The government aims to reduce delays in company registration and enable new companies to be registered within hours. To this end, the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) is being modernised along the lines of Singapore’s fast, online-based business registration system.
The government is set to introduce the ‘Electronic Business Registration System’, or EBRS, to make the entire company registration process online-based.
Once the new system is fully operational, entrepreneurs will no longer need to visit an RJSC office for any stage of the process, from obtaining name clearance to final registration.
The government believes the digital transformation of the RJSC will help simplify the process of starting a business, create an investment-friendly environment and reduce overall business costs.
Once the new system is fully operational, entrepreneurs will no longer need to visit an RJSC office for any stage of the process, from obtaining name clearance to final registration.
The progress of the new system was presented at a meeting on modernising the RJSC’s operations at the Secretariat on Monday. Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir was the chief guest, while Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan chaired the meeting. Additional Commerce Secretary Shibir Bicitro Barua and RJSC officials were also present.
Apply online from home
Under the new EBRS, entrepreneurs will be able to apply for company registration online at any time. To ensure the accuracy of application information and prevent fraud, systems are being introduced to verify national identity cards, e-TINs and mobile phone numbers in real time.
This will make it possible to identify incorrect or inconsistent information when an application is submitted. As a result, the need for officials to manually check documents will be reduced, shortening the registration process and time.
Initiatives have also been taken to simplify the legal process for forming a company. Entrepreneurs will be offered three options for the memorandum and articles of association. These will include standard model memorandum and articles of association; customised memorandum and articles with the option to add clauses according to the business’s needs; and, pre-approved standard memorandum and articles of association.
Entrepreneurs will no longer need to submit the same information repeatedly. The necessary information can be verified directly through the databases of the relevant government institutions.
This is expected to significantly reduce the time required to verify and approve company registrations.
Integration with government databases
The meeting was informed that EBRS is being connected with the databases of several key government institutions to automate the entire process.
Work to establish a connection with the Election Commission to verify national identity card (NID) information, with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to verify entrepreneurs’ mobile SIM information, and with Bangladesh Data Center Company Limited to ensure data security and uninterrupted services is nearing completion.
As a result, entrepreneurs will no longer need to submit the same information repeatedly. The necessary information can be verified directly through the databases of the relevant government institutions.
Registration within hours for first six months
The meeting was informed that technological improvements are under way to make the fully automated name clearance system more accurate. For this reason, the RJSC has introduced an interim arrangement to ensure that entrepreneurs continue to receive services until the fully automated system is launched.
If the applicant’s required information and documents are in order, the registration process will be completed within a few hours.
Under the plan, during the first six months after EBRS is launched, the relevant officials will verify name clearance as soon as applications are submitted. If the applicant’s required information and documents are in order, the registration process will be completed within a few hours.
At the same time, efforts will be made to encourage businesses to use model memorandum and articles of association.
It was said that once the entire initiative is implemented, entrepreneurs will save both time and money when setting up companies.
Alongside reducing the need to visit government offices in person, the automatic verification of various application details will increase transparency and accountability in service delivery. In particular, it will create opportunities for new entrepreneurs, new businesses and domestic as well as foreign investors to start operations faster.