AKIPRESS.COM - International Business Council Executive Director Askar Sydykov stressed the need to create a separate independent body that will regulate the mining industry and faciliate adoption of balanced, expedient decisions in his contribution at the roundtable discussion on problems and prospects for the development of the mining industry in Kyrgyzstan, organized by the Union of Mining and Metallurgical Workers.

The status of the regulator of the mining industry, which provides about 20% of the country's budget, was lowered to a department under the Natural Resources Ministry. Moreover, the ministry combines contradictory areas – environmental protection, forestry, geology, mining, and several control and supervisory functions of the former state environmental and technical inspection.

The IBC Executive Director also raised the issue of monopolization of laboratory tests — inspections and tests of samples of ores and concentrates of precious metals. There are several such laboratories, including private companies with a worldwide reputation and standards of their activities. In the absence of competition, there are risks of decrease in the quality of tests of ores and concentrates, the speed of tests, increase in cost and corruption risks during tests.

The tax burden of subsoil users has increased significantly, the IBC Head added. Since 2020, the government has increased royalty rates, tax rates on revenues of gold mining enterprises exporting concentrates and ores of precious metals. Unprecedentedly, license retention fee rates were increased hundreds of times. Fortunately, from September 1, 2022, they are reduced, he said.