Obtaining Licenses and Permits in the Republic of Azerbaijan: Legal Framework and Practical Aspects

In the Republic of Azerbaijan, conducting entrepreneurial activities in certain sectors requires obtaining specific licenses and permits. This is one of the state's mechanisms for regulating economic activities, ensuring quality standards, and protecting consumer rights. Azerbaijani legislation provides a clear and structured system for issuing licenses and permits. If you are considering establishing a business in Azerbaijan, it is essential to understand the types of business licenses and permits your company must obtain. This ensures the legal operation of your business and reinforces compliance with jurisdictional regulations.

LEGAL SERVICES RELATED TO OBTAINING LICENSES AND PERMITS IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

1. INITIAL CONSULTATION AND ADVISORY SERVICES

Services Provided:

Covered Activities:

2. FULL-SCALE LICENSE AND PERMIT ACQUISITION PROCEDURE

Professional Services Offered:

Key Activities Covered:

Legal Basis

In the Republic of Azerbaijan (excluding the field of financial markets), the acquisition of licenses and permits is mainly regulated by the following legislative acts:

  1. The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Licenses and Permits" – This law determines the legal and economic foundations of the licensing system, regulates the process of issuing licenses and permits, the period of validity of the license, and the conditions for its suspension and revocation.
  2. The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Regulation of Inspections Conducted in the Field of Entrepreneurship and Protection of Entrepreneurs' Interests" – This law establishes the rules for conducting inspections in order to monitor compliance with the licensing conditions.
  3. Relevant decrees and orders of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan – The normative documents signed by the Head of State in this area cover steps taken toward improving the licensing system and enhancing the business environment.
  4. Relevant decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan – The decisions adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers clarify the procedures, conditions, and requirements for issuing licenses and permits.

What types of activities require a license in the Republic of Azerbaijan?:

The following activities require licensing in Azerbaijan:

  1. Toxic industrial waste: utilization, neutralization
  2. Collection of raw materials from wild medicinal plants
  3. Private medical activity
  4. Pharmaceutical activity: production, wholesale, retail sale of medicinal products
  5. Precursors: production, import, export, transit transportation
  6. Educational activity: various types of educational institutions
  7. Communication services: various types of telecommunication services
  8. Television and radio broadcasting activities
  9. Stock exchange activity
  10. Investment company activity
  11. Clearing organization activity
  12. Depository activity of investment funds
  13. Activity of joint-stock investment funds
  14. Preparation and sale of securities forms
  15. Manufacturing of various types of seals and stamps
  16. Activities of credit institutions
  17. Activities in the field of insurance
  18. Storage of waste containing radioactive and ionizing radiation
  19. Transportation of hazardous goods by vehicles
  20. Facilities of the liquid and natural gas economy
  21. Mining operations, mountain and borehole drilling
  22. Installation and repair of elevators
  23. Operation of amusement rides
  24. Installation and repair of lifting devices, metallurgical equipment, boilers and tanks operating under pressure
  25. Diagnostics and other technical inspections of equipment and technical devices operated at hazardous facilities
  26. Fire protection activities
  27. Engineering-survey works for buildings and structures requiring construction permits
  28. Construction and installation works for buildings and structures requiring construction permits
  29. Design of buildings and structures that require construction permits and are subject to notification procedures
  30. Private veterinary practice
  31. Veterinary preparations: production, sale
  32. Plant protection products and agrochemical substances: production, import
  33. Establishment of individual hunting farms

LICENSED ACTIVITIES RELATED TO STATE SECURITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

Certain types of entrepreneurial activities in the Republic of Azerbaijan are licensed due to their special significance for state security. This regulatory system aims to ensure both national security and the safety of citizens. Below is a detailed list of activities requiring licenses due to state security considerations:

SECURITY AND TELECOMMUNICATION

  1. Private security activity
  2. Activity in the field of designing and producing information protection tools
  3. Development of biometric technologies and providing services related to them
  4. Formation of personal data information resources and creation of information systems, and providing services to them

AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA ACTIVITY

  1. National terrestrial television broadcaster
  2. National terrestrial radio broadcaster
  3. Regional terrestrial television broadcaster
  4. Regional terrestrial radio broadcaster
  5. Platform broadcaster conducting satellite broadcasting
  6. Platform broadcaster not conducting satellite broadcasting
  7. On-demand broadcasting service provider
  8. Basic platform operator
  9. Universal platform operator
  10. Multiplex operator

MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

  1. Military Equipment and Military Weapons Intended for Combat: Design, Production and testing, Installation, assembly and repair, provision of technical service, Storage, Disposal
  2. Military Ammunition: Design, Production and testing, Repair and provision of technical service, Storage, Disposal

List of Permits Issued for Entrepreneurial Activity in the Republic of Azerbaijan

The following permits are required for various entrepreneurial activities in Azerbaijan:

  1. Certificate on registration in the unified state register of potentially hazardous facilities
  2. Permit for the transportation of hazardous goods by vehicles, including transit through the country
  3. Consent for the production, import, export, and distribution of religious literature (on paper and electronic carriers), audio and video materials, goods (products), and other informational materials of religious content
  4. Consent for the establishment of specialized points of sale for the sale of religious literature and related materials
  5. Documents issued in accordance with international agreements in the field of maritime transport
  6. Certificate for providing ship agency services
  7. Certificate issued to training centers and physical/legal persons operating in maritime transport, confirming compliance with international conventions
  8. Documents issued in accordance with international agreements in the field of civil aviation
  9. Permit for export, re-export, import, re-import, and transit of goods (works, services, results of intellectual activity) subject to export control under the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Export Control"
  10. Permit for the circulation of items that can belong to certain participants in civil circulation and are allowed in circulation only with special permission (items with restricted civil circulation), under the relevant law
  11. Certificate on the application of a special economic regime for export-oriented oil and gas activities
  12. Registration of the list of equipment and materials (import list) to be imported to the Republic of Azerbaijan to receive benefits under export-oriented oil and gas activities
  13. Permit for special use of water bodies
  14. Opinion of the state environmental expertise
  15. Permit for emissions of harmful substances and physical impacts into the atmosphere
  16. Fishing license
  17. Permit for the establishment, enrichment, trade, and import/export of zoological collections
  18. Permit (certificate) for the international trade of endangered wild fauna and flora species (introduction from the sea, export, re-export, and import)
  19. Greenery removal certificate
  20. Issuance of "Mining Allocation" status for extraction of useful minerals or for construction and operation of underground structures not related to mineral extraction
  21. Issuance of geological allocation status for subsurface areas allocated for geological study
  22. Permit for research and experimental-design work involving ionizing radiation sources
  23. Permit for the design, production, placement, construction, operation, and decommissioning of facilities considered sources of ionizing radiation, storage points for radioactive substances, and radioactive waste repositories
  24. Permit for the design and production of technological equipment and radiation safety devices for facilities and repositories involving ionizing radiation
  25. Permit for activities related to the extraction, production, processing, transportation, and use of radioactive substances
  26. International veterinary certificate for exported animals, animal-origin products, and raw materials
  27. Certificate of registration for imported and locally produced veterinary drugs, and documents certifying compliance with veterinary standards during transport and sale (veterinary certificate, reference, expert opinion, or label on meat, carcasses, etc.)
  28. Certificate of state registration for pesticides, biological products, and agrochemicals
  29. Domestic quarantine certificate
  30. Phytosanitary (re-export phytosanitary) certificate for the export or re-export of plants and plant products
  31. Operating passport for bus terminals (stations)
  32. International freight and non-scheduled passenger transport permit for operators carrying out automobile transport between Azerbaijan and foreign countries
  33. Permit for domestic charter transportation
  34. Permit for passenger transport by taxi cars
  35. Permit for taxi order operator activity
  36. Permit for movement of oversized and heavy vehicles on public roads
  37. Contract on regular intra-city (intra-district), intercity (inter-district), and international passenger transportation by automobile transport
  38. Agreement on allocation and use of numbering resources
  39. Decision on allocation of radio frequencies
  40. Permit slip for the use of radio-electronic means as defined by the relevant executive authority
  41. Calibration certificate on the results of transferring measurement units from the state standard
  42. Certificate of type approval for standard samples or measuring instruments
  43. Accreditation certificate confirming the authority to carry out conformity assessment activities and granting the right to use the accreditation mark
  44. Certificate on the coordination of conformity assessment activities by foreign conformity assessment bodies in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  45. Certificate of ship passing or being exempt from sanitary inspection
  46. Import health act for imported food and feed products and materials/products in contact with food, and export health certificate for exported food and feed products
  47. Certificate of state registration for medicinal products
  48. Permit for import of medicinal products into the Republic of Azerbaijan
  49. Permit for import and export of psychotropic substances listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Convention "On Psychotropic Substances"
  50. Decision on granting authorized economic operator status
  51. Permit for establishment of duty-free shops
  52. Permit for electricity generation exceeding 500 kilowatts in hydroelectric power plants and those producing electricity and heat from biogas or other fuel sources, and over 150 kilowatts in other cases
  53. Permit for transmission of electric energy
  54. Permit for distribution of electric energy
  55. Permit for import and export of electric energy
  56. Commissioning act for electric installations above 200 kilowatts
  57. Permit for gas production and natural gas processing
  58. Permit for gas transportation
  59. Permit for gas distribution
  60. Permit for the development, construction, and operation of underground gas storages
  61. Permit for operation of industrial gas installations
  62. Permit for exploration of oil and gas fields
  63. Permit for development and extraction from oil and gas fields
  64. Permit for processing of oil and oil products
  65. Permit for pipeline transportation of oil and oil products
  66. Work permit for foreigners and stateless persons engaged in paid labor activities in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  67. Decision on the accreditation of a legal entity for the purpose of conducting sports betting
  68. Certificate of registration of a special economic zone
  69. State hallmark for jewelry and other household items made from precious metals
  70. Extract from the Food Safety Register on the registration or approval of a food chain entity (subject), as well as the registration of facilities producing or processing materials and products in contact with food
  71. Extract from the Register of business entities engaged in the import and production of tobacco products
  72. Certificate of registration of a resident of an industrial park, industrial zone, or agropark
  73. Certificate of registration of a technology park
  74. Certificate of registration of a technological business incubator
  75. Supporting document for the import of equipment, technological devices and installations, raw materials and materials by residents, managing organizations, and operators of industrial and technology parks, and physical persons conducting entrepreneurial activities in liberated territories who are exempt from VAT and customs duties under designated economic activities and product nomenclatures
  76. Investment promotion document
  77. Document confirming that a person has the special knowledge required to engage in a specific field of entrepreneurial activity (e.g., certificate of a private forensic expert, document confirming qualification exam results for obtaining auditor title)
  78. Permit for placement of outdoor advertisements
  79. Certificate confirming the country of origin of a product
  80. Protection certificate for the export of cultural property
  81. Protection certificate for the temporary export of cultural property included in the State List of National Cultural Property of the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with exhibitions, tours, restoration works, presentations, and international cultural events
  82. Contract with legal and physical persons wishing to engage in entrepreneurial activity in the protection zone of roads, excluding public roads
  83. Construction permit
  84. Operation permit for a construction site
  85. Control mark for copies of audiovisual works, phonograms, computer programs, databases, and books
  86. Permit for designation of mobile (seasonal) trade and service points

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