SA’s Biz Portal to cut company registrations to one day

The SA government has launched the pilot phase of Biz Portal, a new business portal, led by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

The portal will improve the time and ease for young people to start new enterprises, the Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel (pictured above) said on Monday (4 November).

Through the portal an entrepreneur will be able to register a business within a day in South Africa, a dramatic improvement on turnaround time of 40 days recorded by the World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business Report (opens as a PDF).

The public has been encouraged to test the new portal while it is been piloted over the next three months at https://bizportal.gov.za.

Through Biz Portal an entrepreneur will be able to register a business within a day in South Africa

The digital platform aims to bring together business-related services from various public entities within South Africa.

Through collaboration with the South African Revenue Services (Sars), the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the Compensation Fund (CF), CIPC made it possible for applicants of private companies to obtain the following:

• Company registration

• Tax registration number

• Domain name registration

• B-BBEE Certificate

• Compensation Fund registration

• Unemployment Insurance Fund registration

• Business Bank account

Patel said the Biz Portal entails company registration functions that have already been tried and tested for several years within the CIPC’s E-services environment. This will also cater for options in terms of registering for UIF and Compensation Fund Reference Numbers.

The Department of Trade and Industry says four major banks are participating on the platform.

“Depending on the nature of the agreement the customer will be able to make a direct payment in relation to the registration services at the end of the transaction, be routed into a safe banking platform to apply for a business account or opt for their personal details to be passed on to a bank of their choice,” said the department.

Pilot phase

In the pilot phase, the system is being tested and strengthened. The next phase of the Biz Portal will make provision for other services related to running and maintaining a business.

Identity authentication will be via the real-time Home Affairs Population Register and other sophisticated measures would serve as a necessary buffer to ensure integrity of the system.

Patel said applicants will also have an option to apply for a Domain Name and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) certificate, thanks to the partnerships the CIPC has with the Domain Name Authority, Zadna and the Department of Trade and Industry, respectively.

“From a customers’ perspective, there is no need to visit multiple government institutions, saving them time and money.

“Such seamless registration services will enable entrepreneurs to focus on transforming innovative ideas into beneficial products and services, which will contribute to the creation of jobs in our country,” Patel said. – SAnews.gov.za

This article appeared originally on SAnews, the South African government’s news agency, on 5 November, see it here. 

Featured image: Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel (GovernmentZA via Flickr)