DUSHANBE, July 4, 2009, Asia-Plus — European Commission (EC) was the key source of support for the realization of the “One Stop Shop” (OSS) service for business registration in Tajikistan, which was launched in Dushanbe on July 1. A major EC Project has been supporting the Tax Committee to get to the current point where businesses can now register in one visit to one location, with big savings in time and cost.
According to the Delegation of the European Commission in Tajikistan, one of the main forms of this support has been the provision of much of the equipment that will be used to ensure that the One Stop Shop can operate on an electronic basis across Tajikistan. EC provided Euros 150,000 to obtain servers, data router, and equipment that will allow the central data base (housing a Single State Registry for business tax payers) to achieve connection with the One Stop Shop offices across the country. There could be over 60 such offices in operation soon.
Further EC assistance includes the deployment of a significant team of international and local experts to work with the Tax Committee to help plan and implement the OSS system, and to design electronic solutions. This Project is helping Tajikistan to quickly move towards achieving best international standards in the implementation of its new business registration system.
Project was one of several significant initiatives supported by the European Commission to help Tajikistan tackle its economic challenges. One Stop Shop will help Tajikistan to improve its international position as a place for doing business, which should be reflected in World Bank rankings, while helping also new and more positive relationships between the Government and business to emerge.
The European Commission will continue to support the One Stop Shop program, to make sure that what has been achieved so far is well-established, and to help ensure also the sustainability of the system into the future.
The new EU Strategy for Central Asia aims to strengthen ties between the European Union and its Central Asian partners. It has doubled European Commission assistance to the region to €750 million for 2007-2013. Tajikistan gets the main share of bilateral assistance (€66 million for 2007-2010) in support to sector programs, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Projects aimed at enhancing living standards continue. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The total value of EC assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over €500 million.
