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Cambodia: Online business registration scheme officially launched
The government has officially launched the Business Registration System on Information Technology Platform (OBR) phase 2.
The online ceremony was officiated over by Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance and the chairman of the Committee on Economic and Financial Policy.
The first phase of the OBR was launched in June last year. It covered business registration with the Commerce Ministry, tax registration and notification of the start of a new business at the Labour Ministry.
The second phase expands the scope to allow online applications for licences based on business activities, with specific ministries supervising the companies that fall under their remit.
Four ministries are taking part in phase two: the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation; the Tourism Ministry; the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and the Real Estate Business & Pawnshop Regulator of the Non-Bank Financial Services Authority.
Phase two of the OBR will make it easier to do business in Cambodia by allowing companies to register online, Pornmoniroth said.
He said the new system cuts down on complex procedures, repetition of information, lost time and the cost of the old process. All registrations are automatically shared with the relevant ministries and institutions for review and approval, ensuring that all departments are kept in the loop.
At the end of 2019 there were just over 52,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered with the Commerce Ministry although its believed there are many more companies flying under the radar by not registering. A small enterprise is defined as having 11 to 50 employees, while a medium-sized business has 51 to 100 workers.
The government has been encouraging SMEs to fill out all the relevant paperwork: registering with the Commerce Ministry, getting a business identification number and signing up with the taxation department to pay value added tax.
As part of its attempts to persuade SMEs to turn legitimate the Commerce Ministry is offering them the chance to market their products to customers and other companies on its CambodiaTrade online marketplace.
So far 16 companies have signed up for the e-marketplace, which will start within a month, according to a Commerce Ministry spokesman speaking at a promotional event for CambodiaTrade and Wing Bank this week. Speaking at the same event Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak said more SMEs are expected to register before the launch.
Sorasak has already started working to promote high quality, affordable goods produced by the Kingdom’s artisans and factories. He chaired a meeting of a new working group recently to discuss ways of expanding sales of Cambodian products at home and finding new foreign markets for exporters.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50927651/online-business-registration-scheme-officially-launched/