ONE-STOP SHOP FOR GOVERNMENT

The Electronic Azerbaijan project, designed to integrate the country into the global information society, was launched about six years ago. A large portion of the work to create a complete information system of state governance (e-government) has already been completed. A single electronic portal for the provision of electronic services to the public using the "one-stop shop" principle will be developed by the end of the year. 

Information and services 

The past few years have been very productive in terms of the preparation of the legislative, technical and institutional framework of the Electronic Azerbaijan project which establishes electronic government and creates a legal environment for the public and social institutions to receive and use a variety of information. E-government is a way of providing the public, business and other branches of power with information and assistance. Personal contact between the state and the applicant is minimized and information technology is used to the maximum extent. The ultimate goal of the electronic government being created in Azerbaijan is to facilitate public access to control over public bodies, reduce red tape that hampers business and public organizations and provide greater anti-corruption transparency in the work of state agencies.

The priority objective in the first stage of the electronic government project has been the creation of information resources by central and local government authorities. The next stage envisages the transfer of experience to other government agencies and a substantial improvement of employee skills in information technology. The objective of a more distant future is to integrate the country's public administration system into the global electronic information space. The work done on the Electronic Azerbaijan project over the last few years has not gone unnoticed at the international level. According to a UN analytical review on the development of electronic government in 192 countries published late last year, Azerbaijan was ranked one of the first in the CIS, also leaving behind a number of developing countries.

Today, all ministries and state enterprises of the country have websites, while a number of agencies already have online advice services. The Ministry of Finance, State Customs Committee, Ministry of Justice, State Procurement Agency and other agencies form internal mechanisms of electronic document flow, while the Ministry of Taxes already receives and processes tax returns in electronic format.

In fact, the Ministry of Taxes has been the undisputed leader in the emerging e-government system for many years. In early 2010 the ministry introduced the "one-stop shop" system for the state registration of legal entities engaged in commercial activities. The capacity of the automated tax information system (AVIS) was expanded last year: interactive services "Online management", "Electronic tax invoices" and the option of electronic data transmission into cash registers were introduced in order to exercise control over the printing of cheques without interfering in the work process. The creation of the e-audit system started early this year, while as of 1 July the information capabilities of AVIS were supplemented by the online registration of taxpayers on the basis of the "one-stop shop" principle.

Seven-year road 

Seven years ago, Azerbaijan passed laws "On electronic signatures and electronic documents" and "On electronic commerce", but the conditions for the implementation of these laws were put in place only this year. In particular, the major components of the Electronic Azerbaijan project have been the National Public Key Infrastructure and the National Certification Centre, which were created in May this year. The latter will issue certificates to two centres at the next level: public and private companies and organizations. The creation of this system enables every citizen of Azerbaijan to obtain an electronic signature and has great importance not only for the creation of e-government, but also the development of e-commerce and e-banking.

As part of the technical assistance program, the National E-Governance Initiative, a unified electronic data transmission network, AzDataCom, has been created. Network components covering Baku and Sumqayit were put into operation in January last year. AzDataCom covers 28 telephone exchanges in the capital, which enables connection to the network anywhere in the city at 10 gigabits per second. The administrative centres of almost two dozen districts in the country are connected to AzDataCom, and this high-speed network will be able to cover the entire peripheral and central systems of governance in the next few years.

The first phase of the Electronic Azerbaijan program was mainly of an exploratory nature and was generally focused on creating the technical base and network infrastructure, as well as the formation of local information content in state agencies. The next stage envisages direct deployment of e-government across the country and coverage of all government agencies. In this regard, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), which oversees the e-government project, developed a draft action plan late last year. Preparation of this document is envisaged under the State Program on ICT Development for 2009-2012, which provides for complete realization of the sector's potential to become a leading sphere of the national economy (on a par with the oil and gas sector). 

In creating its most important component, the electronic government system, the focus was on processing integration matters, ensuring information exchange, developing uniform standards and guidelines for the transition to mass e-services. Work was also carried out to ensure the security of major infrastructure hubs and information portals of government agencies, the regulatory and legal framework was supplemented and the level of knowledge of ICT specialists improved.

Final stage 

Work on the deployment of a fully-fledged e-government system in the country is drawing to a close. The decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "On measures in the field of provision of electronic services by public bodies", issued in May this year, is intended to increase the number of agencies involved in the e-government project. The document aims to expand the use of electronic services designed to enhance efficiency, simplify and make transparent the relationship between society and the state, while reducing the potential room for corruption. According to the decree, the websites of all government agencies will soon have a section on electronic services. A list of e-services and of the documents required, sample applications and forms and other electronic details will be posted. On sending electronic copies of documents and an application to a website, a citizen is to receive an automatic notification via e-mail confirming the start of the processing of their application. Original documents may be requested only if government agencies cannot obtain the necessary information from their own electronic database.

Today, this automated document control system integrates the databases on "Entry-exit and registration", "State register of the population of Azerbaijan", a single migration information system, the search engine of registered physical bodies, the register of addresses, the portals of the State Student Admission Commission, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Taxes, the State Customs Committee, as well as other updated information resources.

In the future this list will also cover all other departments and public organizations that provide services to entrepreneurs or are engaged in social protection and employment, education, science, health care, law enforcement, culture, tourism, youth, sport, transport, etc.

To ensure that state duties and other statutory payments are made for electronic services, a special website, rusum.az, has been established. It contains information about all types of fees and their amount. In addition, several state agencies have introduced a remote payment system through the Internet.

In this way, the core of a unified system of e-government, a combined electronic portal for the provision of all the electronic services on the basis of the "one-stop shop" principle, will be created in Azerbaijan by the end of this year. Through this central portal every citizen will be able to access the electronic department of any government agency. This approach makes it simpler to find the necessary information or services.