Barcelona digitalises procedures for launching new business activities in the city
Every year more than 4,000 procedures are carried out for setting up a business or starting a new economic activity in the city, and these will now be done electronically
The Virtual Procedures Portal has now digitalised the procedures for communicating the start of a new business activity in Barcelona.
This new system aims to speed up the process, and generate greater confidence within the entrepreneurial and ecosystem when it comes to launching new business initiatives in the city. The new online process allows instant verification of the admissibility of any form of economic activity at a specific address, and it provides a roadmap for completing the process.
Barcelona City Council is making it easier to set up new businesses by introducing a system that enables such procedures to be managed online. The new system offers entrepreneurs and businesses comprehensive access to all the information required by law on opening new business premises, shops and work centres, as well as information on urban planning and changes in ownership.
The launch of these new procedures via the Virtual Procedures Office enables people to save both time and money, and also offers greater security and privacy. It is accessible seven days a week, and provides greater transparency and access to more information. For the public administration, the new system will make it easier to monitor and control cases with shared, up-to-date digital files, guaranteeing data protection and reducing the margin of error.
Every year, more than 4,000 new business start-up procedures are handled in the city, many of which are for opening shops or restaurants. The new procedures mean that the private sector will have quick and easy access to the Virtual Procedures Office, and if necessary get advice or assistance with the procedures from Barcelona Activa’s Business Advice Office (OAE), which in 2023 dealt with more than 17,000 queries in this area.
The new technological platform on which this procedure has been designed was developed by the Municipal Institute of Information Technology and forms part of Barcelona City Council’s broader plan to make it easier to carry out procedures with local public bodies, and to help attract new economic activities to the city. Some of the successes already achieved include abolishing urban planning fees for starting activities in 2020, following the recommendations of the study Doing Business, and joining the Finestreta Única Empresarial (FUE), a one-stop shop for business procedures which has led to significant savings for businesses and the self-employed. The implementation of the new procedures means the processes for new activities are now standardised across Catalonia, as specified in Law 18/2020 on facilitating economic activity.