Key Benefits:
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DRAFT RESOLUTION NO. 10 /XI/1.
"Recommend to the Government a set of measures to support the economy and to strengthen competitiveness"
Through the Investment and Employment Initiative, presented on December 13,
2008, the XVII Constitutional Government has proposed to combat the effects of the international crisis on
the Portuguese economy.
The actions were located on five key axes (modernization of schools; energy
sustainable; modernization of the technological infrastructure-broadband networks of new
generation; special support for economic activity, exports and SMEs; support for employment) and
contemplated a total amount financed by the State Budget of 1165.7 million
euro (in accordance with Law No. 10/2009 of March 10).
Succeeding that, according to the data made available by the Directorate-General for Budget
on Budget Execution until September 2009, this year 493.1 million was spent
of euros, which correspond to 42.3% of the above sum. That is, three months from the end of the
end of the year, and when one could be close to the (or have already been overtaken o) point more
low of the international crisis, the Government has not carried out even half of the anti-crisis plan that
had delineated (missing about 58% of the amount expected to run in 2009).
It is a situation that does not find parallel in the European Union and that, in addition, not
is consistent with the deterioration of public accounts envisaged by the European Commission and
implicitly already admitted by the Government. Adding that the known numbers come to show
that the aid plan for the economy that the Government has approved to combat the effects of the crisis is
unambitious, falling far short of what would be desirable to help the economy,
strengthen the competitiveness of the business sector-not least SMEs-, and to increase the
exports and defending employment.
In fact, the impact of globalization has highlighted the weak competitiveness of domestic companies, the
what should be countered through exports oriented towards goods and services
transactionable that enable its growth and, consequently, the increase in
gross domestic product. Only by way of growth in exports Portugal could
to ambitiate economic growths that resume convergence with the European Union,
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lost in recent years.
It is for this reason that the PSD presents the initiative " Supporting the economy in time of crisis,
strengthen competitiveness, defend employment ", helping the Portuguese economy to
surpass the year 2010, which is continuing to be seen as quite difficult, and in which the
priorities must be the economy and solidarity and not, yet, the beginning of a strategy of
consolidation of the public accounts.
Of the said measures included the reduction, by two percentage points, of the Social Rate
Unique supported by employers in 2010, as a way to defend employment. This
proposal is presented autonomously, in the form of a draft law.
A second proposal submitted by the PSD, also through draft law, consists
on the extension in six months of the period of the granting of the unemployment allowance, as
exceptional measure to support workers in unemployment during the year
of 2010.
Third, the PSD proposes the extinction of the Special Payment by Account as a form of
relieve the treasury of companies, eliminating a stranglehold that, at times of crisis
economic and financial, has contributed to hindering the survival of many micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises. It is added that presently the assumptions that were present to him
underlying and the significant improvement of the effectiveness of the Tax Administration make it less
necessary the maintenance of this instrument. Also this proposal is presented in
draft of its own law.
A fourth draft law proposes the reduction, in one month, of the deadline provided in the general scheme of
VAT refund, which will mitigate the cash difficulties that the business sector has
lived.
The remaining measures proposed by the PSD targeting the promotion of competitiveness of the
companies are listed in this draft resolution.
The first of these measures aims to ensure the timely payment of the debts of all
services of the central government of the State to the companies, objective with which the previous
Government has committed but it has failed to comply.
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Through the second measure is intended to create a current account system between the State and
the companies, involving all taxes and social security contributions.
Third, the Government is recommended to review the generality of the processes of
licensing, so as to eliminate excess bureaucracy and the inefficiency of the administration
central and local public.
The reason for being this proposition radica in the fact that, in Portugal, a significant percentage
of the investment being systematically postponed for reasons that relate to the nature of the
licensing processes and with the inefficiency of central and local public administration.
Concentrate on a single information portal, permanently updated, all supports
granted by the State is the fourth recommendation to the Government.
In effect, the publication online of all the supports granted by the Government, through the
Institutes, General Directions, Managers of Community Programs and by the authorities, in a
single portal updated daily, will constitute an instrument of work of the largest
importance for all Portuguese companies. The Company Portal can eventually
be harnessed for this measure.
Fifth, it is intended to ensure that public purchases are more transparent, more
simple and have higher national gross value added and, well thus, create a Register
National of Vendors, which eliminates the excess red tape imposed by the legislation.
Indeed, being the State a relevant agent in the market through the size of the
acquisitions of goods and services, particular attention should be paid to the way in which it acts,
notably in their relationship with small and medium-sized enterprises, ensuring
that a relevant percentage of the public procurement carried out by the Central Administration,
Authorities and Company Publics are directed at SMEs.
The bureaucratic burden associated with public procurement procedures represents a
disadvantage for SMEs with respect to large companies. It is unacceptable that the state
continue to require your suppliers documents and certificates that are issued by the
State, and what documents that have to be delivered on one day cannot be used
in another public procurement procedure the next day.
All this bureaucracy, in addition to being a huge waste of resources, ends up
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be strongly limiting the competitiveness of SMEs, even by the fact that large companies
have greater financial capacity to support administrative teams for the management of these
procedures.
Finally, and in sixth place, it is intended to facilitate the participation of SMEs in contracting
public, reviewing the criteria that currently harm them and creating conditions for the
public investments will come to represent an effective source of new opportunities for
business for SMEs.
In a context of strengthening the importance and criterion in the realization of investments
public, it matters to create the conditions for these to come to represent an effective source
of new business opportunities for SMEs.
In these terms, the Assembly of the Republic resolves, under the provisions of paragraph 5 of the article
166. of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, recommend to the Government that:
1. Ensure the payment of the debts of the central administration of the state to business
suppliers of the Public Administration, through a system of , negotiated
with the banking system, generalized to all the services of the state, according to the
following rules:
1.1. All invoices received by the State or its bodies shall, in a
period of 30 days, be confirmed or returned in case of need to
correction.
1.2. After your confirmation, they must those invoices be delivered to an institution
financial that will be empowered to pay them over the end of 15 days.
1.3. Lenders can anticipate receipts under agreed preconditions
by the state with the financial institutions.
1.4. If the State fails to pay the financial institution at the end of 90 days, it passes the
take the respective interest.
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2. Promoting the creation of a current account between the State and the companies, which includes all
the taxes and social security contributions, indicating the claims on the State,
particularly VAT returns, and the said account shall be moved at the end
each month by the balance between the company's tax credits and debits.
3. Proceed to the overhaul of the generality of licensing processes, proceeding to the
legislative and organisational adaptations that in each situation prove to be appropriate,
with a view to the simplification of the respective administrative procedures.
4. Focus on a single information portal the state's supports, granted through
services and bodies of the central, direct and indirect administration of the State, including
Managers of Community Programs, as well as local authorities, owing to
information from it constant to be the subject of daily updating, and to include, specifically the
next:
a) Elements discriminated by company and by entity, in respect of amounts,
situation of the processes and dates of tramway;
b) Situation of each application to community supports and the system of incentives,
revealing states of analysis, timing of the hiring, approved proposals and
deprecated and criteria.
5. Garanta that public purchases are more transparent, simpler and have greater
national gross value added, through:
a) Definition of criteria that, in the respect of applicable Community rules, allow
give preference to suppliers with higher national gross value added,
adapting to the effect their adjudication processes;
b) Creation of a National Supplier Register that allows to eliminate excess of
bureaucracy imposed by the legislation, specifically the requirement of companies
submit certificates and documents issued by the State, and, well,
to concentrate the necessary documentation in the initial act of registration.
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6. Promoting, in the respect of the applicable Community rules, the strengthening of the participation of the
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in public procurement, through:
a) Revision of the priorities of the public investment programme, taking in view
the enhancement of the proximity investments that may have the Small and
Average local Enterprises as partners, specifically in the requalification of
urban centres, in the recovery of degraded housing, in housing for
young people, in the requalification of social equipment, and in the preservation of
cultural and tourism heritage;
b) Revision of the public procurement criteria, restricting the prediction of criteria
that they value pre-requisites of size, at the expense of other factors
qualitative relevant to the implementation of the projects only to cases in which
such if it proves to be indispensable;
c) Consagration of the principle of the participation of Small and Medium Enterprises in the
public procurement, in general, and also in the contracts that support the
Public-Private Partnerships;
d) Amendment of competent laws and regulations, with a view to providing for inclusion
obligatory, in the proposals submitted to the public tender, of Small and
Medium Companies in the competing consortia;
e) Amendment of the competent laws and regulations, with a view to providing that, in the
public tenders, the competing consortia take on the commitment of
carry out awarding of supplies of goods and services to Small and Mediums
Companies.
Assembly of the Republic, November 10, 2009.
The Deputies