Tokayev Proposes Three-Year Moratorium On Small Business Inspections From 2027

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28. Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed that lawmakers and the government discuss the possibility of introducing a new three-year moratorium on inspections of micro and small businesses starting January 1, 2027.

He made the statement in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan, according to the presidential press service.

"The state remains an important customer in our economy. Therefore, we need to improve approaches to involving small and medium-sized businesses in procurement by government agencies and quasi-public companies," Tokayev said.

He suggested reserving part of procurement volumes for small and medium-sized enterprises and easing supplier requirements, stressing the importance of stable rules for businesses.

Tokayev noted that although state oversight was relatively liberal, businesses continued to face pressure through fines, unscheduled inspections and desk-based monitoring that could result in account freezes.

"Such an impact can hardly be described as positive," he said.

According to Tokayev, the number of violations by individual entrepreneurs fell by 34% in the first half of the year. However, the total amount of fines increased by nearly 11%, while the number of unscheduled inspections rose dozens of times.

He said the experience of the moratorium on inspections of micro and small businesses in 2020-2023 had proved effective.

"I propose that the deputies of the Kurultai, together with the government, discuss the feasibility of introducing another three-year moratorium from January 1, 2027, taking into account all the positive and negative aspects of the previous moratorium," Tokayev said.

He described the proposed measure as a strategic pause to overhaul the inspection and supervision system and transition to a digital regulatory model.

MENAFN28102026000187011040ID1111877364