The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Bureaucracy

The company where I was working when this happened installed photovoltaic plants for private users. At a certain moment in time, the laws were changed, and we were requested to notify the municipality where the installation was taking place about it. It was just a notification, no permission or approval needed.

Of course, being a newly changed law, we all were wary of possible problems and made sure to check everything properly before sending the paperwork, and as long as we worked with small towns or villages, everything went fine.

Until a customer living in the major city of our region bought a plant from us. Since I was due in [major city] for other business, I decided to go in person and also deliver the paperwork for [customer]’s plant. I queue at the office and as soon as I present the paperwork to the young front office employee, he quickly scans it and tells me, “these must be checked by him”, pointing to a senior employee whose sight immediately makes my Vogon detecting senses tingle.

I queue again for [Vogon] and present him with my paperwork. He takes them like he is handling a piece of soiled toilet paper, scans a couple of pages, and tells me, “This is not complete, you need to add also a 3D rendering of the building with the plant,” and hands my paperwork back.

Now, I have done my due diligence and read the municipality building code before preparing the paperwork, and nowhere does it mention that photovoltaic plants need a 3D rendering of any sort. But I am wise enough to know that arguing with [Vogon] is just going to be a waste of time and an unnecessary strain to my blood pressure, so I head back to the office.

Once there, my supervisor asks me how it went, and I relay the story, adding that I also know how to switch off [Vogon]’s power trip. There is a law in Italy that makes clear that for certain acts where the public administration is required to provide an answer, if the answer is not given within a certain time, it is fair to assume that the PA is not opposing the act.

So, I put the paperwork in a mail envelope, sent a registered mail to [Vogon]’s office, and waited to see if [Vogon] would put in writing a request conflicting with his own code. Guess what? No reply came within the time stated by the law, and we could carry out our installation.