Move to recognise third party under RJSC

The government has planned to bring third parties or intermediaries under the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) to check irregularities in the process of registering companies.
The third parties will be engaged under a licencing mechanism to make them accountable, according to sources.
Currently, a committee is working on the plan, said Md Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary and director general of WTO Cell at the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).
A study of the Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) said the RJSC registration process requires 89 per cent of the third party engagement, enhancing the cost by up to 49.22 per cent.
Involvement of intermediaries, brokers, or consultants in the business process all over the world is a common practice, but they are recognised everywhere.
Mr Rahman said that monitoring of the third-party engagement in the registration process would help check charging additional fees and cut the cost of doing business.
Officials said the MoC has recently given up its move to revise the charges and fees of the Office of Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI&E) following the global economic setback due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The costs of exports and imports would go up following the possible surge in shipping charges with the turmoil in the petroleum exporting countries.
In a meeting on January 17 this year, the MoC gave its consent to review the possibility of imposing additional fees and charges on the services of the CCI&E.
The meeting also decided to review the possibility of accepting registration certificate of the RJSC instead of trade licence to make doing business easy.
The CCI&E would examine the possibility and apprise the MoC in this regard.
The decision came following a recommendation by representatives of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Dhaka Chambers of commerce and Industry (DCCI).
Talking to the FE, FBCCI senior vice-president Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu said the RJSC registration can ensure accountability and compliances of the businesses more than that of the trade licence.
It has decided to form a three-member committee to recommend adjustment of the fees and improve service delivery by the office.
Mr Rahman said the committee is yet to submit its report.
He added that allegations against the CCI&E reduced to a great extent and the office has started providing online services.
He said the MoC is planning to recognise the third-party registration issuer of RJSC by giving them licence.
Currently, the CCI&E is providing 60 types of services to the exporters and importers. Of the services, some 50 have already been digitized while others are being done following e-Nothi.
Currently, the CCI&E charges fees for only six services fixed by the import policy of 2012-15. Some 54 types of services are exempted from any fees and charges.
Except registration, the CCI&E does not require paying any fees for other services such as import or export permit, prior approval letter of import, import-cum-export permit, clearance permit etc.
In case of amendments to registration certificate such as change of bank, name, sector, ownership, position, extension of shipping or letter of credit (L/C) settlement time, controller of the CCI&E Md Masudul Mannan said the fees for the services might not be revised now as it would contradict with the export policy 2021-25.
Rather, the service delivery would be improved further with the recommendation of the committee, he added.
He said the CCI&E would have to be integrated with the RJSC to make its licence as a substitute of trade licence.
However, such integration would need upgrading the RJSC software like that of the CCI&E software, he added.
The CCI&E is using an online licencing module (OLM) to provide online services.
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