Ahmedur RahimRegistrar and Joint Secretary

The Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC)

Background of RJSC

The Head Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) was first established in Chittagong in 1947

RJSC currently has three regional offices in Chittagong, Khulna & Rajshahi, with the headquarter in Dhaka

Currently there are around 150,000 entities registered under RJSC.

RJSC operates under the Ministry of Commerce

RJSC Provides Services Under the

Following ACTs

Companies Act 1994 (evolved from the Companies Act 1913)

Societies Registration Act 1860

Partnership Act 1932

Trade Organization Ordinance 1961

Main Online Services Provided by RJSC: Name clearance Registration Returns filling Issuance of certified copies Winding up

Stores Records of Company ownership

Registers mortgages and charges created for

loans and debts

RJSC Services

Background of Reforms at RJSC

RJSC was unable to cope with the increasing demand from the business community

In 1982 the number of registered companies was about 12,000; in the 90’s the number reached 40,000

The Government decided to upgrade the office and its system to make it more modern and efficient to cater to the needs of its clients.

Since 2005, the World Bank Group has been supporting RJSC to simplify and to automate the business registration processes

RJSC is now a fully automated government agency, aligned with the government priority of realizing the “Digital Bangladesh”

Milestones of Reform07 Jan 09 In house LAN Practice

22 Feb 09 Online Name Clearance started

08 Mar 09 Online Registration started

02 Apr 09 Collection of fees through bank

27 May 09 Draft M&A posted on our web site

18 Oct 09 Online Return Filing started

24 Jan 10 Hassle of Stamp Collection Removed

27 Jan 10 4 Hour Registration Service started

27 Jan 10 Payment through online banking

05 Aug 10 Online application for certified copy

22 Aug 10 Sending Incorporation certificates by post

06 Sep 10 Auto-name Reservation started

28 Mar 11 Receiving of misc. application started

19 Apr 11 Easier format of Registration application

Results of Reform

Component Before Reform After Reform

Name Clearance 7 days 2 Hour

Registration 30 days 4 Hour

Return Filing Misfiling, hard to trace Easy to locate

Fee Payment Long queue from dawn Easy to pay at Bank

Stamp Collection Collection was difficult Easy Pay order

Visit to Office At least 6 visits for registration

No visit requires

Transparency No Transparency Online Monitoring

Accountability Poor Accountability Strong Accountability

Impact of Reform

Year wise Registration

4 Hour (%) 1 Day (%) 3 Day (%) 5 Day (%) 5 Day + (%)

2009 201 (2.62) 966 (12.60) 1071 (13.97) 952 (7.20) 4476 (58.38)

2010 1826 (21.17) 2393 (27.74) 1474 (17.08) 1047 (12.13) 1886 (21.86)

2011 Upto Mar 861 (32.86) 800 (30.53) 352 (13.43) 240 (9.16) 367 (14.01)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

4 Hour (%) 1 Day (%) 3 Day (%) 5 Day (%) 5 Day + (%)

2009

2010

2011 Upto Mar

Percentage of Registration by Time

Before Reform

After Reform

Challenges in Implementing the

Reforms at RJSC

Reluctance in adopting new technology

Negative attitude of both staff and users ..

Technical glitches in Software –fine tuning required

The automated system was perceived as a threat to middleman.

Company related information sharing/ cross verification of company authentication with other govt. agencies, such as:

National ID authority Revenue Authority Export Import Authority Trade License Patent Design

Collaboration Plans with Other Agencies

More customization is required in order to make the system more user-friendly for the clients

Disaster recovery data center required

A help desk (particularly a women’s help center) needs to be set up at the RJSC office

Awareness needs to be created amongst the business community regarding the newly automated system

Demand for online payment needs to be created as it is not currently popular

The legal framework under which the system operates needs to be more business friendly

Introduction of Digital Signature is required

A Long Way To Go…

Visit us athttp://www.roc.gov.bd