War on bureaucracy. This afternoon the Council of Ministers gave the green light to the second decree of the year, the one on administrative simplifications. The Monti government thus provides a second prop to the so-called "phase two" of its action, which should restart Italy's growth. After the controversial last week's provision on liberalisations, this time the Executive should make everyone agree, clearing the jungle with machetes that weighs down the existence of companies and citizens. There are 333 laws canceled with a clean slate. The oldest dates back to 1947.
But in addition to bureaucratic cleaning, the text developed by Filippo Patroni Griffi, Minister of Public Administration, also introduces a series of relevant innovations. Over all online certificates: "The exchange of data between administrations electronically - explained the minister - will make it possible to have some important civil status documents in real time, from changes of residence to transcripts of civil status documents, such as marriages and births" .
There will be a need for "a table with the Anci, which we have already started, to define the procedural aspects - said Patroni Griffi again in the press conference at the end of the CDM - but over seven million communications will soon be transmitted exclusively by telematics”.
Meanwhile, the wait for the next week's decree on tax simplification. According to the latest rumors, it should contain at least three significant innovations: the doubling (up to 30 euros) of the threshold below which the tax authorities will not collect evaded taxes, because the costs would be greater than the benefits; the possibility of being included in public tenders and contracts for companies which - despite having debts with the tax authorities - have agreed on a repayment plan by installments and are up-to-date with payments; the elimination of some obligations for taxpayers, such as the indication of the tax domicile (the registered residence for natural persons and the registered office for companies will be considered).
Now let's see what are the other main provisions of the measure passed today:
PUBLIC COMPETITIONS, EQUALATION OF EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS. Except for some cases governed by EU rules - such as the degree in medicine - public competitions will no longer assign different scores depending on the type of degree or the grade obtained. The tests of the competition will therefore become much more important. The legal value of educational qualifications, in any case, is not officially abolished.
“A very long-standing problem for Italy is that of the legal value of a degree – said the premier, Mario Monti, in the press conference at the end of the CDM -. The writing "Vanity of the qualification" by Luigi Einaudi dates back to 1947. We have faced the problem with a spirit free from ideological orientations”. The goal was “to overcome the formalism and symbolism of legal value. The problem has turned out to be more difficult than we thought and we have therefore decided not to address it in this decree: we will open a public consultation on this issue and then we will draw conclusions once we have received the various contributions".
UNIQUE CERTIFICATION FOR COMPANIES.
1. Single authorization in environmental matters for small and medium-sized enterprises. To "simplify procedures and reduce burdens for SMEs", the Government is authorized - within six months of the entry into force of the decree - to issue a regulation "aimed at regulating the single environmental authorization and simplifying administrative small and medium-sized enterprises". The single authorization will replace "every act of communication, notification and authorization required by current environmental legislation" and will be "issued by a single subject". The procedure will not involve additional costs for the companies.
2. Single declaration of conformity of heating systems. With a decree of the Ministers of the Environment and Economic Development “the single declaration of conformity model is approved” which must be kept “at the interested party's headquarters and exhibited, at the request of the administration, for the relative checks. The obligation to communicate for the purpose of issuing the certificate of usability by the municipality or in the event of connection to a new supply of gas, electricity or water remains unaffected”.
NATIONAL DATABASE OF PUBLIC CONTRACTS. The "National database of public contracts" will be established within the Authority for the supervision of public contracts for works, services and supplies. The aim is to "promote the reduction of administrative burdens deriving from information obligations and ensure the effectiveness, transparency and real-time control of the administrative action for the allocation of public expenditure in works, services and supplies". From 1 January 2013, the database will contain all the documentation proving possession of the general, technical-organisational and economic-financial requirements in public contracts for works, services and supplies".
It is estimated that "companies will be able to save 140 million a year", said Filippo Patroni Griffi, Minister of Public Administration, in the press conference at the end of the CDM. The database will also serve to “simplify the burden on companies for participating in tenders. Today, if a company participates in 20 tenders, it must present the same documentation 20 times. But with the electronic file in the database, which the company will be responsible for keeping up-to-date, this will no longer be necessary”.
AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES. Easier contributions and reliefs for agricultural entrepreneurs, who will no longer have to present the documentation that the public administration already possesses. "In order to simplify and speed up the administrative procedures for the disbursement to those entitled to aid or contributions provided for by the European Union legislation in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy - reads the draft of the decree -, the Agency for the disbursements in agriculture (Agea), for the acquisition of the necessary information, uses without charges, according to the standard protocols envisaged in the public connectivity system, also the computer databases of the Revenue Agency, INPS and the Chambers of Commerce, Industry , crafts and agriculture”.
EXPERIMENTATION: ZERO BUREAUCRACY. New experimental paths of extreme administrative simplification may be activated by Regions, Chambers of Commerce and Municipalities. These will be pilot projects in "limited territorial areas".
THE RETURN OF THE SOCIAL CARD. It will be financed with 50 million euros, but it will be a simple experiment, which will only affect municipalities with more than 250 inhabitants.
RECRUITMENTS: BONUS EXTENSION FOR THE SOUTH AND SIMPLIFICATIONS FOR NON-EU. Extended by one year (until 2013) the tax credit for companies in Southern Italy that hire permanent workers. There are also simpler procedures for hiring non-EU workers.
INPS, ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. From next May only electronic instruments will be allowed for payments to INPS.
DISPOSAL: FASTER CHECKS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE. To speed up the disposal of state real estate assets, within 60 days of the entry into force of the decree, the ministers of cultural heritage and the economy will define "the technical operating methods, including IT ones, suitable for speeding up the procedures for verifying the cultural interest” of the goods to be sold. Furthermore, the sale of public agricultural land will not be "one-off", but annually.
COMMISSIONER FOR LONG ADMINISTRATIVE TIMES. The establishment of a new figure of commissioner to whom one can turn should the administration times prove too long is envisaged.
MUNICIPAL ONE-STOP COUNTERS. The activation of "databases which can be consulted through the sites of the municipal one-stop shops" is envisaged, through "agreements between Anci, Unioncamere, Regions and the national enterprise portal in one day", so that it is possible "to know at the same time the charges, the prescriptions and advantages for each intervention, initiative and activity in the area”.
TOURIST DESK. The Department for the development and competitiveness of tourism, together with the provincial Chambers of Commerce, promotes the establishment of decentralized tourist desks. Their operation will be “assisted by a centralized database accessible via the telematic network of the chambers of commerce. The decentralized branches must be self-financing and their management can be entrusted to cooperatives”.
IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, THEY ARE RENEWED AFTER THE BIRTHDAY. When an identity document expires, you will have time to renew it until your birthday. The rule only applies to documents issued after the entry into force of the decree.
PREGNANCY, EARLY ABSTENTION FROM WORK. To protect the most problematic pregnancies, the procedure to allow for abstention from work earlier than normal maternity leave will be lightened.
BLUE STAMP NO LONGER EVERY YEAR. It will be mandatory to check the exhaust emissions of the vehicle only with the inspection, no longer every year.
TIR, THE DAYS OF CIRCULATION INCREASE. The rule that forbade trucks to circulate in the days before and after holidays has disappeared.
UNIVERSITY: TELEMATICS REVOLUTION. University enrollment procedures will be "carried out exclusively electronically". The Ministry of Education will develop "a single portal, at least in Italian and English, such as to allow enrollment in all universities and the retrieval of all useful data for students to make their choice". From the 2012-2013 academic year, "the recording and recording of the results of the exams, profit and degree, taken by university students" will take place "exclusively by computer".
SCHOOL BUILDING. To guarantee the rationalization of the school real estate assets, "also in order to achieve a structural reduction of current operating expenses", the Cipe, on the proposal of the Minister of Education and in concert with the Minister of Infrastructure, will approve "a National Plan of school building". The objective is to carry out "modernization and recovery interventions of the existing school assets, also for the purposes of making the buildings safe, and the construction and completion of new school buildings, to be carried out with a view to rationalizing and containing current expenses functioning" while "in compliance with energy efficiency criteria".
FRESH BREAD ALSO ON SUNDAY. The Sunday closing obligation for bakers has been cancelled.
DIGITAL AGENDA, OFF TO THE DIRECTOR'S CABIN. The government aims to develop a digital agenda for "the modernization of relations between public administration, citizens and businesses, through coordinated actions aimed at promoting the development of supply and demand for innovative digital services, at enhancing the offer of broadband connectivity , to encourage citizens and businesses to use digital services and to promote the growth of industrial capacities capable of supporting the development of innovative products and services". For this reason "a control room has been established for the implementation of the Italian digital agenda, without new or greater burdens on public finance, coordinating public interventions aimed at the same purpose by regions, autonomous provinces and local bodies" .
UNIQUE PORTAL FOR STUDENTS. The Minister of Education, Francesco Profumo has announced the birth of a Frsingle portal for the educational offer, which will be “in two languages and will allow students, including international ones, to have an overview of the offers of individual universities, degree courses, services and scholarships, also in the language. This places us at the level of the major European countries”.
For the government's full statement, click here.
