Audit finds failures in staffing and records at State Market Inspectorate
State Audit Office flags understaffing, missing inventories and lack of secure storage following 28,263 inspections in 2024.
The State Audit Office's latest report identifies multiple shortcomings at the State Market Inspectorate, citing insufficient staff, problems with digitalisation and gaps in material and financial records.
According to the audit, in 2024 the Inspectorate carried out 28,263 inspection visits: 21,108 regular inspections, 5,106 extraordinary inspections and 2,049 control checks. Those visits were performed by 148 inspectors, which the report notes is 47% of the 313 established inspector posts.
Staffing and appointments
The audit found 19 decisions to place administrative employees in inspector posts were made during 2024 without budgetary funds having been secured beforehand. The appointments were not included in the annual employment plan. Of the 19 people assigned, 17 were appointed as candidates for inspectors without licences and two were placed as licensed inspectors entitled to a salary supplement.
Auditors also found that five departments have no appointed head, a situation the report says calls for filling management positions. The Inspectorate does not have storage facilities for items seized during inspections until those items are handed over to the Agency for Management of Seized Property, creating a risk of improper handling, subjective decisions and potential loss with financial consequences.
Material-accounting weaknesses were flagged as well. The physical inventory of assets and liabilities had not been fully carried out, and material records did not include procurements with a total value of around 2.15 million denars. Although an extraordinary inventory was planned after the Inspectorate was integrated into the Ministry of Economy and Labour, it had not been completed by the date of the audit.
To address the shortcomings, auditors recommend increasing human resources, establishing electronic registers and an information system for inspection oversight, improving financial and material records, and strengthening inspection procedures.
Photo: press material from the event
