Now Online: Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry
The Online Business Registry System, O.B.R.S. was officially launched on Friday night for people who do business in Belize and for those who wish to start. It serves to complement the work of the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry, BCCAR, which was established in July of this year to provide companies and business registration services in Belize. The online tool aims to make all that was once available only manually, accessible at the click of a key or button on your digital device, creating ease of access to any registered business owner within or outside of the country who wish to access their business profile. But while it also allows for certain information to be made available to the public, it offers businesses protection from identity theft and other cyber crimes. News Five’s Marion Ali was on hand for the launch at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Over the past eight months, the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry, B-CCAR, has registered more than eighteen thousand local and international businesses. And on Friday night, the online service that caters to those businesses and anyone wishing to find out about registered companies was officially introduced. Director General of the Financial Services Commission, Claude Haylock explained what services can be accessed through the online provision.
Claude Haylock
Claude Haylock, Dir. Gen., Financial Services Commission
“The O.B.R.S. is a web-based platform to facilitate online registration for all business entities, post registration services, electronic filing and the production of e-certificates, which are all verifiable via the system. The system is in effect, the vital statistics platform for business entity data and information in Belize.”
Santiago Gonzalez is the Deputy Registrar of the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry, BCCAR, which launched the online service. He explained that many business owners were frustrated with the analog system that is now being replaced with the online services.
Santiago Gonzalez
Santiago Gonzalez, Deputy Registrar, Belize Companies & Corporate Affairs Registry
“We hear the frustration of the public. You meet people from P.G, then you start listening and start hearing that, “You know, that’s why I don’t register my business.” We were at the road show with BELTRAIDE and we realized that a lot of the older folks would pay up to three hundred dollars for a business name – just imagine – that costs twenty-five dollars. So definitely, the system will help with the ease of doing business.”
The Norway Registers Development, an international group of companies that has existed for the past twenty-five years and specializes in registering companies worldwide was the consultant for this project. Its C.E.O. is Mindaugas Glodas.
Mindaugas Glodas
Mindaugas Glodas, C.E.O., Norway Registers Development
“We deliver technology, but we also deliver knowledge – how to best transition I would call old-fashion paper-based processes into the digital world. We have developed the IT system that actually corresponds to the requirements of the new law and the new law provides for certain procedures how old companies will be registered. So there were no digitization of old data, but I understand that companies will be re-registering onto the new system. There is a window open now for a certain period of time for these companies to register.”
This kind of service has been on the wish list of the Belize International Financial Services Association for a long time now, for the time efficiencies that online services offer. But the president of that association, Reynaldo Magana, agreed that attorneys have complained that the added layer of protection that this online service provides to companies prohibits them from conducting company searches in their line of work.
Reynaldo Magana
Reynaldo Magana, President, Belize International Financial Services Association
“I’ve spoken to a few of them and indeed there have been some comments in that regard. From my understanding, there can be tweaks as you say, so again it’s a matter of dialogue to bring them up. I’m not the person to say it will be done or not but I’m quite confident that it will be addressed.”
The transitional period for companies to comply with the provisions of the new Act will be determined and announced in the near future. Marion Ali for News Five.
