then expect trouble,” he warns.
Dmitry Medvedev also proposed discussing the problems of renting premises, land and connecting to energy networks. “This is what economically slows down the development of small businesses in the country,” the president emphasized.
A compromise decision was made regarding the rental of premises. Previously, it was assumed that federal subjects and municipalities should privatize all their property, which is mainly rented by small businesses. The “kids” did not object to the redemption at market value, but wanted to receive some benefits, namely a waiver of collateral and payment in installments. Now each region will decide for itself whether to sell on a general basis, provide benefits to small businesses, or not sell at all, but create a special fund of rental premises.
Also, the long-awaited decision to abandon the use of cash registers has finally been made.
However, some proposals were not supported. As Boris Titov said, he proposed introducing a unified register of all inspections in the Prosecutor General's Office. Such a system operates in Kazakhstan. According to Mr. Titov, the very need for registration should already become an additional filter, and in addition, it will give a clear picture by region. However, consideration of this idea was postponed until better times.