The Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) has increased various fees two to five times for companies availing different services.
The RJSC also introduced fees for three types of services that were previously provided free of cost. The Ministry of Commerce, under which the RJSC operates, issued a circular on June 8, updating the fee rates. A total of 37 types of fees, such as application charges for firm registration, change in name and place and branch opening or closing, have been increased by two to more than five times, while 22 services have remained unchanged.
The requirement to pay fees for a particular type of service has been eliminated.
According to the RJSC, the number of registered companies in the country has doubled to 0.28 million till May this year from 0.13 million in 2009. Until July 2013, fees for different services were fixed. However, some service fees were increased in May 2016. In FY22, the RJSC earned over Tk296 crore as non-tax revenue from providing various services. As of May in the current fiscal year, the revenue stood at Tk246 crore.
Several fees have been raised, including the application fee for company registration, which has increased from Tk1,000 to Tk5,000.
The fee for recording a change in name and principal business location has increased from Tk200 to Tk500, while the fee for closing or opening a branch has also increased from Tk200 to Tk500. The fee for the registration of alterations or dissolution of a firm has been hiked from Tk500 to Tk1,000. The error correction fee has increased from Tk200 to Tk500. Currently, the prescribed fee rate for society registration is Tk10,000.
In the latest revision, it has been adjusted to Tk15,000.
In addition to the registration of the memorandum with the registrar, the registration of a document will now require payment of Tk800 instead of the previous Tk400. Similarly, Tk400 will be required for document inspection which was at Tk200. Obtaining a copy of the registration certificate will be charged Tk400, as the previous rate was Tk200. On the other hand, the latest initiative has abolished the minimum fee rate of Tk200 for document comparison.
Instead, the fee for document comparison is now Tk10 per 100 words or part thereof. The fee for obtaining a clearance certificate of society name has been doubled to Tk2,000 from Tk1,000. The RJSC has newly imposed commission fees on receiving services from its district-level offices. According to the circular, the commission fees will be deposited into the government account.
