Department of Commerce plans to go online
KATHMANDU, MAR 05 -
The Department of Commerce and Supply Management is mulling implementing an online system for effective service delivery.
A proposal has been sent to the National Planning Commission (NPC), Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce and Supplies for their approval to make the department IT-based. If the plan is approved with required budget allocation, traders can register their import/export firms online.
Last month, the Company Register Office (CRO) started providing IT-based services which allow online registration of companies.
Department officials expect early agreement in principle from NPC. “As soon as we receive the approval, we will work on the types of services to be incorporated and will seek the required budget,” said Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general at the department. He said the automation of services would reduce the lengthy paper work and other red tape.
As per the department’s jurisdiction, it registers and issues licences to private and joint firms for the import/export business . It also carries out market monitoring, collect and analyse market price of essential daily commodities to curb unethical price hike. The officials said infrastructure and qualified workforce were the two major requirements for making the department IT-based.
To help materialise the plan, the department recently requested the Administration Reform Advisory Committee to include the former’s automation plan in the committee’s report.
The committee, under the coordination of Administrative Court Chairman Kashi Raj Dahal, is studying the public administration reform to suggest necessary improvement to make government services result-oriented, fast and effective.
The officials said they would also seek the CRO’s support to install the system, if required. The CRO’s online system, installed with support from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, came into operation from February 8. After the installation of the system, the company registration procedure has become hassle-free.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
