MPs have unanimously passed, at first reading, changes to the law that bans chemical weapons and controls toxic chemicals and their precursors. The changes set out what documents companies must hand in to get a certificate letting them produce, process or use chemical substances.

The law is meant to meet the requirements of the act that limits red tape and state checks on business. Until now, the list of documents needed for these certificates sat in a secondary rule, not in the law itself. The new text puts them straight into the law.

The bill's explanatory notes say the change won't load any new paperwork or costs onto business. It creates no new licences and no new fees.

The certificates are issued by the Interagency Commission for Export Control and Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which sits under the economy minister. They run for three years. When a certificate expires, the company must apply again for another three-year term. The commission has 30 days to issue a certificate once it gets an application.

Companies applying for a certificate will submit their papers in a way still to be set out in rules from the economy minister. The chemicals covered can be made, processed or used for peaceful ends — but they could also go toward developing, making, stockpiling or using chemical weapons. That's why a public register has been set up. It lists each registered company's name, its unique ID number, the certificate's number and date, how long it runs, and the date the registration ends, if that happens.

If an applicant's papers are incomplete, the commission tells them in writing and gives them a deadline to fill the gaps. If the gaps aren't fixed in time, the process is closed. If the commission turns down an application, the company can appeal under the Administrative Procedure Code.

The law requires registered companies to tell the commission within 14 days of any change to the details held in the register.