Gov’t to Ok emergency ordinance to cut the red tape

The Government on Tuesday is to adopt an emergency ordinance meant to cut the red tape across the Romanian public administration.

As such, Romanians will not have to run from one counter to another to get their criminal record, while the copies of the identity papers could be also sent by email when asked by various institutions.

According to the ordinance, the criminal record will be asked only by institutions, meaning that physical persons will not be used as agents anymore. The institution will ask the criminal record directly from the Police and thus, 2.5 million Romanians will be spared from going to the Police to ask for it.

The copies of the ID papers will be also sent by email, after being scanned, while ‘institutions must announced the mail address in 30 days’, according to PM Dacian Ciolos.

The Executive also cut the legalized copies for certain documents. ‘The legalization will be made in compliance with the original document by the public servant,” the premier explained.

Ciolos also informed that the ordinance would stipulate that citizens should pay a single fee in one location to have their passports or ID papers released.

At the same time, there will no salary certificate needed by those who wanted to subscribe for the unemployment benefit.

Two blanks that investors and businessmen needed for the tax revenue body procedures will be also simplified.

Last, but not the least, citizens will be able to pay taxes and fees by cash card and not only by bank transfers or cash.

In February, the Government launched the online platform maisimplu.gov.ro (meaning “simpler”) on Wednesday, aiming to reduce the bureaucracy in the public administration by cancelling some documents or types of files.

“The Paper Shredding Committee online platform should help us identify those things that should lead to a cut of the red tape particularly in the relationship with the citizen. maisimplu.gov.ro online platform invites the tax payers, the citizens to share from their experience in their relations with the administration, and to say what documents or files that they must submit to the administration they consider complicated and could be simplified,” the prime minister used to say.

Three weeks after the platform has been launched, citizens and companies had tabled over 3,000 proposals, with the total cut or the merging of payments for releasing ID card topping the Romanians’ demands.