Investment Climate
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JANUARY 2013 INVESTMENT CLIMATE Reforming Business Registration A Toolkit for the Practitioners Investment Climate World Bank Group In partnership with Reforming Business Registration A Toolkit for the Practitioners © 2013 The World Bank Group 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington D.C., 20433 All rights reserved January 2013 Available online at www.wbginvestmentclimate.org This work is a product of the staff of the World Bank Group with external contributions. The information included in this work, while based on sources that the World Bank Group considers to be reliable, is not guaranteed as to accuracy and does not purport to be complete. The World Bank Group accepts no responsibility for any consequences of the use of such data. The information in this work is not intended to serve as legal advice. The fi ndings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments of the countries they represent. The denominations and geographical names in this publication are used solely for the convenience of the reader and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank, or other affi liates concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its boundaries or national affi liation. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank Group encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Offi ce of the Publisher, the World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; telephone 202–522–2422; email: [email protected]. About the Investment Climate Department of the World Bank Group The Investment Climate Department of the World Bank Group helps governments implement reforms to improve their business environments and encourage and retain investment, thus fostering competitive markets, growth, and job creation. Funding is provided by the World Bank Group (IFC, MIGA, and the World Bank) and over 15 donor partners working through the multidonor FIAS platform. Acknowledgements Aminur Rahman is the principal author and task team and Catherine Masinde, Jean Lubega- Kyazze, and Peter leader of this publication. Bin Zhai and Petter Lundkvist Clayfi eld on the South Sudan case study a re grate- contributed to a number of chapters and appendixes. fully acknowledged. Andrei Mikhnev provided general John R. Wille and Numa F. De Magalhaes coauthored guidance and supervision, and he and Dobromir Cristow chapter 3. Contributions from Irina Niederberger and peer-reviewed the toolkit. The toolkit was edited by Susan Abulfaz Manafov on the Azerbaijan case study; Jisha Boulanger and Paul Holtz. Nilar Andrea Chit Tun provided Sarwar on the Bangladesh case study; Nora Buklevska assistance with the publication process. and Andon Rumenov on the Macedonia Case Study; Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................ iii ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................vii 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORM ....................................................................................1 2. INTERNATIONAL GOOD PRACTICES IN BUSINESS REGISTRATION ........................................................................5 3. USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORM ..............11 4. IMPLEMENTING GOOD PRACTICES IN BUSINESS REGISTRATION: LEGAL, BUSINESS PROCESS, AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS .........................................................................................................................17 5. CATALYSTS FOR BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORM ..........................................................................................23 6. BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORM IN FRAGILE AND CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES .............................................28 7. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORM PROGRAM: PROJECT LIFECYCLE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................33 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................................................41 APPENDIX A THREE CONDITIONING QUESTIONS TO GUIDE REFORM DESIGN ..........................................................42 APPENDIX B SAMPLE CHECKLIST .............................................................................................................................45 APPENDIX C “REALITY CHECK” FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS .........................................................................46 APPENDIX D SAMPLE TERMS OF REFERENCE ............................................................................................................47 APPENDIX E COUNTRY CASE STUDIES .....................................................................................................................51 I. Azerbaijan ..............................................................................................................................................51 II. Bangladesh .............................................................................................................................................56 III. Macedonia ..............................................................................................................................................62 IV. New Zealand ..........................................................................................................................................68 V. South Sudan ...........................................................................................................................................71 APPENDIX F SUMMARY OF USEFUL WEBSITES AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT RESOURCES ON BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORM ..............................................................................................................75 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................78 iv Reforming Business Registration Acronyms ACP African Caribbean Pacifi c ADB Asian Development Bank AfDB African Development Bank APEC Asia-Pacifi c Economic Cooperation BERIS Business Environment Reform and Institutional Strengthening BPR Business process reengineering BR Business registration BRG Better Regulation for Growth BRITE Business Register Interoperability Throughout Europe CM Commerce Minister CRF Corporate Registers Forum DB Doing Business DCED Department of Community and Economic Development DSR Department for State Registration EAC East African Community EBR European Business Register ECA Eastern Europe and Central Asia ECRF European Commerce Register’s Forum EMC Emerging Markets Centre FCAS Fragile and confl ict-affected states FIAS Foreign Investment Advisory Service GBRO Global Business Registries Organisation GenderCLIR Gender Climate Legal and Institutional Reform IACA International Association of Commercial Administrators IACCI Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry IC World Bank Group—Investment Climate Department ICAS Investment Climate Advisory Services ICF Investment Climate Facility for Africa ICT Information and communication technology IDB Inter-American Development Bank IRD Inland Revenue Department ISO International Organization for Standardization LEID Legal entity ID M&E Monitoring and evaluation MAP Mejora del Ambiente Productivo MDTF Multidonor Trust Fund MED Ministry of Economic Development MENA Middle East and North Africa Acronyms v MLSP Ministry of Labor and Social Protection MoC Ministry of Commerce MoJ Ministry of Justice MoT Ministry of Taxes MSME Micro, small, and medium enterprises MTCS Medium-term competitiveness strategy NBR National Board of Revenue NGO Nongovernmental organization NRD Norway Registers Development OCR Offi ce of Company Registration OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OHADA Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa OSS One-stop shop PRO Public Revenue Offi ce (Macedonia) PSCP Private-Sector Competitiveness Project QA Quality assurance RIA Regulatory impact analysis RJSC Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (Bangladesh) SEDF SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility SEE South East Europe SIN Single identifi cation number SME Small and medium enterprise SSA Sub-Saharan Africa SSC State Statistical Committee SSBF South Sudan Business Forum SSPF State Social Protection Fund TIN Taxpayer identifi cation number UID Unique identifi cation number UINL International Union of Notaries UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization USAID U.S. Agency for International