There is big savings potential in the administrative burden Cypriot companies bear, worth up to 155 million euros per year, a study by auditing company KPMG has shown.
The study was commissioned by the Cypriot government and the results were presented on Monday, March 21, during a meeting between the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), representatives from the Ministry of Finance and KPMG.
The study focused on eight administrative areas, from a total of 50, like the Inland Revenue Department, the Registrar of Companies and the VAT Service. According to the results, Cypriot businesses may save up to 155 million euros, or 22% of their current spending, through the simplification of administrative procedures.
In its general recommendations to the government, KPMG suggests to increase the use of online tools facilitating businesses, increase the amount of information businesses may submit online to the government, create a single portal for all payments to the government and create an “electronic warehouse” to store information, accessible to all government departments, instead of re-submitting the same information again and again.
During the presentation of the study, KPMG said its recommendations did not aim at deregulation or limiting the scope of existing legislation. The initiative to improve the regulatory framework of business activity aims at limiting bureaucracy through the simplification of administrative procedures, saving up to 20% until 2012 within the scope of the “EU 2020” strategy.
Andreas Charalampous, Director of Economic Research and EU Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, said that the government will meet its goal for 20% reduction and said that the public service is favorable towards initiatives that aim at increasing the competitiveness of Cypriot economy.
CCCI Chairman Manthos Mavromatis said that many recommendations on changing internal administrative procedures may be done easily, without the need of changing the legislation. “It is an ambitious goal for 2012” he added and said that the Chamber was hoping to see more positive results in the future.
KPMG Managing Director Andreas Christofides said finally that according to the survey results, there is room for more administrative burden savings, as the study focused to certain administrative areas.
