The chamber Submitted 70 Proposals to the Government to Reduce Bureaucracy

The Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) compiled and sent 70 proposals to the Prime Minister's Council for Efficiency and Economic Growth aimed at reducing administrative burden across various sectors. These proposals span issues from accounting laws to occupational safety and immigration quotas. Koda believes that these suggestions should be considered during upcoming legislative changes, as many of them would not only reduce time and costs for businesses but also improve the competitiveness of Estonia’s economic environment.

“The Chamber's proposals are as specific as possible to bring a real reduction in administrative burden for businesses and to ensure they are reasonably implementable,” said Oliver Väärtnõu, Vice Chairman of the Board of ECCI and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Efficiency and Economic Growth. He added that merely highlighting general themes makes it difficult to implement regulatory changes.

Sustainability Reporting Should Be Voluntary

The Chamber suggests that the preparation, submission, and auditing of sustainability reports should be voluntary. If the obligation to compile these reports is not made voluntary, then the implementation should be postponed by two years. Additionally, Koda proposes that sustainability reports should be required every five years, not annually.

Employment and Work Environment Topics
Currently, employers must declare fringe benefits monthly, including birthday gifts, staff events, or even tea and coffee offered to employees. The Chamber proposed a change to the regulation so that costs related to employee motivation up to €1,000 per employee per year would not be taxed as fringe benefits. Employers would maintain internal records of such expenses per employee, but would not have to report them monthly to the Tax and Customs Board.

ECCI also suggests that due to a shortage of occupational health doctors, employers should be allowed, under certain conditions, to send employees for health checks to general practitioners. Safety instructions should only be necessary if the equipment poses a real risk, and risk assessments should reflect the nature and needs of companies. For low-risk work environments, such assessments should be eliminated altogether.

Planning and Permit Procedures Must Become Simpler and Faster
Solutions must be found to make the processing of various planning and permit applications significantly quicker for businesses. Specific and reasonable deadlines must be established for planning and permit procedures, and these should not be exceeded.