The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning is not backing away from its proposed Act on chimney sweeping services, according to which chimney sweeping services will remain to be mandatory for all users, but users will be able to choose their own chimney men. A similar proposal was already prepared at the ministry last year, but it was met with fierce criticism, especially from the Government office for legislation, which found numerous legal shortcomings in the proposal. The ministry calmed the situation by extending the current concessions system, despite previous assurances that it would not do so.

The ministry for a second time: There will be no more concessions
The ministry is more optimistic with the new proposal, which was harmonized by an inter-ministerial group yesterday. The ministry expects the government to accept their proposal in a month’s time, before sending its amendments to the National Assembly. The ministry expects the law to be passed by October 2016. The ministry assures, just like it did last year, that the current concessions system will not be extended again.

However despite the ministry’s optimism, it is still unclear whether this year’s amendments to the Act on chimney sweeping services have fixed all the legal shortcomings, highlighted in last year’s proposal by the Government office for legislation. It is also still unclear whether chimney services will remain mandatory for all users, if they are not regulated as a public utility service. Such services can be carried out only in certain legal forms, like for example through concessions or public undertaking, which the proposed Act on chimney sweeping services does not envisage. The ministry’s response is that it is still waiting for answers from the Government office for legislation.

Luka Lukič, MMC; translated by K. J.