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The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has moved to facilitate payment for five services, essential to start any business in the country, at one go through its one stop service (OSS) portal, officials said.
Presently, five types of approvals are preliminarily essential to start a business in Bangladesh.
They are: name clearance, company registration, opening bank accounts, trade license, and tax identification number (TIN).
To avail these services, an investor needs to fill up five separate payment forms and go to different places to make the payments.
BIDA wants that the investors make the entire payment for these services by filling up one 'online form' which it will channel to the service providers later to lessen the investors' pressure.
Officials said through its OSS platform BIDA presently facilitates its own 18 types of services to the businesses/investors while the platform can process applications for 40 other services of 18 other agencies.
Recently, BIDA held a meeting with the service providers on implementation of its plan to receive fees for five services by filling up one online form by the investors.
After various discussions, the meeting decided to hold a workshop soon to sensitise the service providers about the fee payment method and channelling them to the respected agencies latter, officials said.
A senior BIDA official said the authority has been working to add 150 types of services of at least 50 agencies in the OSS platform so the service seekers do not need to roam here and there to get required services.
Data shows that since February 2019 some 84,801 applications for 18 types of services provided by BIDA have been processed.
Also, 18,245 applications of Security Services Divisions under the Ministry of Home Affairs were processed during the period.
However, only 251 applications of other 17 agencies/departments were processed during the period through the OSS platform.
The agencies and departments whose services have been added to the OSS platform include: Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, National Board of Revenue, Sonali Bank, Department of Environment, Chattogram City Corporation, Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka South City Corporation, Chittagong Development Authority, Dhaka Power Distribution Company, Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.