Daily Read #94 – The Cost of Formalizing Business

Quick snippets from our morning read on Wednesday, 31st March 2021

Many Micro and small business enterprises remain small due to the fear of business formation and taxation. Today’s morning read is an excerpt from an article published on our website addressing the aspect of business formalization. In this excerpt, we focus on the process of registering a business.

Seeing as business formalization largely hinges on registration, what does it actually take to register a business? Below is the procedure you can follow in registration of a local business. Refer to this article for broader insights and requirements for business registration.

Search for the business name

• Agency: Uganda Registration Services Bureau
• Period: 30 minutes
• Cost: free
• Notes: Quick name check – see main link for naming guidelines

Reserve the Business Name

• Agency: Uganda Registration Services Bureau
• Period: 1 – 3 hrs
• Cost: UGX 24,000
• Notes: Check status of name application

Obtain Certificate of Incorporation

• Agency: Uganda Registration Services Bureau
• Period: 4 – 6 hrs
• Cost: Various options
• Notes: Subject to submission of all relevant documents

Obtain an Investment License

• Agency: Uganda Investment Authority
• Period: 2-5 Days
• Cost: Free of Charge
• Notes: For foreign investors

Obtain a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

• Agency: Uganda Revenue Authority
• Period: 1-10 Days
• Cost: Free of charge but if third party used, agent costs apply

Obtain a Trading License

• Agency: Local Municipal Authority/Council Authority
• Period: 1 Day
• Cost: UGX 78,750 – UGX 498,750
• Notes: Business premises should be ready for inspection. Expire on 31st December each year

Register with National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

• Agency: National Social Security Fund (NSSF)
• Period: 1-7 Days
• Cost: Free of Charge
• Notes: Applies to all employers with 5 or more employees
• Forms: Employer registration form, Employee registration form

Make a Company Seal

• Agency: Seal Maker
• Period: 1 Day
• Cost: UGX 225,000
• Notes: Different from company stamp. Put in secure place and limit access.

Read the full article published on our website here.

And as always, if you enjoyed this, check out the rest of our daily snippets, curated daily, right here on The Red Notebook.