Bakery trade: No bureaucratic relief!

The new bureaucracy reduction law is disappointing the business community. The bakery trade is also sharply criticizing the bill. "This won't have any noticeable impact on a baker's everyday life."

This article is part of the special feature on bureaucratic madness in the skilled trades.

Much more could be done to reduce bureaucracy, and it is urgently needed, explains Michael Wippler , President of the Central Association of the German Bakery Trade . The planned simplification of the archiving of electronically stored tax documents is a positive step . This will relieve the burden on companies and incentivize the tax authorities to address audits promptly, adds Managing Director Daniel Schneider.

But there's not much more to it than that. Overall, the draft law on reducing bureaucracy, BEG III , is very disappointing. "We demanded a noticeable reduction, but unfortunately we can't see any. The law will hardly make a difference in the daily work of bakers."

Proposals to reduce bureaucracy are on the table

The Bundestag must improve the parliamentary process. Schneider: "There are enough proposals for this." He also sharply criticized the fact that the federal government had only given the associations three days to comment on the draft law. "That is absurd." 

Shortly before, the central association had criticized the draft law as insufficient in a statement to the federal government. Even at a personal meeting with Hendrik Hoppenstedt, the Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor and Federal Government Coordinator for Bureaucracy Reduction, one day before the draft law was published, this criticism was repeated.

Many companies give up

The State Minister could have gained an insight into the situation at the business of Lars Siebert, who, as the owner of Berlin's oldest artisan bakery , was able to provide extensive practical experience regarding the concerns and needs of the industry.

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Master baker Lars Siebert explained the daily work routine of artisan bakeries and described which bureaucratic regulations are particularly burdensome – from allergen labeling requirements , risk assessments according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Industrial Safety Ordinance to the reporting obligations to the health insurance companies.

The numerous bureaucratic obligations could lead to businesses giving up or not finding a successor, according to the business owner and the deputy master craftsman. 

Minister of State Hoppenstedt made it clear that he was aware of the problems: "We know that accumulation is the problem." He assured during the meeting that he would continue to engage with the central association on the topic of reducing bureaucracy. 

The Central Association fundamentally welcomes the dialogue with the Federal Government on this issue, but at the same time calls on it to consistently continue its efforts to reduce bureaucracy – that is, to significantly reduce existing and strictly avoid new bureaucratic and financial burdens on companies in order to avoid disadvantages for small and medium-sized enterprises.