Biz reg, ops get costlier up to five times

The Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) has increased various fees two to five times for companies availing different services from the state entity.

Besides, the RJSC has introduced fees for three types of services that were previously provided free of cost.

The Ministry of Commerce, under which the RJSC operates, issued a circular on June 8 updating the fee rates.

A total of 37 types of fees, such as application charges for firm registration, change in name and place and branch opening or closing, have been increased by two to more than five times, while 22 services have remained unchanged. The requirement to pay fees for a particular type of service has been eliminated.

Businessmen said this fee hike will impact the costs of both local and foreign public and private limited companies, partnership firms, trade organisations, social organisations and individual companies registered with the RJSC.

They fear that new entrepreneurs will face difficulties in starting their businesses due to the added costs. Moreover, they believe that this move will spoil the expansion mood of the formal business sector.

Overall, they said revising the various fees is expected to hinder the ease of doing business.

According to the RJSC, the number of registered companies in the country has doubled to 0.28 million till May this year from 0.13 million in 2009. Until July 2013, fees for different services were fixed. However, some service fees were increased in May 2016.

In the financial year 2021-22, the RJSC earned over Tk 2.96 billion as non-tax revenue from providing various services. As of May in the current fiscal year, the revenue stood at Tk 2.46 billion. It is expected that the earnings of the state body will further increase due to the revised fee rates.

Several fees have been raised, including the application fee for company registration, which has increased from Tk 1,000 to Tk 5,000. The fee for recording a change in name and principal business location has increased from Tk 200 to Tk 500, while the fee for closing or opening a branch has also increased from Tk 200 to Tk 500.

The fee for the registration of alterations or dissolution of a firm has been hiked from Tk 500 to Tk 1,000. The error correction fee has increased from Tk 200 to Tk 500.

Currently, the prescribed fee rate for society registration is Tk 10,000. In the latest revision, it has been adjusted to Tk 15,000.

In addition to the registration of the memorandum with the registrar, the registration of a document will now require payment of Tk 800 instead of the previous Tk 400.

Similarly, Tk 400 will be required for document inspection which was at Tk 200. Obtaining a copy of the registration certificate will be charged Tk 400, as the previous rate was Tk 200.

For copies of documents or special parts, a fee of Tk 10 per 100 words will be charged, with a minimum fee rate of Tk 500 (previously Tk 200).

On the other hand, the latest initiative has abolished the minimum fee rate of Tk 200 for document comparison. Instead, the fee for document comparison is now Tk 10 per 100 words or part thereof. The fee for obtaining a clearance certificate of society name has been doubled to Tk 2,000 from Tk 1,000.

The late fee for submitting any document/statement after the prescribed time is Tk 2.0 per day, with a maximum fixed at Tk 1,000. In the revised rate, the maximum fee remains at Tk 1,000, but the penalty has been increased to Tk 5.0 per day.

If the nominal share capital of the company ranges from Tk 1.0 million to Tk 5.0 million, the registration fee would be Tk 80 for each Tk 0.1 million. Previously, it was Tk 50 per lakh. For a nominal share capital exceeding Tk 5.0 million, the registration fee is Tk 130 per lakh, whereas it was Tk 80 per Tk 0.1 million before.

To obtain information related to the inspection of the mortgage and charge-off register, Tk 500 will be required instead of Tk 200. The fee for receiver appointment registration has also been increased to Tk 500 from Tk 400.

The RJSC has newly imposed commission fees on receiving services from its district-level offices. According to the circular, the commission fees will be deposited into the government account.

Contacted, a senior official of the RJSC said most of their service fees were fixed almost a decade ago. Since then, the scope of services and operating expenses of the entity has significantly increased. Incidental costs related to customer service, including office space for storing documents of nearly 0.3 million registered companies, online server management and additional manpower, have also risen.

As a result, the fee rates for some services have been raised, while others have remained unchanged, said the official, commenting that the requirement to pay fees has been waived in several cases.

The official also claimed that the updated fee rates would not lead to a significant increase in the costs for companies and businesses.

rezamumu@gmai.com