The Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representative has approved the amendment to the Commercial Registration and Licensing Proclamation No. 980/2016 in its session of June 18th 2019. The amendment eliminates the requirements for lease or rental agreement as proof of physical address to get business registration and license. The amendment has also eliminated the requirement of publication of company name in newspaper circulation and the fifteen days waiting ahead of business registration. This requirement is to be replaced by a new system of web-based company name publication by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The amendment also empowers the Ministry to introduce an on-line registration services to applicants.
In addition, as per this amendment, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is given the mandate to give One-Stop-Shop services of authenticating Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company to be established and also to issue Tax Identification Number to the company to be established.
The amendment has also given the right of renewing trade license within one year of its expiry by only paying Birr 20,000 (twenty thousand) as penalty.
The previous provision that requires traders to use only cash registered machine is amended so as traders will be able to issue cash receipts software to be installed on computers.
These amendments are made as part of the Government’s business reforms to improve its ratings of ease doing of business.
Published on 20 June 2019
You can see the legal brief prepared on this Proclamation from this website using: http://www.millionlegalservices.com/index.php/resources/101-amendments-to-the-commercial-registration-and-business-licensing-proclamation