PACRA registers more companies

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU OVER 15, 000 companies have been registered by the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) between January and July 2017 against 13,945 businesses registered during the same period in 2016.

PACRA public relations officer, Vaida Njovu, said they recorded an increased number of registrations in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, followed Finance Minister Felix Mutati by mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity.

Ms. Njovu said PACRA in the first seven months of the year registered 15,910 businesses of which about 10, 057 were business names, 5,810 local companies and 43 were foreign companies.

She said in an interview in Lusaka that most registrations were in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles as well as motorcycles.

“In terms of business registrations, from 2016 January to July, we registered about 13,945 businesses; these included 8,495 business names, 5,416 local companies and 34 foreign companies,” she said.

Ms. Njovu said explained that since Government announced that it would prioritise agriculture, there have been rises in registration in the sector and PACRA had also taken advantage of the move to ensure that service delivery was on target.

She said there had been an increase in compliance levels when it came to filing of annual returns by businesses due to a number of measures they had put in place.

Ms. Njovu explained that the PACRA had intensified its sensitisation programmes across the country and was also using emails and text messages to remind the businesses when the date for filing annual returns was due.

“We send text messages and email notifications, we have also partnered with key stakeholders such as the Zambia Public Procurement Authority and Zambia Revenue Authority.

“So it means that if you are not compliant in terms of filing annual returns, then these two agencies will not issue you with a certificate, this is actually working out very well for us,” she said.