In order to analyze the efficiency of processing applications in the integrated procedure for issuing eConstruction permits and detecting room for possible improvements, NALED, in cooperation with the Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA), has conducted an online survey from September 2022 until February 2023. The research encompasses applicants, processors (competent state authorities) and holders of public authority (issuers of the conditions for design and connection). The procedure for issuing permits is carried out with the help of the software of the Central Register of Integrated Procedures (CRIP), the maintenance of which is the SBRA’s responsibility. CRIP was established within the framework of the construction permits issuance reform, which was recognized as one of the most significant reforms in the last ten years and thanks to which Serbia ranked highly on global competitiveness lists.
On 22 February 2023, the results of research on the possibilities of improving the CRIP system for issuing eConstruction permits were presented at the meeting of NALED’s Property and Investment Alliance, of which the SBRA is a member. The research showed that 80% of applicants were attorneys and legal representatives of legal entities, most of whom were attorneys with a responsible designer's license (59%) and attorneys without a license (19%), who submitted the applications on behalf of the investors.
The procedures which are most often initiated are the ones for issuing location requirements (25%), for issuing the decision to approve the execution of works foreseen under Article 145 of the Law on Planning and Construction (16%) and for construction permits (15%). Three-quarters of applicants rated the authorities' actions during application processing with an average score of 4.1 out of 5.
According to the survey, as many as 80% of the employees in the competent authorities, who work in the area of issuing permits, pointed out that the prescribed deadlines for issuing the construction and use permits are too short. In addition to prescribing adequate deadlines, increasing the number of employees and improving the regulatory framework were named as priorities which will facilitate the process of issuing permits.
In relation to CRIP, the survey respondents rated the comprehensibility of the software application during the processing of application with an average score of 4.39, while the holders of public authorities rated the cooperation with SBRA, which keeps CRIP, with an average score of 4.3.
Applicants highlighted three priorities for improving the process of issuing construction permits: better control of compliance with legally prescribed deadlines, improvement of the software's speed and creation of additional functionalities in the CRIP application system. The Serbian Business Registers Agency will take the results of the survey and the suggestions of the CRIP system users into consideration during the future improvement of the Central Register of Integrated Procedures software.