Inspection reform is gaining momentum in Ukraine. In 2017, the Better Regulation Delivery Office, with the assistance of the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine and the MEDT, launched an Inspection Portal inspections.gov.ua as a tool to transform the inspection system into a risk-oriented approach. The task of inspection bodies is to evaluate the activities of economic entities in a transparent way and prevent risks instead of recording violations and imposing fines as it was during 99% of inspections recently conducted.
29 inspection bodies have already joined the portal. As of September 2019, information on 250,000 planned inspections and 300,000 results of inspections already conducted in 2018-2019 was published on the portal. As this information is publicly accessible now, entrepreneurs will know when and why they will be inspected.
The next step in the implementation of inspection reform is to develop an Interactive Platform for SMEs, which will allow each entrepreneur to manage their own risks and become a “single point of contact” for interaction of businesses and state supervision and control bodies. The resource is developed by BRDO with the support of the USAID’s Competitive Economy of Ukraine (CEU) program.
“Successful results of business inspections depend 50% on the better preparation for them as well as the awareness of own rights and the rights of inspectors. The interactive platform will provide 100% of this information 24/7, and this will reduce a potential for abuse significantly,” Yana Horyunova, BRDO expert, said.
“Inspections are a sore subject for every entrepreneur. As a rule, SMEs do not have qualified lawyers to prevent inspectors from abuse. To help small and medium-sized businesses to avoid being abused during inspections, we are involved in developing an interactive online platform that will greatly increase entrepreneurs’ access to the information they need,” Lubomyr Chorniy, team leader for improving business climate of USAID “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” Program, said.
The interactive platform will consist of an open section accessible to any visitor, as well as will offer a wider set of tools for registered users.
For example, the public section will include:
- a list of legal acts regulating operating procedures of inspection bodies with the possibility of sorting them according to certain parameters;
- short and clear recommendations for entrepreneurs on possible legal tools (in the form of materials and infographics);
- an algorithm for protection actions against being abused by supervision and control bodies;
- examples of typical documents for legal protection (forms of complaints, appeals and claims on violations);
- awareness-raising materials (articles and videos) on the inspection process.
Registration and authorization on the platform will provide users with even more options:
- Personal account will allow to obtain a file on your company: up-to-date information on inspections, their results, related areas of control, risk criteria, forms of acts, etc.
- Interactive tools (self-assessment of risk level, self-examination of compliance with requirements, self-monitoring of the elimination of identified violations after inspections)
- An instrument for monitoring compliance with the legal requirements performed by inspectors (before inspections, during inspections, after inspections), including in the form of a chat-bot.
- Generator of complaints.
In such a way, the Interactive Platform will boost the capacity of small and medium-sized businesses thorough practical tools to reduce the risk of business activity and protect the rights of entrepreneurs. Simplifying access to information, transparency and clarity of state requirements for SMEs will reduce corruption and increase accountability of inspection bodies.
The project implementation implies the development of a training manual for SMEs with the help of NGO “Easy Business”. To help regional businesses to be better informed of existing opportunities, a training event for Chernihiv entrepreneurs was held in partnership with the State Regulatory Service USAID’s CEU Program, BRDO and NGO “Easy Business” last week, and a similar event is planned for Zaporizhzhya this week.
As a reminder, the plan of comprehensive state control measures for 2020 was approved on November 15. You can find it on the Inspection Portal at the hyperlink.
For information:
BRDO is a leading independent expert-analytical center for regulatory policy in Ukraine.
The USAID “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” Program (USAID CEU) supports business startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in becoming more competitive in the domestic market of Ukraine and international markets, assists in creating a simplified and transparent business climate as well as helps to develop an effective trade policy to enable SMEs to take advantage of international trade.