The next meeting of the Agrarian Policy Committee of the Milli Majlis was held on April 6, Azernews reports.

The chairman of the committee, Tahir Rzayev, said that 3 issues were included in the agenda.

Pointing out that all 3 draft laws were submitted to the Milli Majlis as a legislative initiative by President Ilham Aliyev, the chairman of the committee said that "On tobacco and tobacco products", "On food safety" and "On the Tax Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the Customs Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan", and "On Amendments to the Laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan" on "Licences and Permits" were presented to the committee for discussion in the first reading.

Giving detailed information about the proposed changes, Tahir Rzayev emphasised that the changes are part of purposeful reforms in relevant fields, as well as ensuring the protection of the population's health, compliance with sanitary and hygiene norms, protection of the interests of business entities, regulation of production and circulation, tax evasion cases and other - will create a foundation for the prevention of illegal production, the formation of a competitive investment environment in the existing field, the increase of the export potential of manufactured products, and the creation of prospects for the use of local raw materials.

It was noted that the amendment providing for the addition of the extract from the register of business entities engaged in the import and production of tobacco products to the "List of business permits" will create conditions for the implementation of more efficient and effective activities in this field.

Then, the deputy head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, Samira Musayeva, gave detailed information on all 3 issues.

In order to increase the competitiveness of the local production of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, expand their export, and organize transparent economic activity related to the import and production of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On strengthening state control in the field of import and production of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages" brought to attention the issues arising from the order dated February 7 2023.

It was noted that the proposed changes include the implementation of the permit system for the production and import of tobacco products, the improvement of the permit system for the import and production of alcoholic beverages, the determination of requirements for the use of local raw materials in the production of tobacco products within the country, as well as the protection of the interests of business entities, regulation of production and turnover, prevention of tax evasion, illegal production, as well as solving a number of other issues.

During the discussions, the deputy chairman of the committee Sabir Hajiyev, and members Novruzali Aslanov, Javanshir Pashazade, Aydin Huseynov, Igbal Mammadov, Emin Hajiyev, Mushfiq Jafarov expressed their views on the issues on the agenda and emphasised the importance of the submitted draft laws.

Samira Musayeva, deputy head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, Azer Suleymanov, head of the General Department of Excise and Marked Goods Circulation Control of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, and Elshad Jabrayilov, head of the Legal, Personnel and Enforcement Department of the Food Safety Agency, clarified a number of comments and suggestions made by the deputies. they brought

The draft laws brought up for discussion were recommended to the plenary session of the Milli Majlis for consideration in the first reading.