IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Irish exporters involved in agri-business will be able to more quickly get a hold of millions of euro in EU refunds over the next year, thanks to a new system. That's according to the Irish Exporters Association (IEA), which said on Friday that the new Common Agricultural Policy/Direct Trader Input (CAP DTI) e-government system would eliminate much of the complicated paperwork that comes with exporting agricultural products in Europe. Under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Irish exporters are expected to receive EUR300 million in refunds which in the past would have taken months to process. "With the current manual systems, there is an elaborate paper process," said John Whelan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association. "Multiple copies of everything were required, both here and in Europe, and there has to be cross-linking of paperwork, authorisation stamps and other processes... Under the new system, all of that is gone. Also, the Revenue Commissioners are now able to respond very quickly to changes in EU policy."

"The new system will, it is estimated, save the export industry approximately EUR1.2 million in labour, paperwork and improved cashflow when fully implemented," Whelan added.

The IEA and some of Ireland's biggest exporters helped to drive development of the new system, which is linked in to the Revenue Commissioner's Revenue On-line Service (ROS).

E-government delivers 'real' benefits

The launch of the new of e-government system in Ireland comes just as the EU has released the results of a survey which concluded that e-government services yield "real" benefits. According to the European Commission, EU citizens are saving 7 million hours a year on the time it takes to do their income tax returns, and EU firms are saving about EUR10 per transaction on their VAT returns by doing them online.

"Using new technologies to provide public services can become a powerful way to cut red tape," commented Viviane Reding, the EU's Information Society and Media commissioner. "The survey shows that public services online clearly deliver concrete added value both to citizens and business."

The 2004 eGovernment-impact survey covered 48,228 users -- 19,896 replies from citizens and 28,332 from businesses. According to the survey, 90 percent of users appreciate the quality of services offered electronically and over 60 percent are very satisfied with these services, the Commission said.

Autor: Matthew Clark

Quelle: ElectricNews, 14.01.2005