Draft for the Bureaucracy Relief Act IV is available

The Ministry of Justice has published the draft bill for the fourth bill to ease bureaucracy for citizens, businesses, and the administration. The skilled trades sector is disappointed, saying the bill will not bring about any noticeable reduction in bureaucracy.

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

The fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (BEG, Act to Relieve Citizens, Businesses, and Administration of Bureaucracy), long demanded by the skilled trades sector, is taking shape. The Federal Ministry of Justice has now presented the draft bill for BEG IV. According to the Ministry, the relief measures will amount to approximately €682 million annually . The draft legislation is part of the deregulation package adopted by the Federal Government at its cabinet meeting in Meseberg.

"We are significantly reducing the bureaucracy burden on our businesses . They desperately need relief from the bureaucratic burnout that has plagued them for years. Our Meseberg deregulation package addresses precisely this issue. It will relieve our businesses of more than three billion euros annually . The fourth phase of the BEG IV (Debureaucratization and Reduction Program) is part of this package, with which we are primarily tackling excessive paperwork," says Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP). He announces that the reduction of bureaucracy will not be completed with the BEG IV: "We will continue to work intensively to make life easier and less bureaucratic for citizens and businesses in Germany."

Readjust the adjusting screws

Benjamin Strasser , the coordinator for better legislation and reducing bureaucracy , adds: "Reducing bureaucracy requires readjusting many aspects . Every department of the federal government, as well as the states and municipalities, is called upon to act." Reducing bureaucracy requires not only diverse solutions but also a change in mindset, especially at the enforcement level. With this draft legislation, the government is incorporating some of the suggestions from the survey of associations conducted last year.

These measures are included in the draft law

• Retention periods are being shortened: The commercial and tax retention periods for accounting documents such as invoice copies, bank statements, and payroll records are to be reduced from ten to eight years. Companies can therefore dispose of the documents sooner than before, thereby saving considerable storage costs.
• Hotel registration requirement is abolished: The hotel registration requirement for German citizens is to be abolished.
• Written form requirements will be reduced: In the German Civil Code, written form requirements (such as a signed letter) will be downgraded to text form (e.g., email) or abolished entirely, where this is appropriate and reasonable. In civil law, for example, association law is to be amended: in future, members will no longer have to consent in writing to a resolution passed without a general meeting, but will be able to express their consent in text form (e.g., by email). Simplifications will also be made in commercial law: In GmbH law, for example, it will be clarified that if shareholders pass a resolution outside of a meeting, a text-based vote is sufficient if all shareholders agree. Furthermore, written form requirements in the German Bond Act and the German Deposit Act will be abolished.
• Public auctions also possible online: The options for conducting public auctions are to be expanded. In the future, they will also be able to take place either online via live stream or in a hybrid format (on-site and online).
• In the future, passports will be digitally scanned during flight check-in.
• It should be possible to shorten the period for public participation in authorisation procedures with environmental impact assessment, where further public participation is required due to changes to the project.

The skilled trades sector reacted with disappointment to the publication of the draft legislation. It falls far short of expectations. "In its current form, it unfortunately does not provide sufficient relief . The fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act comes much too late and, despite the calculated reduction in administrative burden, will not reach businesses on the ground ," explained Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts.

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"The frustration in the trade is great"

It is incomprehensible that many proposals, which the Federal Statistical Office deemed easily implementable in its survey of associations , are missing from the draft. "The burden of bureaucracy, the burden of documentation and proof, has long ceased to be a bothersome side issue in everyday life, but rather a structural factor for the future of the skilled trades ." For many tradespeople, the ever-increasing burden is the main reason not to become self-employed or to give up their long-established businesses.

"Relief is urgently needed for craft businesses . Businesses are extremely frustrated, and trust in the ability of politicians to shape policy is dwindling. Politicians and administrators must finally internalize this and seriously push forward with streamlining overregulation ," demands Schwannecke. "When people talk about bureaucratic burnout but simultaneously fail to provide an effective remedy, it demonstrates once again that the problem isn't one of understanding, but rather a serious problem of implementation ."

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