The National Committee on Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) held its first meeting on December 22, 2003 at the the premises of the State Oil Fund.
Members of the Committee exchanged views as regards industries that should be covered by the Committee activities, classification of the existing taxes and other payments to the Government by national and foreign companies operating in the extractive sector, and division of responsibilities within the Committee. It was agreed to hold discussions on a format of reporting to be suggested to the reporting entities at the next meeting of the Committee in January 2004.
The National Committee on EITI was established by the November 13, 2003 Ordinance of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan following the instruction of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The Committee, chaired by the Executive Director of the State Oil Fund, includes Azerbaijan Ambassador to the United Kingdom and representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, economic development, fuel and energy, finance, tax, ecology and natural resources, statistics and the state oil company. It is charged with the task of collecting data from state agencies, state companies and other state controlled entities concerning the revenues they receive both from foreign and national companies in connection with the extractive industries development, and preparing regular reports on extractive sector revenue. A national report is to be publicly available and compiled in accordance with the guidelines that were agreed among EITI participants.
The Republic of Azerbaijan announced that is was joining EITI on June 17, 2003 at the International Conference on EITI in London.