Online registration made mandatory
KATHMANDU, OCT 26 -
The Company Registrar Office (CRO) has made the registration of new companies through online system mandatory from this week. It said it would no longer entertain files under manual system for registration purpose.
The CRO, which started online registration system in February, took a step further by fully automating the registration system.
It has enabled companies to submit documents required for registration and forward application for dissolution through the internet. Companies can also check their status online.
“We have made online registration mandatory since October 20 for new companies,” said Toyanath Adhikari, deputy registrar at the CRO. “Old companies providing any types of information to the CRO should also go through the system.”
Adhikari said the CRO adopted full automation of the system as it has been struggling to handle large volumes of papers.
“We are probably among the last countries in South Asia to make it mandatory,” he said, adding the CRO does not have enough human resources to handle the paper works efficiently.
The system is expected to eliminate hassles that people faced while carrying out official work, minimise the rush, and curb corruption.
Companies can now log on to http://www.ocr.gov.np to forward their documents, learn about their status and access other information.
However, for the complete registration process, company representatives need to make a one-time visit to the CRO office in Tripureswhor, Kathmandu, or in Lalitpur, to pay registration charges and register their official signatures.
According to the CRO, a total of 411 new companies have been registered through the new online system and around 1,000 have been provided usernames and passwords.
The companies included those registered through manual system. An additional 1,032 companies have applied to the CRO for username and password.
“We still have a long way to go to bring all the companies, which were registered through manual system, under the new system,” said Sansar Dewan, an IT officer at the CRO. The older companies have to open an account and obtain username and password to submit their annual reports and other documents to online.
Dewan said the current IT system adopted by the CRO also has a back-up system on Singh Durbar premises and in the case of a disaster, the data can be recovered.
Meanwhile, the CRO is preparing to open two service centres in Rupandehi and Kavre in order to facilitate businessmen and entrepreneurs, whether old or new, in using its internet-based registration service.
The government body is partnering with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) and the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) for the purpose.
Adhikhari said the Butwal Chamber of Commerce and Industries has formally asked them to initiate the necessary procedures. CAN’s Kavre branch is scheduled to open the service in Kavrepalanchwok district, according to Adhikari.
“The plan is to open them (the centres) within a month,” said Dewan. “Our aim is to reach out to prospective entrepreneurs at their doorstep.”
The service centres will act as information and support centres. People who have confusions regarding the online system can visit the centre and get information easily, according to him.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
