On amendments to presidential decrees concerning the implementation of administrative procedures

Administrative procedures in Belarus have been adjusted to account for practical application experience and changes in legislative acts. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed the corresponding Decree No. 5 “On Amendments to Presidential Decrees Concerning the Implementation of Administrative Procedures”, on 9 January.

The document is aimed at reducing the administrative burden on citizens and optimizing and simplifying a significant number of procedures. The amendments have been introduced in a comprehensive manner, taking into account proposals from the public and a wide range of interested government bodies and organizations.

To make things easier for citizens, the government is cutting the paperwork required for more than 100 administrative procedures. One key change is wider use of the ERIP system for verifying payments. Instead of citizens submitting documents, state bodies will independently request much of the necessary information. Outdated steps are being scrapped entirely. For instance, parents will no longer have to obtain certificates proving their child’s eligibility for a state-funded recreational trip. That data will now be automatically pulled from the unified database of the National Center for Health Improvement and Sanatorium-Resort Treatment.

Processing times for some administrative tasks will also be faster. For instance, getting a finalized inspection report for a paused construction project will now take 20 days instead of a full month.

On another front, new rules are being added to help citizens secure their rights. A key example is a new step requiring permission from child welfare authorities before selling a home that belongs to a child in state care.

Additional documents are being mandated for some procedures to better protect citizens legally. One example is for registered real estate transactions that create joint property rights for spouses.