In the General Directorate of Customs of Baku there was a meeting with businessmen on 29 July. According to the press service of the State Customs Committee (SCC), its leitmotif was a call for the refusal of imports and the establishment of local production of goods.
The meeting was held behind closed doors and therefore, it is unclear who and what business sectors were represented in it. Currently there are no comments of the meeting by the entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee Shahin Bagirov said that the cooperation of entrepreneurs with government bodies has a positive impact on solving the problems, according to the press release from the State Customs Committee.
The head of the General Directorate Vusal Novruzov spoke not as an official, but as an economist. "In order to reduce dependence on the oil sector, we require the development of local production. In view of the formation of some industries at the expense of imported raw materials and components, we are ready to cooperate with the business within the law. Our goal is to contribute to the growth of export potential through local production," he said.
It is noteworthy that the customs in Azerbaijan is one of the most corrupt spheres of government regulation. Despite improvements in legislation and application of the latest ICTs, corruption in the customs authorities is not eradicated. For example, recently one of the entrepreneurs said that he imported a certain amount of building glass from Russia. However, for several months he cannot have his commodity declared and get it from the railway. He is demanded a bribe in a large scale. The businessman suffers great losses because of this, and his repeated appeals to government agencies, including President Ilham Aliyev, are not considered.
Businessmen say that every imported product has its own mafia, import is monopolized and it is impossible to supply goods without the permission of the monopolist. ----08D
Economics
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