Approved amendments and supplements to the Seed and Planting Material Act

The Government approved a draft Act amending and supplementing the Seed and Propagating Material Act, which amends 11 existing acts, and adopted a Decree amending and supplementing the Regulation for the Implementation of the Ownership and Use of Agricultural Land Act. The requirement is abolished for producers of seed and propagating material, in addition to being registered as farmers, to also register with the Executive Agency for Variety Testing, Field Inspection and Seed Control.

The approved amendments aim to reduce the administrative burden on citizens and businesses by eliminating 4 and simplifying more than 30 registration and licensing regimes. 

The amendments to the regulatory framework include:

- maintaining public electronic registers on the websites of the respective administrations;

- approving templates of documents and enabling the submission of applications electronically in accordance with the requirements of the Electronic Governance Act;

- abolishing the requirement to present proof of payment of a fee when the payment has been made electronically;

- removing the requirement to present official certifying documents on paper, to which the administration has access ex officio.

It is envisaged that within 2 months of the entry into force of the Act, the heads of the respective administrations shall approve the templates of documents and publish them.

Procedures for changing the land use of areas under the Forestry Act and the Protection of Agricultural Land Act are being simplified. It is envisaged that in cases where the investment intention cannot be implemented due to prohibitions imposed by a regulatory or administrative act, the decision to change the use of agricultural land shall be revoked at the request of the owner or the investor of the site, and the fee paid shall be reimbursed.