The Croatian Chamber of Crafts (HOK) warned on Friday that caterers are overloaded with a large number of unclear and complex regulations and therefore requested a meeting at the State Inspectorate (DIRH), with the aim of improving the implementation of supervision.
HOK states that recently we can read about the increase in tax violations among caterers and a large number of findings from various inspections, adding that, although no form of disobedience to the law can be justified, there is still complexity and burden on caterers with regulations.
Restaurateurs, among other things, suggest the possibility of advance notice of supervision in certain cases for better preparation of documentation and space, as well as carrying out supervision in time intervals that put less burden on the work of craftsmen, which is in the morning or off-season.
They also suggest enabling work to continue during inspections whenever possible, avoiding joint inspections by multiple inspectorates at the same time, and an educational and advisory approach towards craftsmen.
They are also asking for the publication of an overview list of legal obligations by activity, in order to make it easier to navigate the regulations and business organization. Namely, they state that restaurateurs must comply with a large number of regulations, including the provisions of many laws - on fiscalization in cash transactions, value added tax, hospitality activities, income tax, profit tax, labor, contributions, food, and consumer protection.
They are also subject to regulations on food hygiene, storage methods, temperature, the HACCP system, as well as laws on occupational safety, foreigners, local taxes, municipal utilities, noise protection, waste management, smoking bans in enclosed spaces, etc.
HOK also believes that frequent amendments to the law require additional, constant adjustments to business operations, which makes it difficult for caterers to keep track of all the details, and small mistakes for which they can be fined often occur not from the intention to avoid taxes or reduce costs and quality, but due to the ambiguity and complexity of the regulations.
"We support all caterers who want to operate transparently and in accordance with the law - this is the majority of them, because it is not worth it for anyone to risk fines and losses. We call on the competent institutions to strengthen education, clearer communication and simplify regulations in order to reduce errors that often occur due to the complexity of the system," said HOK President Dalibor Kratohvil.
Photo: HINA/DAMIR SENCAR
