At the plenary sitting on 28 May, the Estonian Parliament – Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Building Code and Other Acts to accelerate the processes of the deployment of renewable energy. In addition, the parliament adopted the Act on Amendments to the Customs Act which will simplify customs control of postal items.

The Act on Amendments to the Building Code and Other Acts (acceleration of the deployment of renewable energy) (308 SE), initiated by the Government, establishes the superficies licence for offshore wind farm as a new type of licence for offshore wind farms. While so far electricity producers have had to apply separately for a superficies licence, an environmental permit for special use of water, and a building permit, the amendment consolidates the requirements for these permit-granting procedures into one.

Application for a superficies licence for offshore wind farm will be more extensive than each separate process but at the same time it will be quicker because on the whole there will be less submission of documents and performance of various acts. Obtaining a superficies licence will give the right to start the construction of an offshore wind farm, and the special use of water needed for that. In the future, a single administrative act will be issued which will also reduce the number of court actions.

The amendment also simplifies the renewal of wind turbines and solar farms and establishes a state fee for proceedings for new applications for a superficies licence, and a state fee for proceedings for those who wish to transfer to integrated permit proceedings. In addition, a directive is transposed into Estonian law to enhance the development of the trans-European transport network.

During the debate, Rain Epler from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group took the floor. Jaak Aab took the floor on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.

55 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 18 were against it.

The Riigikogu also passed the Act on Amendments to the Customs Act (350 SE), initiated by the Government. It will simplify customs control of postal items both for customs authorities and for postal service providers and enhance the prevention of sending prohibited and restricted goods to Estonia.

The amendment specifies the procedure for preparing the minutes for the examination of postal items. It is provided that no minutes for the examination of a postal item will be prepared where the postal item is examined in the presence of the postal service provider and no circumstances indicating a violation are discovered in the course of the examination. Under the procedure that was in force up until now, a report must always be prepared regarding every examination of a postal item. In the case of examination, a postal item is opened and closed by an accountable employee of the postal service provider in the presence of a customs official, and a report is prepared regarding every opening of a postal item under the Postal Act regardless of whether a breach is identified or not. After the amendment of the Customs Act, the obligation to prepare a report will be maintained for customs only in the case a breach of law is identified.

As a result of the amendment, time will be saved both for customs authorities and for postal service providers and it will be possible to direct this resource to enhance supervision so that as few as possible prohibited goods, such as tobacco products, psychotropic substances and falsified medicinal products, would reach Estonia. As customs controls will be carried out more quickly the person placing the order will receive the goods faster.

77 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 7 were against it.

A Bill passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (416 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It stipulates that, from the beginning of 2025, the tax allowance of people who reach old-age pension age will be 9,312 euro per year, or 776 euro per month. The aim of the amendment is to increase tax revenue and to simplify the calculation of tax allowance.

Although, under the Bill, the tax allowance for old-age pensioners will no longer rise in line with the average old-age pension, according to the explanatory memorandum, it will still remain higher than the general tax allowance which will be 700 euro per month next year. In the future, the tax allowance for people of pension age can be raised in the same way as the general tax allowance, by a separate decision.
The amendment will particularly affect pensioners whose pension is equal to or higher than the average pension in Estonia. As of 1 April this year, around 149,400 people, or 48 per cent of all pensioners, receive at least an average pension.

During the debate, Andrei Korobeinik and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group, Rain Epler, Martin Helme and Helle-Moonika Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Urmas Reinsalu, Aivar Kokk and Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and the Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 25 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion, 52 members were against and there was one abstention. Thus, the motion to suspend was rejected.

The deliberation of three drafts was deferred

The deliberation of three drafts was deferred from the agenda for today’s sitting of the Riigikogu due to the end of the working hours. The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Land Tax Act (437 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Child Protection Act and Other Acts (427 SE) and the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Supporting the adoption of nuclear energy in Estonia” (431 OE) will be deferred.

Source: Riigikogu