Rustam Minnikhanov: Entrepreneurship Council is a good venue for addressing pressing business issues
On March 2, at Pyramid complex in Kazan, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov chaired the 14th extended meeting of the Tatarstan Presidential Council on entrepreneurship.
Chairman of Tatarstan State Council Farid Mukhametshin, Tatarstan Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin, heads of regional ministries and authorities and over 200 representatives of the business community took part in the event.
Welcoming the participants of the meeting, Minnikhanov emphasized that the Council on entrepreneurship is a good venue for addressing pressing business issues.
The first project team introduced the issue on the simplification of licensing procedures in construction. Since 2015, before the construction and excavation, entrepreneurs need to conduct a historical and cultural examination of this territory. Business representatives pay from 200,000 to 700,000 roubles for the examination. The examination can extend to seven months. It is necessary to apply to 2 state authorities – Tatarstan State Committee on the protection of cultural heritage sites and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The Chairman of the Regional Committee Ivan Gushchin said that due to this examination, since 2015, as many as 65 previously unknown archaeological sites have been identified.
Minnikhanov emphasized that this procedure should be simplified as much as possible, reducing the time for the examination and its cost. He said that there are relevant institutions in the republic that can fully control this work.
The next project team raised the issue relevant for cargo companies. This year, the number of automatic weight measurement points will increase in Tatarstan. To date, 4 points have been built and the same number are being prepared for the launch. Entrepreneurs are concerned about the automatic weighing indicators which may be incorrect and ask to organize a control weighing. Business representatives also ask to increase default level of this system, as going beyond the standards is punishable by large fines.
Tatarstan President gave an errand to continue the control weighing on the regional roads till the end of this year, and the businessmen’s concerns about the error of the system asked to convey to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.
The meeting participants also considered other pressing issues, namely, the innovation that forces dairy producers to label finished dairy products which will increase the cost of production to 10 - 29 per cent.
It is necessary not only to buy equipment for marking, but also to reconfigure the production, redesign the packaging, purchase barcodes and expand the staff.
The self-employed entrepreneurs of Tatarstan raised the issue of mandatory marking. Requirements for mandatory labeling of several groups of goods, including clothing and shoes, entered into force in 2019. The digital code helps to track product path from production to sale to the final consumer. However, federal law prohibits the self-employed to manufacture and trade labeled products.
Minnikhanov invited the people’s deputies of the regional parliament to come up with an initiative in Russian State Duma on the issue of simplifying the conditions for labeling goods for the self-employed.
During the meeting, Minnikhanov was informed that from January 1, 2020, the possibility of a single imputed income tax application for entrepreneurs involved in retail trade in marked goods was excluded. From January 1, 2021 a single imputed income tax will be canceled for all types of business.
Tatarstan President instructed to develop measures to mitigate the impact of the cancellation of this type of the tax for business.