It’s still a “first reading” of ASAE data on fines imposed in 2022, but the concentration of sanctions “in a relatively small number of violations” indicates that there may be a need for more training, with small businesses, regarding the legal framework that regulates economic activities. Or even, adds Carlos Guimarães Pinto, the deputy of the Liberal Initiative (IL), clarifying the legal framework, another path that the party is keeping open, after asking various authorities for data on the fines imposed over the past year are imposed.
The Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE) then went to parliament, which imposed seven million euros in fines last year and charged 4.9 million of this total amount. The offense most frequently penalized by that body throughout 2022 was the “lack of mere prior communication”, a minor administrative offense that dictated the imposition of 743 fines. Also at the top of the list are various irregularities related to the Complaint Book, ranging from the lack of this consumer complaint tool to its non-immediate and free transfer, including the failure to visibly post information in the Complaint Book. “If a violation occurs too often, we can think that people are not aware” of the tasks to be fulfilled, warns the deputy. “What we want is to understand the offenses that are most repeated and why, in order to avoid that in the future. [as empresas] are so affected. People may not be informed as to what is the origin of this violation, or the law that most of these violations fall under, can be overly detailed in relation to the demands it makes,” DN Carlos Guimarães Pinto tells. The most sanctioned violation by ASAE in 2022 , the lack of mere prior communication, may turn out to be an example of this: “It is a bureaucracy that does not add anything new, nor does it necessarily contribute to people’s food or economic security.” for the data, says the deputy. ASAE also asked the Liberal Initiative for data on fines imposed last year by the security forces and by the Working Conditions Authority (ACT), which has not yet responded to the requests.
ASAE data shows that the The regime of access to trade, services and catering activities was the reason for a higher number of violations in the past year, whereby the Food and Economic Security Authority imposed fines of 1.1 million euros. Irregularities surrounding the complaints book have yielded the state treasury about 1 million euros.
The state was the main beneficiary of the total of 4.9 million fines imposed by ASAE – 2.6 million, more than half of the total amount, returned to the treasury. A slightly lower amount, 2.1 million, was allocated to ASAE itself.
Source: DN
