Ch. Tarantilis: Reduction of bureaucracy in the establishment and activity of companies

With his speech during the discussion of the bill for the establishment of companies through the One Stop Services (YMS) and keeping the General Commercial Register (GEMI) of the Ministry of Development and Investment, the rapporteur of the bill, MP State of Christos Tarantilis, analyzed the importance of using new technologies in the process of setting up companies and commercial publicity for the operation of a modern, reliable and competitive business environment.

At the beginning of his speech, Mr. Tarantilis analyzed the provisions of European Directive 2017/1132 regarding the use of digital tools and procedures in the field of company law and referred to the amendments made by Directive 2019/1151, which is transposed into national law. with the bill. In this regard, he stressed that under the new directive, Member States are required to make it possible for companies to be incorporated, branches to be registered and transactions and commercial publicity data to be submitted entirely using digital tools, without the obligation for the stakeholders to be present in person. He further noted that the new directive introduces the principle of “one-time” submission of data, which means that companies should not be required to submit the same data to public authorities more than once.

Mr. Tarantilis stated that Greece has taken steps regarding the establishment of faster and less bureaucratic procedures for the establishment of companies and today the operation of the One Stop Service and the G.E.M.I. is regulated respectively by two different legislations, Law 4441/2016 and Law 4635/2019. As he noted, “with the bill that is being passed today, the two pieces of legislation are consolidated in a single text, both for reasons of good legislation and for greater legal certainty”. At the same time, he pointed out that legislative interventions are being attempted, in order to have a full adaptation to the provisions of the directive, as well as interventions that simplify and clarify the obligations of registration and publication in the G.E.M.I. of the acts, statements or data of companies that require commercial publicity.

Then Mr. Ch. Tarantilis referred in detail to the provisions of the bill and the changes that occur throughout the range of operation of the One Stop Service and the G.E.M.I., the scope of which is significantly expanded. In this context, he pointed out the role of the supervision of the Minister of Development and Investment in the information system of G.E.M.I., the legal entities that are now under the scope of application of the One Stop Service and of G.E.M.I. and changes to commercial publicity registrations.

Finally, Mr. Ch. Tarantilis referred to the new registers created by the bill, namely:

The National Register of Trademarks and Distinctive Titles, in which all names and distinctive titles reserved by natural or legal persons engaged in commercial or economic non-commercial activity are registered in chronological order.

The Register of Non-Commercial Economic Activity, in which the legal entities engaged in economic non-commercial activity, as well as the civil companies without legal personality are obligatorily registered.

The General Register of Members of Scientific Bodies, in which are voluntarily registered the persons who exercise free professional activity and do not carry out commercial transactions. These persons are registered in the scientific bodies of the country, such as the Panhellenic Medical Association, the Technical Chamber, the Bar Associations and the Economic Chamber.

In closing, the State MP noted that this bill expands the use of digital tools and the introduction of online procedures in the operation of One-Stop Services and G.E.M.I., an initiative that upgrades the business climate and forms a framework of transparency and trust between traders.