Explaining the amendments, chief state inspector Kruno Kovacevic said that inspectors annually filed about 40,000 complaints because of the grey economy and that due to a huge number of cases, statute of limitations often expired because magistrate's courts did not rule in every case.
The clubs of deputies said during a debate that the grey economy remained the cancer of the Croatian economy and society in general.
Andrija Hebrang of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said the grey economy cost the national budget up to 15 billion kuna annually, the amount annually set aside for health.
He said the national budget lost more than eight billion kuna annually because of unregistered workers alone, and that the number of illegal workers was about 400,000.
Hebrang underlined the bill of amendments was just the first step in the government's measures to crack down on the grey economy.
Pero Kovacevic of the Party of Rights (HSP) said inspectors should also have jurisdiction over employers breaching workers' rights.
Mato Arlovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said a debate should be held before the adoption of the law because the amendments encroached upon fundamental human rights. He also added it was illogical that the police were chasing and punishing illegal workers instead of the employers not registering them.