Use electronic system to register your business – Ramlogan
JAMAICANS ARE being encouraged to use the online Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) electronic Business Registration Form (eBRF) to register their business or companies.
Persons can access the form via the COJ’s website, www.orcjamaica.com, from any location globally.
The online system provides a hassle-free and more convenient option for those seeking to register a business. This project supports the Government’s priority to offer services designed around client needs by making them more accessible and encouraging investments by creating a more efficient process.
The initiative is being spearheaded by the Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Division in the Office of the Cabinet, with funding support from the Inter-American Development Bank.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the COJ, Judith Ramlogan, said persons have been using the online system since April 2018 to register their business names. She said that persons can now register their companies online.
Explaining the difference between a company and business, she said that the company is a commercial enterprise incorporated under the Companies Act 2004, while a business is registered under the Registration of Business Names Act, 1934.
Ramlogan said that the COJ is working to improve service delivery. “We are working on simplifying the name-approval process because as it stands now, you have to have a name approved before you can register a business name or your company” she said.
DIFFICULTIES
She noted that several persons have encountered difficulties with the name approval, adding that it was due mainly to the naming rules, which are complicated and archaic. “So, we are working to simplify the naming rules,” she added.
Ramlogan said that 1,181 persons have registered business names, of which 1,021 were approved and 108 rejected. In addition, she said that eight companies have registered online.
The CEO explained that the project also involves the setting up of kiosks at Tax Administration Jamaica offices, the COJ, and at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation office for those persons who do not have Internet access.
Kiosks will shortly be established in three tax offices: Montego Bay, Twickenham Park and Constant Spring.
However, Ramlogan said that the kiosks are not yet staffed due to “some HR (human resource) issues to be worked out”.
“As soon as that is done, then the kiosks will be up and running,” she added.
The eBRF, which replaces the COJ’s one-stop shop paper-based super form that was introduced in 2014, was officially launched by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in August.