Following the law aimed at combatting the financing of terrorism, additional requirements were introduced in regulations that increase CSOs’ reporting obligations. As of 17 July 2024, several changes were made to the process of grant registration and the reporting obligations for CSOs.
Changes to the rules for submitting annual financial reports present an additional administrative burden for CSOs and include:
- Additional forms to be submitted alongside the financial report to the Ministry of Justice by April 1 each year.
- In case of failure to submit the report within the specified period, CSOs face a fine. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance will issue a warning instructing the CSO to submit the documents within 30 days.
This is as per the decision Cabinet of Ministers No. 343 dated July 17, 2024, introducing changes to the Regulation “On the Form, Content, and Presentation of the Annual Financial Report of a Non-Governmental Organisation".
Changes were also introduced to the rules on registering grant contracts, delaying CSO operations:
- The process of grant approval has been extended to 15 working days instead of 15 calendar days, with further extensions possible in case additional investigation is deemed necessary.
- The period of the registration of the grants will now start from the next working day after receiving an approving opinion, as opposed to starting from the day of the approval.
These changes were introduced by the "Regulation of Registration of Grant Agreements (Decisions)" by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 343 dated July 17, 2024.
In itself, the obligation to register grants and have them approved by the authorities represents a serious problem in CSOs’ access to funding. This issue has been further analysed in the Azerbaijan Country Report.