The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade has issued a one-year license for SandBox in the relevant working group’s council, making it the third license issued for specialized SandBoxes. Previously, the Central Bank and the Stock Exchange had initiated their specialized SandBoxes.
As reported by IDEA News, the SandBox license from the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade was issued within the Integrated Examination Environments Management Working Group. This one-year license, if properly and accurately executed, will be renewed.
A SandBox, or test environment, is a controlled space where new businesses can operate under specific conditions for limited periods and with a restricted number of users.
In this session, the executive guidelines for launching the examination environment (SandBox) were shared by the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, with a focus on e-commerce. The executive guidelines of the Higher Governance Council, the supreme decision-making body for temporary period licenses, have been recognized, stating: The Higher Governance Council is the decision-making body for issuing temporary period licenses, overseeing and managing the operational activities of the examination environment.
Additionally, concerning the submitted proposals for the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade’s SandBox, it has been mentioned: The applicant’s proposal must be related to the relevant specialized field, and the subject of the demand must involve new innovation that current legal regulations and requirements do not sufficiently address. The applicant’s activity should contribute to economic value addition and not have a similar economic activity present within the examination environment.
Furthermore, the Deputy Minister of Commerce and Services, the Head of the Center, the Executive Director of the Examination Environment, and the representative of the Integrated Working Group were introduced. Decisions regarding the issuance, rejection, extension, or revocation of temporary period licenses, reviewing the updated policies, standards, procedures, and necessary guidelines for the examination environment, presented by the Secretariat, and forwarding them to the relevant authorities for approval are among the duties of the Higher Governance Council.
The components of the Examination Environment’s Higher Governance Council, the specialized committee, and the Secretariat were introduced. The specialized committee includes the Executive Director of the Examination Environment (the committee’s head), a representative of the Integrated Working Group, a representative of the Ministry of Information, a representative of Faraja, a representative of the Attorney General’s Office, a representative of the National Virtual Businesses Union, a representative of the National Computer Guild Organization, four natural members chosen from experts, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and opinion leaders recommended by the Council’s secretary and based on the subject for the introduction sessions, are recognized as the specialized committee members.
According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade’s Examination Environment, legal entities can be present in the SandBox. Accordingly, a legal entity whose proposal is accepted for this SandBox should not only have employed innovative technologies but also be ready to operate in an environment with regulatory challenges and legal loopholes.
Continuing the regulations, it is also mentioned: The specialized committee meetings, with the presence of 6 out of the 11 officially recognized members, make decisions by relative majority. Specialized meetings are held at least once a month, depending on the volume of requests.
A Solution for Implementing Innovative Technologies
Continuing the session, the representative of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade defended the SandBox initiative and stated: In the field of e-commerce, we face numerous issues and ambiguities. Even the term ‘e-commerce’ itself is now subject to ambiguity in its contemporary definition. The Electronic Commerce Law is a regulation from years ago, and now we are facing new innovative technologies that require new laws for their implementation. SandBox provides a great opportunity to offer businesses a trial-and-error environment. In general, if the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade lays the foundation for the SandBox field, it can create an opening in this path, as the ministry’s scope of activities is extensive and its authority can address some of the problems businesses face.
Abdollahi, the CEO of the National Informatics Corporation, supported the representative’s statements and said: The ultimate goal of SandBox is to create an environment for businesses to confront legal challenges in their operations. Through this, both businesses and the legislative authority can identify challenges and work together to find legal solutions.
Abdollahi emphasized that without the involvement of the highest levels of authority within the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, no initiative will be successful. Currently, in the SandBox steering council, the central bank’s IT deputy, legal deputy, and supervisory deputy are present, meaning out of five board members, three are present in our meetings. However, in reality, for an initiative to exit the SandBox, it won’t happen until coordination among all sections and the highest-ranking official in the organization is achieved.
SandBox Is Not Meant to Legislate
A representative from the Center for Trade Development also explained: SandBox is not meant to legislate but rather to lead to legislative reforms. Essentially, SandBox seeks to offer a newly emerging business the opportunity to assess its potential within a limited period and for the regulatory body to observe whether this business has transformative and impactful potential to follow a legal path. Projects should be evaluated within the SandBox that bring economic value to the country and focus on products rather than just ideas. The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade definitely needs SandBox because SandBox’s work is not just about issuing permits; regulatory adjustments within it should be made securely. We should avoid introducing quasi-governmental businesses into this field; our attention should be directed toward independent and private sectors.
The representative of the Examination Environment Secretariat also addressed the issue of regulatory overlap in the SandBox context: It’s natural that some businesses within the Examination Environment may face regulatory overlaps, as businesses have diversified. Therefore, it’s better to address their issues within the steering council rather than segmenting businesses into the SandBox. It’s possible that some issues are related to two or three regulators, and here is where interaction among regulators can provide solutions to such challenges.
Formation of SandBox in the ICT Field Not Agreed Upon
Furthermore, during the session discussing SandBoxes, the Ministry of Communications also presented its own proposal for issuing a SandBox; however, the steering council did not accept it for now. They stated: This matter requires further consideration, and due to conflicts in other operational sections, it is currently not approved. Consequently, the overall formation of the SandBox in the ICT field has not been agreed upon.
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