Government-by-Government Assessments: Azerbaijan
During the review period, budget documents were publicly available, including online. They provided a substantially complete picture of the government’s revenues. While budget documents did not fully disaggregate allocations to or earnings from state-owned enterprises, more detailed information was available through other public documents. Audited financial statements for major state-owned enterprises were publicly available online. Information in budget documents was generally reliable. Information on debt obligations, including state-owned enterprise debt, was publicly available and updated within a reasonable period. The supreme audit institution met international standards of independence and audited the government’s annual executed budget, and its reports were publicly available within a reasonable period. The government partially specified in law or regulation the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licenses. It is unclear if it followed those procedures in practice. Basic information on such awards was made publicly available after contracts were awarded. The sovereign wealth fund had a sound legal framework and disclosed its source of funding and general approach to withdrawals.
Azerbaijan’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:
- Specifying fully in law or regulation the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts; and
- Following applicable natural resource extraction laws and regulations in practice.
Original source can be found here.
