Azerbaijan considering changes to some state fees

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The Azerbaijani parliament has discussed the proposed amendments to the law "On State Duty" during the regular meeting of the committee on economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship on November 1.

Issues of indexation of state fees in accordance with the inflation rate, their complete transfer to the budget, the rules of using water bodies for special purposes, the establishment of the fee for the status of the authorized economic operator were discussed.

ID cards, foreign passports, marriage, divorce registration

Under the proposed amendments, the state fees charged for registering a change of surname, first name and patronymic will switch from AZN 10 to 15.

At the same time, the fees for receiving and loss of foreign passports will be increased.

Under the amendments, the fee for the issuance of passports or their replacement within 10 working days, or issuance within two working days in cases of emergency of Azerbaijani citizen or persons traveling with him, as well as in connection with serious illness or death of a close relative residing abroad will be increased from AZN 10 to 15 for children under one year, from AZN 20 to 25 for children aged from one to three years, from AZN 30 to 25 for citizens from three to 18 years and from AZN 40 to 60 for citizens over 18 years.

For issue or replacement of passports within five working days - for children under one year from AZN 20 to 25, for children aged one to three years from AZN 40 to 55, for children aged three to 18 years from AZN 60 to 75, for citizens who are 18 years old from AZN 80 to 120.

Moreover, state duty for state registration of marriages and divorces will also increase. The state duty for the registration of marriage increases from AZN 5 to 10, while the fees for the registration of divorce increase from AZN 15 to 20.

Driving license and license plates fees

The amount of fees for the issuance and replacement of driver's licenses was increased.

Fees for driver's license to operate vehicles, streetcars and trolleybuses will be raised from AZN 20 to 40. Fees for other driver's licenses will be raised from AZN 5 to 10.

Fee for repeat driving license exams for driving motor vehicles, streetcars, and trolleybuses will be increased by AZN 10 and set in the amount of AZN 20.

According to the changes, it will now be possible to issue and change international drivers' licenses. For this, a fee of AZN 12 is set.

At the same time, fees for the issuance of license plates are changed. Under the changes, the fees for the combination of numbers or letters reflected in the license plates issued for motor vehicles are increased as follows:

- for 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007,008, 009 - different series - from AZN 1,500 to 2,000, the same series - from AZN 2,500 to 3,000;

- for 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 - different series - from AZN 1,000 to 1,500, the same series - from AZN 1,500 to 2,000;

- for 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999 - different series: from azn 500 to 1000, the same series: from AZN 1,000 to 1,500.

The fee for issuance of other license plates for vehicles other than the above-mentioned combination of numbers or letters, as well as for re-issuance of license plates, including the above-mentioned combination of numbers or letters is increased from AZN 22 to AZN 30.

Other fee changes

The fee for the issuance of excise stamps for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products will be set at AZN 0.07.

The state duty for the issuance of a permit to operate construction projects is proposed to be set at AZN 60. It should be noted that until now the state duty was not charged for that.

State fees for the seasonal trade and service places will be raised from AZN 60 to 90 in Baku, from AZN 20 to 30 in Sumgayit, Ganja, Mingachevir, Shirvan, Khirdalan and Absheron region, and from AZN 10 to 15 in other regions.

State duty for granting a decision on accreditation of a legal entity to conduct sports gambling is set at AZN 2,000. 

A state duty of AZN 25 will be charged for the provision of hunting and fishing tickets.

The state duty for sampling and stamping of jewelry and other household items made of precious metals will be from AZN 2 to 3 for one item; for the examination of precious metals, precious stones and products made of them and materials containing precious metals from AZN 2 to 3 for one item; for determination of names, weight and quality of precious stones from AZN 0,20  to 0,50; for the analysis of products and materials containing precious metals from AZN 6 to 10 for one item.

A state duty of AZN 100 is established for the re-registration of medicines. In addition, state duty for making changes to registration documents of medicines will be AZN 50.

Under the amendment, if the market price of a mobile device is up to $100, then state duty will be charged for its registration at a rate of AZN 30; from $101 to $200 - AZN 50; from $201 to $400 - AZN 60; from $401 to $700 - AZN 70; from $701 to $1,000 - AZN 100; over $1,001 - AZN 150.

Additionally, improperly withheld or overpaid state duty will be returned within 20 days at the request of the payer of state duty.

The changes to the law on state duties have been recommended for consideration during the plenary session of the Azerbaijani parliament. Several other issues were discussed at a meeting of the parliamentary committee. 

Among these issues is the bill on an amendment to the law "On State Duty" (first reading), a bill on amendments to the Water Code, Customs Code, and the Urban Planning and Construction Code, to the laws "On the bowels of the Earth", "On fishing", "On the animal world", "On environmental protection", "On hunting", "On the state register of real estate", "On veterinary medicine", "On medicines", "On physical culture and sports", "On culture", "On uniformity of measurements" and "On licenses and permits" (first reading).

Among these issues is also the bill on an amendment to the law "On insurance activity" (first reading).

Following the discussions, the amendments were put to a vote and recommended for consideration at the plenary session of the Azerbaijani parliament.

It should be noted that in Azerbaijan, many state fees were established 15 years ago and have remained unchanged since then. It is expected that by increasing the size of the number of state duties the revenues to the budget of Azerbaijan will exceed AZN 100 million.