Against the background of the discussion of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the news about the amendment of the law on the Accounts Chamber passed unnoticed in Kyrgyzstan.

Meanwhile, this is a significant event designed to reduce pressure on business from government agencies.

On June 17, 2020, anofficial information was published on the website of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic that the head of state signed the Law on Amendments to the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On the Accounts Chamber of the Kyrgyz Republic".

The law specifies the functions, powers, rights and obligations of the Accounts Chamber. In addition, certain norms of the legislative acts of the Kyrgyz Republic have been brought into line with the new codes adopted as part of the judicial and legal reform.

“This is a very important innovation in the legislation that we have been waiting for a long time, since inspections of the Accounts Chamber have become not uncommon in recent years. They were carried out both at the request of law enforcement agencies, and in the form of counter-checks after the control of government agencies,” said Executive Director of the International Business Council Askar Sydykov expressing the opinion of the business community.

“Business already has to overcome numerous bureaucratic barriers, so any exemption from inspections will benefit it, especially for such a laborious and time-consuming process as an audit,” he added.

“The Accounts Chamber will no longer conduct inspections of private businesses at the request of law enforcement agencies. Both the state and business will benefit from this decision,” said Gulnara Uskenbaeva, President of the Association of Suppliers (Manufacturers and Distributors). "The Accounts Chamber will be able to focus on its main tasks — checking the correctness of spending budget funds, and the heads of private companies — on their main tasks, supporting the life of companies in the current difficult conditions of the coronavirus pandemic."

This issue was raised by the business community at a meeting of the Business Development and Investment Council under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic last year.

“I am glad that the leadership of the Accounts Chamber was able to understand business problems and accept the arguments of the entrepreneurs, and the country's leadership quickly responded to the request of business,” Uskenbaeva said.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic also welcomed the news of the changes in the functions of the Accounts Chamber. The CCI expresses the interests of a large number of small and medium-sized businesses in Kyrgyzstan.

“In current difficult time for the country, the removal of additional barriers and inspections is undoubtedly a significant support for the business environment,” said Amangeldy Davletaliev, CCI Senior Vice President. The organization expressed gratitude to the Investment Council for its assistance and support of business initiatives.

The main activity of the Accounts Chamber should be limited to control over the spending of the country's budgetary funds, and this is in the interests of business.

“The only thing that is important for the state is tax and social contributions from the private sector. The President unambiguously made the right decision, thereby reducing unnecessary overlapping functions of the inspection bodies,” said Jodar Omoshov, Chairman of the JIA Business Association.

Unscheduled control activities will now be carried out only on behalf of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Parliament, and requests from the Government. At the same time, requests from the heads of law enforcement agencies on the initiated criminal cases were excluded from the grounds for such activity.