13 Amendments of Marco ZULLO related to 2018/2056(INI)
Amendment 30 #
1. Believes that both the Late Payment Directive and national legislation on late payment should be better enforced throughin a timely manner through compliance with the maximum time limits established for the payment of invoices and measures aimed at improving rules on payment terms and discouraging unfair practices; notes that these measures can be categorised according to their nature (legal or voluntary), scope (horizontal or sector- specific) and objective (preventive, remedial or change in business culture);
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Maintains that there is no one-size- fits-all approach to tackling the issue of late payments, as in some sectors longer payment deadlines, beyond 30 or 60 daysthat in any case do not exceed the deadlines set in Directive2011/7/EU, are in line with the needs of businesses and an accepted practice, taking into account the specificities of each sector; considers that it is also important to respect the freedom of contract between undertakings on the market, always ensuring a level playing field between enterprises in dominant positions and small operators;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that the introduction of the mandatory publication of information in specific databases and registries concerning payment behaviour can discourage late payment and help businesses choose reliable commercial partners; considers that the ‘name and shame’ factor and public access to information can be an incentive for companies and for the public administration to improve their payment practices and uphold their monetary obligations; encourages companies and public bodies to publish composite quarterly reports which also cover the behaviour of their subsidiaries;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the importance of providing entrepreneurs, in particular SMEs, with more information and education on credit and invoice management, including through the establishment of an online portal by Member States, on credit and invoice management and on the rights and instruments available to entrepreneurs in legal disputes with debtors; recalls that effective credit management shortens the average collection period and maintains an optimal cash flow, thus reducing the risk of default and increasing the potential for growth; believes that trainingalso that it is important that there should be a fast and efficient complaint and dispute management system, which can promptly inform companies of the reasons why an invoice will not be paid under the agreed conditions; believes that training should also concern officials in public administration and that education and support may also make SMEs more likely to take advantage of Late Payment Directive remedies; notes that SMEs unfortunately often lack the capacity to invest in training and that there are currently no programmes at EU or national level focusing on enhancing businesses’ knowledge of credit and invoice management; believes that more EU funds should possibly be directed towards the financial education of SMEs;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Member States and business associations to set up national and regional free and confidential mediation services (mediation, conciliation, arbitration and adjudication) accessible to all companies, as an alternative to court proceedings, to resolve payment disputes and maintain business relations, but also to educate the companies about their rights and remedies against late payment; stresses that such mediation services would be particularly useful for SMEs, which often do not have adequate financial means to engage in legal disputes and for this reason renounce their rights; considers it, moreover, appropriate that the costs relating to court proceedings and default interest imposed by credit institutions accrued due to late payment should be borne by the debtors;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States to enforce their national legislation and to encourage and improve stricter controls to make the verification of the offences more effective, in particular among large companies, and the use of administrative sanctions (reinforced through a ‘name and shame’ provision that generates peer pressure), that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive and take into account any recurrence of unfair and vexatious behaviour, thus contributing to the improvement of payment behaviour; maintains that direct intervention from the public authorities, since it is they who enforce administrative sanctions, could help to overcome the ‘fear factor’ and relieve creditors of the responsibility to take action against debtors, as the authorities would directly enforce the law and take discretionary action against enterprises engaged in bad payment practices; believes that the value of sanctions and their cumulative nature could deter companies from paying late, while public access to information (publication of sanctions) could directly harm the company’s image and would therefore be limited to the economic operators that request it as they are interested in starting or maintaining commercial relations with the company; in these cases, access to information must be rapid and totally free for operators;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that, despite the fact that the Late Payment Directive was adopted in February 2011, thousands of SMEs and start-ups across Europe go bankrupt every year while waiting for their invoices to be paid, including by national public authorities; calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider mandatory forms of adequate compensation or offsetting for companies owed money by a public authority, so that they are not forced to go bankrupt because of it; In particular, the tax, fiscal and social security debts of companies should be offset against amounts outstanding from the public administration; offsetting can also be promoted through the securitisation of tax receivables, for example through instruments such as small-scale government bonds and by the assessment of the definition of public debt through the appropriate authorities;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Welcomes the new mechanism for the protection of entrepreneurs applied in some Member States, such as Italy, to protect those who have matured debts with banks, but also have claims against the public administration, which prevents the distraint of the entrepreneurs' homes; notes that this system protects entrepreneurs from unjustified attacks, as they are linked to debtor positions which could be remedied if the public administration honoured its debts to entrepreneurs; urges the other Member States to put in place similar measures aimed at preventing the expropriation of homes and protecting the private life and dignity of the individual;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Urges Member States to set up guarantee funds for SMEs that guarantee the debts with the banks of SMEs that have amounts outstanding from the public administration;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes with great concern the situation in some Member States, where public authorities have greatly delayed payments for goods and/or services supplied to them by undertakings, leading those businesses into extreme financial difficulties; believes that in order to support businesses whose financial management is complicated by delayed payments from public authorities, the Member States should put in place faster and more efficient VAT refund procedures, especially for SMEsprocedures for the refund of VAT and the recovery of amounts due, especially for SMEs; believes that the deadline for the payment of VAT should be postponed until the time the invoice is actually collected, so as to avoid the vicious circle that causes entrepreneurs who collect the invoices late to fall in debt to the banks and to pay higher interest in order to access the liquidity necessary to carry on their business; notes that such situations prevent any long-term investment or hiring plan and can lead to bankruptcy;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Points out that prompt payment codes and charters and corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures contribute to creating a responsible payment culture and ensuring fair relationships and trust among businesses; encourages Member States to introduce rapid payment systems in order to support companies' cash flow and increase trust in public administration;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Maintains that certain concepts of the Directive, such as ‘grossly unfair’, and when contractual payment terms begin and end cshould be clarified, either in the Directive or through guidance issued by the Commission so as not to benefit companies in a dominant positions which are able to include longer terms of payment in the contract compared with SMEs; notes also the emerging case law of the Court of Justice on the interpretation of certain concepts of the Directive (i.e. ‘undertaking’, ‘commercial transaction’ and ‘grossly unfair’ in Cases C-256/15 and C-555/14);
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Applauds certain industry-level initiatives in some Member States under which participating corporations have drawn up a pledge detailing the concrete steps they will take to ensure their smaller suppliers are paid more quickly for the products or services they supply; notes that positive naming and shaming (‘name and fame’) could produce the intended results via self-regulation at industry levelresults;