“E-Governance as a tool for Business Development (the Company On-line)”

Manuel David Masseno

Seminar on Legal Informatics and E-Governance as tools for the Knowledge Society

- Reykjavik, 13-14 July 2007 -

A Starting Point: the “Lisbon Strategy”

In the 20th March 2000, the European Council approved a Strategic Document that aimed to "make Europe, by 2010, the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world".This Strategy leans of a strict Economic and Budgetary “Orthodoxy” and is based on concepts like:innovation as the motor for economic change;the growing role of the “knowledge based economy”;the need of a social and environmental renewal;

Now, is quite clear that none of the objectives is about to be accomplished, as the Council acknowledge more than once, but that’s another issue…

The “Lisbon Strategy” II

However, it’s also clear that with the Stability and Growth Pact and the EMU being the core of the current “EU Economic Constitution”, National Governments can’t do much more than try to improve their Public Administrations in order to undercut the so called Context Costs of Business in order to promote theircompetitiveness.

From the eGovernment point of view, this was done through:eEurope (2002-2005)i2010 (2005-2010)

Even if both initiatives are, explicitly, aimed at encouraging better Public Services through ICT, they’re quite focused in promoting Citizenship, not in making life easier for Business

A Political Project: the “Technological Plan”

But, much more might be done to improve Business competitiveness through eGovernment…In this presentation, I’ll use the policies of the current Portuguese Government as a “Case Study”Since it took office, about two years ago, it relied, even from a legitimacy perspective, upon a so called “Technological Plan” oriented to promote a fast modernization of the Portuguese Economy and SocietyIn short, what we have in place is the Lisbon Strategy, also, applied Business, in order to:put in place an ever faster lane for the creation of new companiesintensify the use of the ICT in every relation of the Public Administration with Businesssimplify and dematerialize all Business related administrative procedures

The UCMA Task Force

In a first stage, the Public Administration dimension of the “Technological Plan” was put under the coordination a special task force, placed apart from the old structures, the “UCMA - Unit for the Modernization of the Administration”

As Head of it was named Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, Professor of Law at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra

However, since last May, the UCMA became a permanent structure and Prof. Marques the new Secretary of State for Administrative Modernization…

The “Simplex Program” (2006)

The UCMA designed the Simplex Program

The “Simplex” is based upon a Method: the “Simplex Test”, based upon the “Kafka Test”, introduced in Belgium, in October 2004, and the “Regulatory Impact Assessment”, developed in the UK

It was, and, is presented as an Open Program that intends to provide a Better Regulation instead of Deregulation

As main Objectives, it aims:to re-orient the Administration in order to provide faster and more reliable answers to the needs of Citizens and Business

to help Companies to get faster all the authorizations, and other formalities, they need to start or develop a business

Increase the competitiveness of Portugal, in general terms

The “Simplex Program” (2006)

Directly concerning eGovernment, the foreseen measures implied, namely, the implementation of:the possibility to create a company only through the Internet

an unique electronic declaration in order to start, change or close a business, sent to the Tax Administration

A single reporting of the situation of the company’s balance sheet, for every agency

a dematerialized export statement

a permanent on-line Certificate concerning every aspect of a company

the “Trademark in the Hour”

The “Company On-line”

a first approach, relying upon an ITC back office: the “Company in the Hour”:

Legal Base: Decree-Law n. 111/2005, of the 29th November no need of previous requests

no need of other formalities in order to create a (Private or Public) Limited Liability Company

the company statutes are immediately published at a new on-line Registry run by the Ministry of Justice

the name of the company is chosen within a pre-arranged list

a trademark is also available, in the same conditions

a .com.pt domain name is provided, for free in the first year

The “Company On-line” II

After the very successful implementation of the “Company in the Hour”, came the next step: “The Company On-line”Legal Base: Decree-Law n. 125/2006, of the 29th Junethe creation of (Public or Private) Limited Liability Companies on-line became availablethe procedures are fully interconnected with the various agenciespromoters only have to choose a model of statutes and a name for the company the interface with the Public Administration relies on a digital certificate: in this moment, only attorneys, solicitors and notaries are able to do it; but, in the near future, everyone may bypass them, as the Card of the Citizen is getting available to everyone

The “Simplified Business Information”

Legal Base: Decree-Law 208/2007, of the 17th January

it implies the dematerialization of every reporting obligation of Business towards the Administration, concerning taxes, social security, labour, accounts, statistics..

the Tax Administration receives and re-sends the data to every concerned agency or authority

Not yet implemented, due to “technical reasons”

The “Trademark On-line”

Legal Base: Decree-Law n. 125/2006, of the 29 th June, the same of the “Company On-line”

the “Trademark On-line” is the obvious follow up of the “Trademark in the Hour”, an offspring of the “Company in the Hour”

the procedure is run by the National Institute of Industrial Property

is available since the 22th December 2006

It concerns both trademarks and patents

The 30% discount…

The “Simplex Program” (2007)

The Simplex 2007 is mostly an adjournment of the previous oneas mains Objectives it intends to:provide an even faster answer of the Administration to the Citizens and Companies requestsimprove the trust upon the Administration and it’s Officialscontinue reducing the context costs by:the creation of Internet channels concerning the public support of business investments at IAPMEI (the Portuguese investment agency), generalizing the use of electronic signatures, in every proceduredematerializing all the information regarding the members of the bodies of a company, including those related to social securitythe simplification of the procedures of environmental authorization, making them available on-line

‘till the last minute…

Last Tuesday, the Portuguese Ministry of Justice has anounced that 13 new on-line Register services will soon be available, among them:a system that will allow changes of the data about capital, the legal nature and other aspects concerning the company;the possible change of the statutes regarding the name, the transfer of the seat, the objects of the company, namely;the constitution and changes of rights on the shares of Private Limited Companies;the registry of projects of merger or division of Public and Private Limited Companies, as well as of agency contractsfinally, the creation of a permanent Certificate of Reporting of the Balance Sheet, within the “Simplified Business Information”