Business registration to go fully online

The Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) has announcedthat by August 2011, its services will be fully available electronically, and more accessible to its customers.

Compliance manager at the COJ, Heather Sutherland, said by March next year, clients will be able to register some documents online, and that full online registration will be available by August.

The system already allows for some of the registration process to be completed online.

"We have heard over the past years that the forms are complicated, and so we have placed precedence online. So you are able to go online to view, fill in the forms prior to coming in to us, and so the process is easier for you once you get in," Sutherland said.

For convenience and accessibility, clients have the option of using the drop-off box, available for deposits at the COJ's head office, at Grenada Way in New Kingston, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays.

"We have a very customer-friendly organisation, so if it is that you are unable to wait, you can call in and make an appointment prior to coming in so that your wait time is less," Sutherland said.

COJ Deputy Chief Executive Officer Shellie Leon said that over time, the information technology infrastructure had improved, allowing the COJ to retrieve data on the status of registered companies and their officers instead of doing it manually.

More capabilities

"We can now generate notices to send to customers, and have more capabilities in following up on delinquents, and are in a better position to educate and inform customers through public education," she said.

"Another thing in terms of our accessibility is that we do not wait on customers to come to us. We actually go out to the customers through our mobile outreach."

This mobile team visits town centres where it helps entrepreneurs and businesses to complete registration forms and file annual returns.

-JIS