Merger of four business application forms takes effect

Under a newly introduced process, all four starting-a-business application forms namely Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Business Operating Permit application and Business Registration forms have been merged.

This is the latest initiative in government’s quest to formalize the economy, by leveraging on technology and digitization to improve on administrative systems by automating some processes to ease the cost of doing business in the country.

The automation of the application process also comes along with instant online issuance of business registration certificate following payment.

This is to ensure that the procedure is carried out in a single step which would in turn eliminate all delays associated with the system, where such delays have the tendency to impede on the effectiveness of doing businesses.

This improved business registration measure is under the auspices of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), and is part of various reforms being implemented by the Department to promote integrity, transparency and ease of doing business in the country.

The reforms are purposely structured to make Ghana an easier place for doing business, and also a means to make the country more attractive to potential investors, both local and foreign.

The ongoing reforms fall within the framework of recommendations emerging from the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Report, which provides objective measures of business regulations for local firms in over 190 economies and some selected cities across the globe.

The new, easier business registration process is encouraging to the business community, most especially entrepreneurs and operators of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the sense that the acquisition, completion and processing of the forms hitherto obtained from four different locations would now be processed seamlessly at the RGD.

This will result in reduction of both business registration cost and the time spent. Fast-tracking the entire process would improve efficiency and the investor-friendliness of the business environment across all sectors of the economy.

The private sector – ultimately the beneficiary of the reforms – has been engaged and awareness of the new process and its benefits created within the business spectrum.