Digital Croatia might seem a bit like a pipe dream for many, but could it be a closer possibility than we might think? Croatia has some plans to help out its entrepreneurs.
As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, at the initial time of this report, these were still the unofficial estimates of the Croatian Ministry of the Economy, which Minister Darko Horvat was set to turn into concrete measures and present at a government session.
Abolishing, or at best reducing some of the administrative procedures which continue to needlessly hinder domestic entrepreneurs should result in 626 million kuna’s worth of relief for the Croatian economy.
This so-called government “rescue package” was first rather unexpectedly unveiled as part of a New Year congratulations post on Facebook, of all places. The measures proposed are designed primarily to “attack” a total of 314 different (and mentally draining) administrative processes which entrepreneurs, both would-be and established, need to go through, these often include an incredible amount of red tape, needing to pay for things nobody quite understands several times, waiting in lines for hours, or having to deliver a variety of paper reports to various institutions.
In essence, the desire behind the rescue package ties in with the deeply desired digital Croatia as well as with the wish to keep Croatia’s brimming talent within the country’s borders by reducing the truly unfathomable amount of bureaucracy that faces everyone in Croatia who simply desires to create something of their own, from start ups to companies and businesses.
Among Minister Darko Horvat’s list of remedies regarding the process of the registration of a company in the court registry are savings of about 173 million kuna in this field alone. Entrepreneurs should also see the scope of their need to report to the tax administration reduced, too. When speaking about his action plan, the Minister of Economy says that it was all based on good inter-ordination coordination and a high degree of consensus between the lines.
“Certain processes have been defined within the nine ministries successively, and as amendments to the laws or regulations, they’ll come into effect in 2019. I expect that the vast majority of these 314 implementation measures will be implemented during the first half of 2019,” he said. The major relief for Croatia’s entrepreneurs will largely be owing to the digital Croatia aim, more specifically the digitisation of various administrative processes.
The first concrete moves of a digital Croatia should enable business start-up through the simple filling in of a single electronic form, which is a far cry from the current situation. Minister Horvat explained that this “action” will also include the banking sector, in order to ensure that entrepreneurs can manage to open a bank account in just a day or two to make their payment transactions easier. Such a system implies the use of digital Croatia once again, involving e-signatures, e-trademarks and other electronic services.
Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for more on digital Croatia, Croatian entrepreners, Croatian companies, products and services, as well as the general business and investment climate. Follow our politics pages to keep up with any measures being proposed or introducted in order to relieve the country’s typically burdened entrepreners and businesspeople by the Croatian Government.
Click here for the original article by Marija Brnic for Poslovni Dnevnik
