Azerbaijan invited to implement NCTS, adopt trusted partner status

Azerbaijan is proposed to draft new legislation on e-commerce, introduce the trusted partner status for bona fide market participants, implement the NCTS transit system, and align its excise taxation with international practices, Report informs.

These initiatives were presented by Marius Bordalba, Senior Expert on International Trade and World Trade Organization (WTO) issues, at the EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum in Baku.

According to him, the European Union-funded project to support the Government of Azerbaijan in the areas of trade, WTO accession negotiations, quality infrastructure development, and digitalization launched in January 2026 and will run until December 2027.

The project covers three main directions: the development and implementation of trade policy, the development of quality infrastructure, and digital transformation. The second direction includes standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation, metrology, and market surveillance.

Currently, the project experts are assisting the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan in assessing the regulatory and legal framework of e-commerce, identifying existing gaps, and determining the need to draft new legislation.

Representatives of online marketplaces, e-commerce companies, banks, payment and fintech companies, courier and logistics operators, as well as consumer protection organizations, have been involved in this work.

"For the successful implementation of our activities, the participation and active involvement of the private sector are extremely important. To make a diagnosis, we need to understand the real situation," Bordalba emphasized.

In the field of quality infrastructure, the project envisions the development of a unified national concept, as well as strategies in standardization, accreditation, and metrology up to 2036. The modernization of the market surveillance system and the introduction of new national standards are also planned.

Bordalba also reported that the project is providing support to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan in its work to join the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure.