Business Registration Reform: A big benefit to businesses in Albania
One of the important initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy (METE) is the reform of business registration procedures. This reform will reduce the time of registration a day search for new businesses and will combine in a single procedure all steps of registration – including registration for the purpose of taxation. A new law on business registration reform entered into force by the Parliament on 3 May 2007. Law 9723 on the National Registration establishes the National Registration Center (NRC) as a new public institution at the central level. This law and the establishment of the NRC is an initiative of the Albanian government and supported by the agreement METE Threshold of the Millennium Challenge Albania, administered by USAID. This reform is a significant step in the general government to improve the business climate in Albania. The reform provides some important benefits for Albanian businesses as well as to foreign investors:
Process simpler, faster and with less expense for the registration of new businesses Simultaneous registration in tax administration, social security, health insurance and the Labour Inspectorate, through the use of a single application procedure Windows application for business registration throughout Albania, enabling a business carrying out all registration procedures at local government level Free access to the public in the Commercial Register information via the Internet.
National Registration Center will begin its operations by the end of 2007. The main characteristics of the NRC and new procedures of business registration are:
1. Rrugëzgjidhja “one-stop-shop for business registration. NRC will provide a “one-stop-shop for business registration. NRC will serve as single window for all types of business entities throughout Albania, to conduct and apply to all business registration processes, including registration fees at national and local (municipal) health insurance and social development, the Inspectorate of Labour and National Institute of Statistics.
2. Electronic registration of business. NRC will provide maximum capacity for electronic registration of businesses, as well as access to information of the Commercial Register through the Internet. NRC will encourage the use of electronic registration procedures through the Internet, while non-electronic documents will be cast into the database of the NRC, to simplify the process and enable receiving information from the public.
3. Electronic Commercial Register: Commercial Register will hold information on all types of business entities and will be a unique database, single and uniform. NRC will provide the public, foreign investors and government agencies full access to electronic information the Commercial Registry.
4. Registration is possible throughout Albania. NRC, as an entity and unique database and centralized, it will offer service counters across the country, operating in the municipal offices which will be linked to the Commercial Register of the NRC. This will enable businesses in all regions of the country to benefit from the services business registration in an office very close to their residence.
5. Completion of international standards for the registration of business: electronic NRC and its procedures would make Albanian the Commercial Register and Registration of business to comply fully with all applicable directives of the European Union will make business registration and information Commercial Register pëqrdoruesit completely accessible for Albanians, as well as for foreign business users.
6. Many benefits for businesses. The proposed new law transforms NRC business registration process by a process with many stages that require legal decision-making by the court, in an administrative process to a stop. Registration procedures the NRC will simplify and reduce the cost of services for business registration, reducing in a single day period necessary to register a new business and to make changes to information about the company registered. Licenses required for specific activities will be following, and there will be a condition to be met before the business registration and tax registration. All these will improve and simplify procedures for business registration and young entrepreneurs.
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