REDUCTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL BURDEN ON CITIZENS AND COMPANIES

The Bulgarian Industrial Association welcomes and fully supports the government’s efforts to reduce the administrative and financial burden of public services for citizens and companies. The government is demonstrating determination to undertake swift and concrete action aimed at curbing bureaucratic pressure by introducing electronic public services, cutting back the time and cost of their administration.

At the same time, we are unpleasantly surprised that the actions of the legislative authority with regard to administrative pressure are in the opposite direction to the decisions and actions of the government. The National Assembly adopted at first reading amendments to the Administrative Procedure Code (APC), leading to a drastic increase in court fees, which impedes access to justice and limits the possibilities for judicial protection against unlawful acts and actions of the administration. The bill came to a plenary without a public discussion, although it affects basic constitutional rights, such as the right to access to justice and the administration's responsibility for unlawful acts and actions.

The cassation appeal fee and the revocation of the enforced decisions for the citizens has been increased 18 times (from 5 to 90 BGN), for non-governmental organizations - 90 times (from 5 to 450 BGN), and for companies - 9 times (from 50 to 450 BGN). The preliminary impact assessment does not cover the consequences for businesses and citizens, which expect protection of their rights and interests. For example, in the field of public procurement and high-interest concessions, there is a multiplication of court fees, and therefore a reduction in judicial control and an increase in risk of corruption.

The various actions of the legislature and the executive power undermine public confidence in the institutions and statehood. Therefore, we insist that the bill for amendments to the APC be withdrawn from the importers and be subject to public discussion.