The government is planning to waive registration fees for companies having an authorised capital of Tk 1.0 million or less.
The move is aimed at easing the process of forming a new company, especially one with a small capital, the authorities said.
Commerce ministry officials have already given the green signal to such a proposal coming from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC).
It was later sent to the finance division for review.
"As proposed, there will be no registration fee for forming a company having an authorised capital of Tk 1.0 million or less," said commerce ministry additional secretary Md Obaidul Azam.
"The move will be especially helpful for new businesses with a small capital," he added.
Schedule two of the Companies Act 1994 requires a minimum registration fee of Tk 700 for a company having an authorised capital of Tk 20,000 or less.
Meanwhile, registration fee gradually goes up for companies having a higher amount of authorised capital.
Insiders said there were some initial concerns that the proposed reform might result in the loss of government revenue coming from such fees.
"A general consensus is that such reform may help the country improve its position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking of the World Bank," Mr Azam observed.
"As such, this would brighten the country's image abroad in the long term," he added.
The latest move comes at a time when the government is also at the final stage of revising the companies act.
The revision was already made 'in principle' by the cabinet last November with some observations.
According to the officials, the observations have already been incorporated in the proposed act.
"As per those observations, the act will now feature a separate chapter for single ownership companies," said Mr Azam, who looks after the directorate of trade organisations of commerce ministry.
"The aim is to make it easier to find any rules and regulations regarding the formation of a single ownership company," he continued.
Earlier, the draft act also stipulated that single ownership companies must submit their audit reports and tax returns.
This would enable the government to bring more transparency in business transactions while increasing the tax net, officials concerned observed.
It would also make it easier for small startups to gain access to bank finances, they said.
Commerce ministry officials said the revised act has now been sent to law ministry for vetting.
"After the vetting, it will again be sent to the cabinet for final approval," Mr Azam said.
"If we get the final approval by next month, this would help the country get a major uplift in the next round of 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking," he cited.
Bangladesh stood at 176th in the latest 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking published in 2018, up from its 177th place in the 2017 ranking.
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