News item | 24-03-2025 | 15:00
New laws and rules may not ensure an even higher regulatory pressure for entrepreneurs. That is why the government is sharping the so -called business effect test on the proposal of Minister Beljaarts of Economic Affairs. Taking into account new laws and rules with SMEs is therefore no longer the exception, but the norm. For example, the ‘no, unless’ principle applies to reporting obligations for companies.
Minister Beljaarts: “Companies spend too much time, money and energy on regulatory pressure. The prevention of unnecessary regulatory pressure among entrepreneurs must therefore be taken into account as early as possible in new policy. Namely at the time of making regulations on the ministries. We are now taking an extra structural step for the smallest companies.
Changes in the business effect test
The most important changes in the business effect test are:
- For reporting obligations it will be ‘no, unless’ principle applies.
- If obligations are included in legislation or regulations, the starting point is that entrepreneurs must be able to perform them within their own SMEs company, also in small companies.
- It must be explicitly considered whether there must be an exception or lighter elaboration to relatively small companies with few staff.
- The business effect test completed as much as possible must be sent prior to the advice to the Regulatory Pressure Advisory College (ATR). At the beginning of March, the House of Representatives approved the permanent status and more powers for the ATR, including the obligation to involve the ATR structurally and early in the preparation of new regulatory proposals. This is expected to have positive consequences on regulatory pressure.
- With the renewed business impact test, the national elaboration of European regulations makes a burden -clean implementation the standard and deviating from it requires a clear substantiation.
New SME indicator companies
Simultaneously with the renewal of the business effect test, the results of the new SME indicator companies have also been published. With the new studies, the total of SME indicator companies will be expanded from 6 to 9. The new sectors investigated are the chemical manufacturing industry, the automotive sector and the financial advice sector.
An SME indicator company is a fictional company in a certain sector for which as many laws and regulations as possible applies. By analyzing these laws and regulations, it is mapped out how much time and money entrepreneurs have spent this. The workability of rules is also being investigated and examining whether they are in line with business operations. The results help to effectively tackle rules that are difficult to implement.
The most important conclusions from the new investigations:
- 64 to 80 legal obligations apply to the indicator companies, the majority of these are structural.
- The regulatory pressure costs per year for the SME indicator companies are approximately € 494,000 in the chemical manufacturing industry, around € 54,000 in the automotive sector and around € 98,000 in the financial advice sector.
- The financial advisory sector has the highest regulatory pressure costs. This is mainly the result of sector -specific regulatory pressure costs, this cover 77% of the total of regulatory pressure costs.
- For the other two sectors, the sector -specific regulatory pressure costs are also higher than for the sectors from the earlier studies. For the chemical manufacturing industry, this involves 56% of the regulatory pressure costs and for the automotive sector 41%.
These results are used by the Ministerial Steering Group of Enterprise Climate, Regulatory Pressure and Vocibility to tackle regulatory pressure.
The House of Representatives has been informed by Minister Beljaarts about the new SME indicator companies and the change in the business effect test.
Less pressure with rules
Tackling unnecessary regulatory pressure is a top priority for this cabinet. That is why Minister Beljaarts presented the action program less pressure with rules last December, where the renewal of the business effect test and expansion of the SME indicator companies are part of.
With this action program, the government wants to prevent unnecessary regulatory pressure and make existing bottlenecks more workable, both at national and European level. Through the regulatory pressure reduction program, existing bottlenecks are tackled to relieve regulatory pressure costs, such as the CO₂ report obligation for work-related persons mobility and working conditions legislation. This action program is a cabinet -wide assignment to make regulations easier and more effective.