A digital tool from the Spanish government to create companies has been down for 22 days

MadridPau Riba has been trying for 22 days to complete an online procedure with the Business Creation Information and Network Centre (CIRCE), a digital platform that depends on the Ministry of Industry and that allows you to create or close a company in the State, as well as process a registration or a deregistration in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers. The platform "went down", says Riba through the social network X and considers it "shameful". And he is not the only user who has recently complained. This January alone, 6,815 procedures were carried out through CIRCE, of which 2,693 were related to the creation or closure of a company and 4,114 affected self-employed workers.

The truth is that the problem has existed since January 31. This was communicated by the Point of Attention to Entrepreneurship, a service dependent on the State Secretariat of Industry, through an information note. "CIRCE service stop" Friday, January 31st at 1:00 p.m.", it was announced at the time. The underlying reason is, according to the note, "actions related to communications with the Tax Agency." In fact, the Secretary of State for Industry, Rebeca Torró, explained through Xthat the system was being "adapted" as a result of technical changes to the platform. "The forecast is that the application will be fully operational in the next few days," he said. When questioned by ARA, sources from the ministry did not specify in what time frame it might be operational again and also assured that they had not received any complaints.

Through the single electronic document (DUE), the CIRCE platform unifies different administrative forms, which facilitates the procedures even if they correspond to different public bodies, whether the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Finance or the Tax Agency. The system was created with the aim of streamlining and simplifying the procedures and significantly reducing the time and costs associated with the incorporation of a company.

Temporary alternatives

The same platform has reported that those cases that already had an appointment at the notary's office from February 3 should continue the process outside the CIRCE system until it is operational again. Likewise, in the case of files "that have not finished their processing by January 31, their status will be checked and the Entrepreneurship Assistance Points will be notified so that they can be informed of their status," the note adds.