Issues of exchange trading, consumer protection and technical regulation were discussed at the meeting

Issues of exchange trading, consumer protection and technical regulation were discussed at the meeting

On May 18, a regular meeting of the Public Council on Trade and Integration under the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held under the chairmanship of Ruslan Shaekin.

During the meeting, the issue of excluding non-standardized goods from exchange trading was discussed. The president of the Institute «Bastama» Temirlan Zhakipbekov made a speech at the meeting, and also heard different opinions of representatives of NCE «Atameken», Association of legal entities «Union of Machine Builders of Kazakhstan», ALE «Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises», ALE «Exchange Association of Kazakhstan», ALE «Association of Commodity Exchanges and Electronic trading platforms», JSC «Estau» Commodity Exchange».

«The changes that were adopted at the end of 2021 in the legislation on the regulation of exchange activities did not have the expected effect. In this regard, reforms in state policy and a comprehensive study of a large number of issues with the mandatory participation of regulators and bidders are required, - First Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliyev stressed. – In addition, in accordance with the instructions of the Presidential Administration, appropriate amendments will be made to the legislation in the field of commodity exchanges, including the exclusion of non-standardized goods from exchange trading.

Also, Arman Shakkaliyev spoke about the formation of the Coordinating Exchange Committee, which will be a working discussion platform in the direction of exchange trading, where it will be possible to consider the designated issues.

Issues of practical application of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Consumer Rights Protection» were also discussed during the meeting. Chairman of the Aktobe Regional Center for Consumer Protection Arslan Karkhanov voiced the problem of the presence of expired goods in stores and the lack of information stands for consumers in retail outlets, where in case of violation of their rights they will be able to contact the territorial departments of consumer protection or to the subjects of pre-trial settlement of consumer disputes.

«The Committee for Consumer Protection, together with public associations for consumer protection, will work with retail outlets to eliminate the existing facts regarding the failure to fulfill the obligations of sellers in accordance with the Law on Consumer Protection and the application of state control measures. As for the availability of expired products on sale, this is the prerogative of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee, - said Bulat Tanabergenov, Deputy Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee.

The Director of Technical Regulation of the Association of Kazakhstan Automobile Business, Yerbol Seipilov, spoke on the issue of preventing the illegal import of Chinese cargo vehicles into Kazakhstan that do not meet environmental standards. Thus, a member of the Public Council proposed to amend the Business Code regarding inspections of technically complex goods with a visit to a business facility and the resumption of joint control at the border.

«Regarding the proposal for the Business Code, we support the introduction of amendments, moreover, we support the removal of part of the technical regulation, since there really is a problem of checking technical goods at the business object without a visit – Chairman of the Technical Regulation Committee of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kuanysh Yelikbayev said.

Kuanysh Yelikbayev also commented on the issue of resuming control at the border, noting that this method of combating "gray imports" is the most effective, since when checking such facts, it is possible to identify the entire chain, including laboratories that give a certificate, intermediaries and firms that organize such business.

Following the meeting, Dmitry Savelenko, Executive Director of the «Kazakhstan Association of Participants in the System of Technical Regulation and Metrology», was elected to the Presidium of the Public Council by a majority of votes.