Sines port authority is testing a new simplified invoice system amid much congratulation, enthusiasm and hope that something called a FUP can save 600,000 pieces of paper a year.
FUP is a ‘Fatura Única Portuária’ which has been introduced by the Minister of the Sea Ana Paula Vitorino as part of the Maritime Simplex Programme.
The Port of Sines can now merge the various invoices that it normally issued into one invoice and voilá, the administration previously done by five separate organisations has all but evaporated with one bill covering all the chargeable activities.
From now on, the amounts charged by the Port Authority, Maritime Authority, Customs Authority, Health Authority and Foreigners and Borders Service will be billed on one invoice.
The blindingly obvious move starts on April 1st at the Port of Sines and will be extended to Portugal’s other ports including Faro and Portimão at the end of the year, if the pilot project is successful.
In addition to the making life simple for those of Portugal’s various entities that charge money to visiting ships, the environment should benefit from a huge reduction on bits of paper used, some 600,000 according to the minister.
Remarkably, the launch of this administrative tweak was attended not by one Minister of the Republic, but by three as Vitorino was joined by the Minister for Defence Azeredo Lopes and the Minister for Health Adalberto Campos Fernandes.
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But then the Portuguese oil industry is being run by big multi-nationals who have obviously the clout to get Lisbon's politicians to sit up and smell the coffee.
Small and medium sized tourism activity in Portugal has no foreigners with clout. Hence the endless delays and incompetence in registering then administering them as businesses. So involving the Municipals, the Regional Tourism, SEF and Uncle Tom Cobley and all.