First company licensed via integrated gov’t system

IN HAI Decoration (Cambodia) Co Ltd became the first company to successfully register via a newly-launched information technology platform.

Six ministries and state-run institutions have been integrated into a business registration system on an information technology platform that was launched on June 15 by government representatives.

The platform intends to make the process of registering and opening a business in Cambodia easier and more efficient.

The six ministries and state institutions listed in the system are the ministries of Interior; Economy and Finance; Commerce; and Labour and Vocational Training, as well as the General Department of Taxation and the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Finance ministry spokesman Meas Soksensan told The Post on Monday that In Hai Decoration registered on June 22 and received approval from the tax department and commerce and labour ministries on Thursday.

They then obtained a business licence in just four days, he stressed.

“The ministry will expand its business registration system with the relevant ministries and other institutions in the future to further streamline business registration,” he said.

Speaking at the June 15 launch ceremony, Phan Phalla, the secretary of state of the finance ministry and the chairman of the inter-ministerial registration system working group, said that the system will require companies to complete a one-time business registration form and that the entire process takes only eight days.

He added that all business registration data will be automatically transmitted to the six ministries and state institutions for inspection and approval.

“All the processes will be done completely online. There are no tangible documents.

“All fees will be paid online and certificates issued by the ministries and institutions will also be provided in a digital format and can be self-published for official use,” said Phalla.

That same day, finance minister Aun Pornmoniroth said the platform will help turn Cambodia into a modern and dynamic investment destination, especially in the context of changing global production chains and relocating of factories.

“I encourage businesspeople to use the new business registration system and its mechanisms to the fullest extent possible,” he said.

Phalla added: “The cost of registration under the new mechanism has been reduced by about 40 per cent. The patent tax for the year of registration has been reduced by 50 per cent and the registration taxes for new registration documents are now exempt.

“Businesspeople are no longer required to take a photo and scan their fingerprint immediately after listing,” he said.