MINSK, 13 March (BelTA) – A digital system for issuing veterinary import permits will go online in Belarus by the end of the year, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Alexander Subbotin on 13 March before the session of the working group on stimulating business activity, eliminating excessive requirements for commercial entities, and improving oversight and auditing practices in agriculture and the processing of agricultural products.
Alexander Subbotin reminded that a new revision of the law on veterinary work was passed in October 2016. The document took care of several procedures. In particular, a number of them were converted into digital format. “This year we are finishing the development of the digital system for granting veterinary permits for merchandise import,” explained the Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister.
The digital system will allow reducing the time required to get a permit from 15 days to several minutes. Computers will decide whether the region of origin is safe or not. Computers will take into account all the factors and will grant the permit or not. “In addition to reducing the time costs we will eliminate the human factor,” said the Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister. “Last year alone the Veterinary and Food Oversight Department processed over 2,000 permits while only two people are responsible for the work. Errors might happen with this amount of work.”
Speaking about the agenda of the session of the working group on 13 March, Alexander Subbotin said they had gathered to compare notes. “We would like to discuss what new things have emerged, to detect rough spots in order to present a unified stance during the final government conference,” said the official.
The official said that the working group had not detected many problems contrary to initial expectations. “I think it's because the operation of sanitary and veterinary services is aimed primarily at ensuring the safety of people and animals. In the end it is impossible to annul a number of legal acts. Some norms must stay in place to prevent the spread of diseases. These norms may even have to be toughened,” explained the Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister. Alexander Subbotin stated that there are reserves for reducing the number of administrative procedures.
Alexander Subbotin said he believes that veterinary and sanitary rules should complement each other instead of containing similar norms in order to ensure the most effective prevention and fight against diseases. “We would like to suggest the advisability of creating a centralized digital system that will take into account lab test results. We, the sanitary service, and the State Standardization Committee recognize each other's tests as valid but we cannot always find results of these tests fast. To avoid testing the same batch of goods or examining enterprises several times, there are plans to set up a centralized database that could be used not only by government agencies but by the private sector, too,” summed up the Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister.
