State enters the 21st century
Gov’t introduces interoperability of public sector agencies, dealing blow to bureaucracy
A few years ago a relatively simple process, adding, for example, a new activity to a freelancer’s formal work scope required the involvement of at least 10 different employees.
One verified that the person requesting the expansion of the activity did not owe any value-added tax, another that consolidated statements had been submitted. A further eight employees had to certify that no payroll tax was due (regardless of whether the entrepreneur had any staff), that a periodic VAT statement had been submitted, and that the employees who had, before them, processed the application had not failed to ask for supporting documentation (e.g. responsible declaration). This process, which was completed in about two hours based on the good scenario, is now carried out for the most part through the digital portal of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue.
This kind of once-common bureaucratic routine is now on the wane, or at least that is the aim of the interoperability center of the Ministry of Digital Governance. This is the information system developed by the General Secretariat of Public Administration Information Systems with the aim of interconnecting the government’s electronic services.
In October 2019, by the decision of the Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the interoperability center was upgraded to a hub for data exchange between public bodies and enterprises. Technically, the communication of the systems is ensured through automated calls that are made in the background and to be carried out they rely on the XML web services technology familiar to IT engineers. The automatic interface of the individual systems has recently enabled the submission and automatic evaluation of fuel pass applications. A computer communicates with other computers and takes the information it needs to decide whether or not the applicant is entitled to a fuel pass.
The interoperability center supports more than 1,480 services, up from around 280 in February 2021.
