This draft was developed to implement the law "On Production and Consumption Waste," adopted on August 15, 2023. The main task of the document is to adapt national legislation to international standards in the field of safe transportation and disposal of hazardous waste.
The explanatory note states that there are no enterprises in Kyrgyzstan capable of safely disposing of hazardous waste. At the same time, there are cases of importing waste with questionable classification and attempts to transit without notifying the relevant authorities.
The Ministry regularly receives requests for the export of hazardous waste abroad. For instance, in 2024, the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic sent defective fuel "Samin" to Germany for disposal, and the company "Issyk-Kul International" initiated a question about transporting used lead-acid batteries to Iran through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The proposed procedure establishes rules regulating the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste in accordance with the requirements of the Basel Convention. It will apply to all organizations engaged in the transportation of waste that poses a threat to human health and the environment.
Regulations on the Procedure for State Regulation of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste in the Kyrgyz Republic
Draft
Chapter 1. General Provisions
1. This Procedure establishes the rules for the transboundary movement of hazardous waste in the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure).
2. This Procedure applies to all organizations engaged in the export, import, and transit of waste recognized as hazardous according to the Basel Convention and the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Chapter 2. Key Concepts
3. The following key terms are used in this Procedure:
importing state of hazardous waste - the country to which hazardous waste is being transported or planned to be transported for use;
transit state of hazardous waste - any country that is neither the exporting nor importing state, through which hazardous waste is transported;
exporting state of hazardous waste - the country from which hazardous waste is being transported or planned to be transported;
interested state - the exporting, importing, or transit state, regardless of whether they are parties to the Basel Convention.
waste disposal - the process of isolating waste in special repositories, preventing the entry of pollutants into the environment and excluding their further use;
importer of hazardous waste - a legal or natural person, including an individual entrepreneur, under the jurisdiction of the importing state, engaged in the import of hazardous waste;
competent authority - a state body authorized to issue expert opinions on the export, import, and transit of hazardous waste, as well as notifications of transboundary transportation of hazardous waste to interested states.
licensor - a state body authorized to issue licenses for the export and import of hazardous waste.
waste management - any actions related to the collection, transportation, processing, disposal, neutralization, and placement of waste;
hazardous waste - waste containing hazardous substances that may pose a threat to health or the environment;
consumption waste - materials that have lost their consumer qualities due to physical or moral wear, including solid household waste;
production waste - residues of materials and raw materials generated in the production process that have lost their consumer properties;
hazardous waste passport - a document confirming the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of waste of classes I-IV of hazard;
carrier of hazardous waste - a legal or natural person engaged in the transportation of hazardous waste;
waste recycling - an environmentally safe process of converting waste into secondary raw materials or energy;
producer of waste - a legal or natural person whose activities lead to the generation of waste;
waste placement - any operation for the storage and disposal of waste;
technological regulation - a document defining the procedure for operations on the processing/disposal of waste;
transboundary movement of hazardous waste - the transportation of hazardous waste from the territory to (through) the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic;
waste transportation - services for the movement of waste both within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic and beyond;
notification of transboundary movement of waste - a document prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Basel Convention;
waste disposal - the use of waste for the production of goods, performance of works, or provision of services with reuse;
exporter of hazardous waste - a legal or natural person under the jurisdiction of the exporting state that organizes the export of hazardous waste.
Other terms used in this Regulation are applied in accordance with international treaties to which the Kyrgyz Republic is a party, as well as national legislation.
Chapter 3. General Requirements
4. In order to comply with environmental standards during the transboundary transportation of hazardous waste, the following is prohibited:
the import and/or export of hazardous waste by individuals for personal use;
the import and transit of waste specified in Appendix 1 to this Regulation;
the import of waste for their disposal or neutralization on the territory of Kyrgyzstan;
the export of hazardous waste specified in Appendices 1 and 2 to this Regulation:
- to a country that prohibits the import of such waste;
- to a country that cannot guarantee environmentally safe use or disposal of waste;
- to a country that is not a party to the Basel Convention, except in cases where such a country is a party to a bilateral, multilateral, or regional agreement on transboundary waste transportation.
5. The export of hazardous waste specified in Appendices 1 and 2, as well as the import and transit of hazardous waste specified in Appendix 2 to this Regulation, is carried out in accordance with this Regulation.
6. The export and import of hazardous waste to/from the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as to/from third countries, is carried out with a license for the export and/or import of hazardous waste included in the Unified List of Goods subject to non-tariff regulation measures to/from the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, based on a positive expert opinion from the competent authority on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste.
7. The transit of hazardous waste through the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic is possible with a positive response from the competent authority of Kyrgyzstan to the notification of transboundary waste movements, in accordance with Appendix 4 to this Regulation.
8. The import of waste into the Kyrgyz Republic is allowed only for the purpose of recycling.
Chapter 4. Procedure for Issuing an Expert Opinion on Transboundary Transportation of Hazardous Waste
9. An expert opinion on the transboundary transportation of hazardous waste is issued by the competent authority in the established manner.
10. An expert opinion is issued for one batch of waste or for one year if the transboundary transportation of waste is carried out in batches requiring crossing the customs border of the Kyrgyz Republic several times, with the written consent of the interested states, provided that the following conditions are met:
the waste has the same physical and chemical properties and is supplied regularly under the same contract to the same organization responsible for the use or disposal of the waste;
customs clearance of the waste is carried out at the same customs authority, and the movement of waste is carried out through the same customs checkpoints at the border of the Kyrgyz Republic, as determined by the customs authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic;
customs clearance of the waste in the case of transit through the territory of the interested state is carried out at the same customs checkpoints at the border of the transit state(s) upon entry and exit;
the interested states provide the competent authority with permits for repeated import, export, and transit of waste to/from their territories.
11. The expert opinion is issued upon the submission by the applicant or their representative, having written confirmation of the relevant authority, to the competent authority of the following documents:
a statement requesting the issuance of an expert opinion on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, indicating the name of the waste according to the Classifier of Hazardous Waste of the Kyrgyz Republic, its quantity, the code of the Unified Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity of the Eurasian Economic Union, and a list of interested states participating in the transboundary movement of waste, indicating the transportation route;
a copy of the founding documents and a copy of the state registration certificate of the applicant as a legal entity or a copy of the state registration certificate of the citizen as an individual entrepreneur;
a copy of the contract between the exporter and the producer or the importer and the consumer of hazardous waste (if the applicant acts as an intermediary);
a copy of the contract for the transportation of hazardous waste;
a copy of the contract between the exporter (importer) and the person responsible for the disposal of hazardous waste, indicating the environmentally safe use of these hazardous wastes;
notification of the transboundary movement of waste (in 3 copies), prepared in the state or official language and in a language acceptable to the importing/exporting/transiting state in accordance with Appendix 4.
A document on the transportation of hazardous waste (in 3 copies), prepared in accordance with Appendix 5;
Information on the availability of technical (technological) capabilities for the use of hazardous waste (an extract from the technological regulation confirming the possibility of using hazardous waste as raw materials, or another document confirming the possibility of involving them in use without generating other hazardous waste or their residues) (in the case of importing hazardous waste);
a copy of the document confirming insurance, collateral, or other guarantees during the transboundary transportation of hazardous waste.
12. Documents in a foreign language are submitted by the exporter or importer with certified translations in the established manner attached in the state or official language. Each page of the submitted copies of documents must be certified with the signature and seal of the applicant, or the copies of documents must be stitched and certified with the signature and seal of the applicant.
The application and documents (information) may be submitted in the form of an electronic document in the manner provided for by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic. The submission of documents (information) in the form of scanned documents certified by the electronic digital signature of the applicant is allowed if provided for by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The issuance of an expert opinion may be refused for the following reasons:
the failure to submit the documents provided for in paragraph 1 of this Regulation;
the presence of incomplete or inaccurate information in the documents submitted by the applicant to obtain the opinion;
other grounds provided for by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Basel Convention.
15. Upon submission of the specified documents, the competent authority sends a notification of the transboundary transportation of hazardous waste to the competent authority of the importing state (in paper and/or electronic form) and to the competent authorities of the transit states within 7 working days, along with copies of the documents in an acceptable language of the importing and/or transit states.
16. The competent authority of the Kyrgyz Republic, after receiving consent for the movement of hazardous waste from the importing and transit states, issues an opinion on the transboundary transportation of waste within 7 working days and provides it to the applicant.
Chapter 5. Procedure for Issuing a License for the Export and/or Import of Hazardous Waste Included in the Unified List of Goods Subject to Non-Tariff Regulation Measures to/from the Customs Territory of the Eurasian Economic Union
17. A license for the export and/or import of hazardous waste included in the Unified List of Goods subject to non-tariff regulation measures to/from the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter referred to as the License) is issued by the licensor in accordance with the legislation on the licensing and permitting system in the Kyrgyz Republic.
18. The license for the export and/or import of hazardous waste to/from the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union is valid throughout the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as beyond its borders based on international treaties, and is a temporary, single-use license.
19. The validity period of a single-use license may not exceed 1 year from the date of its issuance. The validity period of the license may be limited by the duration of the foreign trade contract or another document that serves as the basis for its issuance.
20. To obtain a license, the applicant or their representative, having written confirmation of the relevant authority, must provide the following documents and information:
1) an application for the issuance of a license, prepared in accordance with the instructions for completion;
2) a copy of the foreign economic contract, annexes, and/or supplements to it (for a single-use license), and in the absence of a foreign economic contract, a copy of another document confirming the intentions of the parties;
3) a copy of the identity document - for a natural person;
4) a copy of the state registration certificate - for a legal entity and individual entrepreneur;
5) a copy of the document confirming the payment of the licensing fee for the consideration of the application and issuance of the license and/or permit;
6) a copy of the expert opinion on the transboundary transportation of hazardous waste issued by the competent authority of the Kyrgyz Republic;
21. The documents specified in paragraph 20 of this Regulation must be provided in the state or official languages, must be stitched and numbered.
22. Documents submitted by foreign entities must be legalized or apostilled by the competent authority of the state in which they were issued.
23. When applying for a license through information technology, the applicant fills out the application on the licensor's website and attaches scanned original documents in electronic format. In this case, the applicant receives confirmation of the acceptance of documents with the date and list of submitted documents.
24. The applicant may request the licensor to issue an electronic license and/or permit, indicating this in the application.
25. The issuance of a license or refusal to issue it is carried out by the licensor within 15 working days from the date of submission of documents.
The grounds for refusal to issue a license are:
1) the presence of incomplete or inaccurate information in the documents submitted by the applicant;
2) non-compliance with the requirements provided for in paragraphs 20 - 23 of this Regulation;
3) the termination or suspension of the validity of one or more documents serving as the basis for issuing the license;
4) violation of international obligations of member states as a result of the execution of the contract for which the license is requested;
5) other grounds provided for by national legislation.
26. The decision to refuse to issue a license must be reasoned and communicated to the applicant in writing or in the form of an electronic document.
27. The licensor issues the original license, which is provided to the applicant. The applicant must present the original license to the relevant customs authority before customs declaration of the goods, which, upon placing the license under control, issues a copy of it to the applicant with a mark of control.
28. If the licensor has issued the license in the form of an electronic document, the submission of the original license on paper to the customs authority is not required.
29. The procedure for interaction between the licensor and customs authorities for monitoring the execution of licenses issued in electronic form is determined by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Chapter 6. Licensing Requirements
30. When transporting waste across borders, the licensee must:
comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of waste management and transportation of hazardous goods;
have an expert opinion on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste;
provide reports on the implementation of import (export) operations;
ensure authorized officials of the licensor have unobstructed access to vehicles transporting hazardous waste, to hazardous waste, and related documents for licensing control;
transport hazardous waste in an environmentally safe manner.
31. The transportation of hazardous waste is allowed only using specialized vehicles that comply with the international system of labeling and classification of chemical substances.
32. The procedure for transporting hazardous waste by various modes of transport, as well as the requirements for loading and unloading operations and other necessary measures to ensure environmental safety, are determined by the legislation on the transportation of hazardous goods.
33. The transportation of production waste is allowed with the presence of a supporting document for the transboundary transportation of production waste in accordance with Appendix 5 of this Regulation.
34. From the moment of loading waste onto the vehicle and its acceptance by the organization or individual transporting hazardous waste, and until unloading at the designated location, the legal responsibility for safe handling lies with the transportation organization that owns the vehicle.
Chapter 7. Reporting on Compliance
35. The exporter or importer must notify the competent authority of the date of the start of transboundary movement of hazardous waste and their disposal, providing a document on the transportation of hazardous waste to the competent authority of the Kyrgyz Republic.
36. Licensees who have received single-use licenses must submit a report on compliance with the conditions of the license to the authorized authority within 15 calendar days after the expiration of the license.
37. The competent authority notifies the Secretariat of the Basel Convention about the transboundary movement of hazardous waste.
Chapter 8. State and Licensing Control
38. State control and supervision over the transboundary movement of hazardous waste is carried out by authorized state bodies in the field of customs, environmental, and sanitary-epidemiological control, as well as law enforcement agencies in the established manner.
39. State control over the transboundary movement of hazardous waste includes:
monitoring compliance by organizations with the requirements of this Regulation and the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic;
monitoring compliance by organizations with the requirements for ensuring environmental safety in the Kyrgyz Republic during the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, including international agreements;
collecting and analyzing information on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, as well as information about incidents and illegal movements.
40. Licensing control is carried out in accordance with the legislation on the licensing and permitting system in the Kyrgyz Republic.
41. The licensor has the right to decide to terminate or suspend the license in the following cases:
1) at the request of the licensee to terminate the license;
2) cessation of the licensee's activities;
3) liquidation of the legal entity;
4) recognition of the natural person as incapacitated or their death;
5) expiration of the license;
6) exclusion of a specific type of activity from the list of licensed activities;
7) completion of all actions for which the license and/or permit were issued;
8) entry into legal force of a court decision to annul the license;
9) conducting activities at an address that does not correspond to the address indicated in the license.
42. State customs authorities take measures to suspend or prohibit the movement of waste across the customs border of the Kyrgyz Republic and inform the competent authority.
43. The authorized state body in the field of customs control annually, by April 1, sends information on the transboundary movement of waste to the authorized body in the field of environmental protection.
44. The licensor's decision to terminate the license must be communicated to the licensee in writing no later than three working days.
45. The license is terminated from the moment the licensor makes a decision to terminate or annul the license.
Chapter 9. Responsibility for Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste
46. An organization that violates established rules and engages in illegal transboundary transportation of waste is liable in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic and the norms of the Basel Convention.
47. The importer (exporter) of hazardous waste and their authorized persons, who carry out the import of waste into the Kyrgyz Republic and/or their transit movement, are responsible for causing harm and must compensate for damages.
48. In the case of illegal transboundary transportation of waste, carried out through the fault of the exporter or producer, they are obliged to return the waste to the country of export at their own expense.
49. If the transboundary movement of waste, for which an expert opinion was issued, cannot be completed in accordance with the conditions of the processing, disposal, and transportation contract, the exporter is obliged to return the waste within 90 days from the moment of notification to the competent authority of the importing state.
