May 4, 2020 – Beware the Croatian inspector – a new series courtesy of Glas Poduzetnika (Voice of Entrepreneurs), highlighting a Croatian business reality that helps kill growth, profit, and entrepreneurship. Company On The Stand.
I have seen them operating all over the country over the last 18 years, the most feared visitors to Croatia’s cafes, restaurants, and other businesses – the Croatian inspector.
As with many corrupt countries, the role of the inspector should be to make sure that the rules are being adhered to in the particular area they specialize in – sanitary, fiscal, etc – but in reality, the prime motivation is to find ways to fill the State coffers and their own. Allegedly.
I heard SO many stories of inspections where perfectly run businesses end up paying thousands in fines, some of it justified, much of it grossly unfair. And there is an old truism here:
If the Croatian inspector comes to visit, he will find something, even if there is nothing there.
It is a subject that I have wanted to cover for years, but I never had quite the right material. Until now.
Huge thanks to those very proactive chaps at Glas Poduzetnika, who are really becoming a force for change to be reckoned with. A really great initiative. In one of their latest moves, they have been collecting some of their members’ experiences with the Croatian inspector, to highlight the issue and the realities of doing business in Beautiful Croatia.
Story #9: Company On The Stand
Around fifty times a year, I do fieldwork, selling the goods from a stand that should be set up every morning. Tables, benches, and products go under the tent, and then I pack up everything at the end of the day. On one occasion I came to a smaller village, and as soon as I set up my tent, an inspector came asking me about the company. I hadn’t put out the company name yet as I literally had just finished with the tent construction, where I hang the goods—in other words, the company name hasn’t been put up as I still didn’t have where to put it. At 7.30 am, in a village where considering the small number of inhabitants, the sale does not start before 9—9.30 am. Fine 4,000 kn. It was ten years ago, I wasn’t fined in the meantime because I really try my best to make sure everything is according to the rules, but for fear that something like this happens again, my life got 10 years shorter.
Beware the Croatian Inspector is a new daily series (yes, there really is that much material) which you can follow here.
If you have a Croatian inspector story you would like to share with the Glas Poduzetnika team (in English or Croatian), you can do so via [email protected] Subject TCN inspector.
You can follow the 55,000+ others on the Glas Poduzetnika Facebook page.
