Tacit approval to be enforced next month

Starting mid May those applying to get a licence or have it renewed will no longer have to return to the desk from time to time and ask the public servant: “how long before I get an answer?”
This is because May 12 is the day when the ordinance on the tacit approval procedures is enforced.
In essence, this ordinance stipulates that if an economic operator gets no answer to a licensing application within 30 days, it means the request was tacitly granted.
“This normative act is actually a way of getting things where they should normally be. These provisions will eliminate part of the corruption-generating elements in form of excessive red tape and the lack of co-operation, sometimes displayed on purpose by the public servants, ” financial consultant Emil Duca told Ziarul Financiar.
The licence is considered granted or renewed if the public administration authority does not answer the applicant within the time frame set by the law. If the law does not set a deadline for answering an application, then the authorities shall answer within 30 days from submission.
The normative act stipulates the tacit approval goes for the licence issuing and renewing procedures, as well as for the re-licensing procedures, following expiry of the licence suspension period or compliance with the recommendations of the authorised control bodies.
In case the documentation filed is incomplete, the public administration authority is bound to notify the applicant at least ten days before the expiry of the deadline set by the law for issuing the licence in question if this deadline is longer than 15 days and at least five days, if the deadline is shorter than 15 days.
The ordinance also stipulates that in case the authorities refuse to issue the official document authorising an applicant to carry out a specific activity, to provide a service or practice a certain trade, the applicant may go to court.
If the court orders the authorities to issue the official document, and they still will not, the leader of the public administration authority may be compelled to pay a judicial fine of up to 20% of the minimum net wage on the economy for every day of delay, as well as to pay damages for the delay. The leader of the public administration authority may sue the public servants guilty of not obeying the court order to recover the damages paid. The public servant in this case is liable either materially, civilly or penally.
“It is necessary for the public servants to provide a negative answer, when there’s reason for it, within the time frame set. If they don’t and damages therefrom occur, then they are liable for this, so that it could be plain and clear they did not state their opinion and did not come up with a negative answer during the time frame allowed. This is a way of instilling responsibility in the public servant,” PM Adrian Nastase said. miruna.lebedencu@zf.ro