To open a business, an entrepreneur must first obtain a license that will give him the right to engage in one or another type of activity. In addition, legislation obliges enterprises to certify manufactured products for export or domestic market. Licensing and certification are two related but different terms. They should be clearly delineated among themselves.
What is the main difference?
Both certification and licensing are important tools to protect consumer rights and interests. The main difference between these two concepts is the following: a license is a permit to engage in a specific type of activity (transportation, construction work, manufacture of confectionery products and other areas), and a certificate is a document that confirms the quality, compliance of goods or services with established provisions and requirements.
About Licensing
Any agreements concluded with an enterprise that does not have a license to carry out a certain type of activity are considered invalid. For the provision of services or the production of goods without appropriate permission, the enterprise must be liquidated by a judicial decision. The law also provides for other penalties in the form of a fine, arrest for up to six months or compulsory work for an entrepreneur.
The Federal Law “On the licensing of activities” defines the areas in which the implementation of legal entrepreneurial activity is possible only with the appropriate permission. Obtaining a document is mandatory if this type of activity can harm the rights, interests, health of citizens, security of the state. Such activities are regulated using the licensing method.
To apply for a license, you must familiarize yourself with the content of the law and the guidelines of the regional licensing center. If the activity of the newly opened enterprise is included in the indicated list, which are subject to the passage of this legal procedure, the entrepreneur must prepare the necessary documents and declare his desire to obtain a license. The data on the permitting document are entered into the register within 45 days after the filing of the application. Depending on the type of activity, this period may be reduced.
A valid license will be considered over the next five years. The state body that issued the permit has the right to revoke it on the basis of the revealed violations.
What is a license for?
Licensing is a kind of facet of interaction between state bodies and private firms, which provides competent and painless regulation of certain economic processes.
Certification and licensing are different concepts, but in both cases a legal procedure is required, the passage of which is necessary to obtain permission from authorities. The law establishes a specific list of services subject to licensing. We are talking about the above-mentioned legal act - No. 99- “On licensing of certain types of activities”, which defines the basic provisions related to this issue. A list of areas requiring permission is provided in the appendix to this document.
In the case of entrepreneurial activity without first obtaining a license, the violator may be held administratively liable. Licensing and certification matters should not be taken lightly.
Terms to Know
There is a conceptual apparatus, which should be examined in more detail for a clear understanding of the features of licensing and certification. You should start with the authorities that make decisions on the issuance or refusal to issue a license. These structures have the right to verify the activities of a particular company or private entrepreneur for compliance with the letter of the law.
Licensing and issuance of licenses is carried out by sectoral federal executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. For example, permission to retail or wholesale alcohol products can be obtained by contacting the Federal Service for the Regulation of the Alcohol Market, and a license for passenger transportation can be obtained from Rostransnadzor. To engage in the manufacture of medicines, a licensing application will have to be addressed directly to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation gives the right to provide private security and detective services.
License seekers are companies registered as legal entities or private entrepreneurs who apply for a license to sell or manufacture goods, provide services. After issuing a permit, applicants are transferred to the category of licensees. Data on licensees is contained in the register of licenses - this is an electronic database in which all information on the issuance of documents giving the right to carry out specific activities is summarized.
Optional and voluntary licensing
Legal regulation of licensing, certification and accreditation procedures is carried out by public authorities. Particular attention is paid to such areas as information, education, gambling, medicine, construction, explosive products, pharmacology, etc. Moreover, there are areas that are not subject to licensing under certain conditions. A striking example is the individual self-regulatory construction organizations. The need for a license will depend on the profile and type of work performed.
Not all activities are subject to mandatory certification. An object can be any direction of activity subject to the conclusion of an agreement between the patent holder and the author. The essence of the agreement is to formally grant rights to introduce products or technologies for their manufacture. In this case, obtaining permission from the author is not mandatory, but the procedure allows you to determine the mutual benefit of both parties to the contract. For the opportunity to use the patented product of intellectual work, the author should receive a fixed fee. Thus, voluntary licensing is an act of interaction between two parties to an agreement that does not require registration with government agencies.
What do you need to get a license?
In order to draw up an authorization document, the applicant must send or submit an application to the appropriate state agency dealing with licensing issues. It must include the following information:
- name of the enterprise, its legal form;
- legal address and location of production facilities;
- state registration number of legal entity or individual entrepreneur in the Unified State Register;
- information about the founders, including full name, place of residence, passport details, tax identification number;
- type of activity subject to licensing.
The foundation application must be accompanied by the constituent documents (originals are provided, and notarized copies are given together with the application), a state duty receipt and an old copy if the license has already been issued. In some cases, the list of documents may be expanded, depending on the type of activity. Typically, a license is issued for up to five years.
Consulting services
Certification and licensing of consulting activities is one of the ways to protect clients from incompetence and illiteracy of officials. The need for legalization is caused by the desire to obtain high-quality consulting services. Turning to the consultant, the client must be sure that he trusts the consultant who has a document confirming competence and the right to provide information support.
At the same time, licensing of this type of activity is not mandatory if it is not about working with property certificates, privatization of housing, audit and examination of real estate. Obtaining permission to provide consulting services is a prerequisite for institutions that are going to carry out educational activities with the subsequent issuance of documents on education.
Experts believe that the presence of a license in the provision of consulting services is a definite plus for an entrepreneur. Allegedly, the receipt of this document is an indirect sign of consulting as an independent profession and can reduce the percentage of incompetent consultants. However, not everyone sees only the positive aspects of licensing consulting services. According to experts, the issuance of licenses does not solve the problem of low quality services. You can apply for a permit at any regional expert center for certification and licensing, that is, you can get a notorious document through intermediaries, and not directly with government bodies.
What is certification?
Unlike licensing, certification involves passing a legal procedure to confirm the quality of products or services. Certification pursues the following objectives:
- create conditions for the activities of legal entities and private entrepreneurs in the market of goods and services;
- participate in international trade, find partners in the economic and scientific-technical sphere;
- to assist consumers in the honest selection of quality products;
- protect consumers from unscrupulous manufacturers;
- control the environmental friendliness of products, their safety for the life, health and property of customers.
Just like licenses, certificates are mandatory and voluntary. According to the current regulatory legal acts, the subject of mandatory certification is products that are included in the special government list. Conveyor production of such goods is possible only if there is a document confirming their compliance with technical requirements - a certificate. This list includes everything that can affect the health, safety and life of the consumer:
- Food;
- clothes and shoes;
- items of last use;
- hygiene products;
- electrical appliances;
- Products for children;
- medical equipment;
- Passenger Transportation.
Licensing and certification in road transport are the most common licensing procedures, because freight and passenger transport are considered the most dangerous type of activity. It is impossible to avoid certification to enterprises engaged in the production of explosive products, metrological equipment, etc.
Products subject to certification must have the same quality characteristics as specified in GOST. This procedure is carried out in the Russian Federation on the basis of the Decree of the State Standard of the Russian Federation “On the adoption and enforcement of the Certification Rules”. This normative act also provides for the possibility of voluntary certification, which implies the release of goods by an enterprise without certificates, but with an appropriate quality mark. You can obtain a compliance document on a voluntary basis at the regional branch of the State Center for Standardization and Metrology.
Certificate ISO 9001: 2015
There are many references to this document, but few people know what it means and with respect to which types of products it applies. ISO 9001: 2015 certificate is a standard of the international quality system. Its presence means that the product or service fully complies with international requirements and has additional advantages over domestic counterparts. Certification ISO 9001: 2015 enhances the competitiveness of the company, gives some privileges in lending, various competitions and state tenders.
This type of certification is also applied in the construction industry within the framework of the law “On Technical Regulation”. Such a document is issued to partners of a self-regulatory company and gives the right to prepare design documentation, construction and overhaul, reconstruction of a building, and engineering work. Certification ISO 9001: 2015 is often resorted to as an alternative licensing method, confirming the professionalism, quality and safety of services.
Licenses and certificates as instruments of state control
It is important to understand that government bodies are called upon to monitor compliance with all provisions relating to the production of goods and the provision of services. Checks of various lines of business are inevitable; it makes no sense to circumvent the law. At the same time, the controlling mechanism should not be confused with the consent of the copyright holder to use the products. This distinguishes the license agreement from the state license, which can only be issued by public authorities.
Based on the above information, the following conclusion suggests itself: to control entrepreneurial activity by checking business entities for compliance with certain indicators is a very effective way to maintain favorable conditions in the domestic market of goods and services. The initiative for issuing certificates and licenses usually comes from the state. And although the percentage of voluntary permits is low, the current system successfully protects the rights and interests of consumers.