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 topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

The fourth, long demanded by the trade, Bureaucracy Reduction Act (BEG, Act to ease the burden on citizens, businesses and administration of bureaucracy) is taking shape. Federal Ministry of Justice now has the draft for the BEG IV. According to the ministry, the relief volume is about 682 million euros annuallyThe bill is part of the Federal government debureaucratisation package adopted at its cabinet meeting in Meseberg.

"We relieve our companies noticeable of bureaucracy. Because they need relief from Bureaucracy burnoutthat has plagued them for years. This is precisely what our Meseberg debureaucratization package is addressing. This will relieve our companies of more than three billion euros per year. The BEG IV is part of this package, with which we are primarily tackling paperwork," says Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP). He announced that the reduction of bureaucracy with the BEG IV is not complete: "We will continue with high pressure working to make life in Germany easier for citizens and businesses easier and less bureaucratic to design."

Readjust the adjusting screws

The Coordinator for Better Regulation and Bureaucracy Reduction, Benjamin Strasser, adds: "The reduction of bureaucracy requires many adjustments to readjust. Every department of the federal government, but also the states and municipalities are required here." Reducing bureaucracy requires not only diverse solutions, but also a Change of mentality, particularly at the enforcement level. With the draft law, the government is taking up some of the proposals from the Association survey .

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 craft industry reacts disappointedt on the publication of the draft law. It falls far short of expectations. "In this form, it unfortunately no adequate remedyThe Bureaucracy Relief Act IV comes much too late and despite the calculated relief volume in the local operation not arrive", explains Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the Central Association of German Crafts.

"The frustration in the trade is great"

It is incomprehensible that many proposals that Federal Statistical Office within the framework of the association survey as easy to implement are missing from the draft. "The bureaucratic burden, the burden of documentation and evidence, is no longer an annoying side issue in everyday life, but a structural future factor in the skilled trades." For many craftsmen, the ever-increasing burden of Main reason, not to become self-employed or to give up the long-standing business. 

"Relief is for craft businesses urgently needed. Businesses are frustrated and trust in the ability of politicians to shape the situation is dwindling. Politicians and administrators must finally internalize this and begin to reduce overregulation. seriously push forward", demands Schwannecke. "When there is talk of bureaucratic burnout, but at the same time no effective antidote is provided, this shows once again that it is not a matter of knowledge, but of serious implementation problem gives."

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