Guyana’s company registry to be available Online

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 January 2016, 15:42 by Denis Chabrol

At the Georgetown Deeds Registry, Guyana’s Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Program helped convert over 5,000 company records and 90,000 business registration records into user friendly electronic records. New company names and businesses, such as Anita’s (pictured right) prawn and red snapper exporting business, are routinely updated into a computer database thereby modernizing business registration and strengthening the private sector. (Millennium Challenge Corp. photo)

Guyana’s company registry is expected to be among several others across the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Single Market and Economy (CSME) that are set to go online this year.

The Caricom Headquarters said this development stems from an ongoing project funded by the 10th European Development Fund to create an online regional registry of companies.

“This will serve as a central repository of information on companies and other legal entities established in the CSME. The move should address some challenges related to the Right of Establishment regime within the CSME,” Caricom said in a statement.

The regional trade bloc says this regional registry would facilitate information exchange and networking among the national companies registries and the Secretariat. It would also function as a portal via which persons can perform name searches, reserve business names, and register a company in CSME Member States.

As part of that project, the company registry in each Member State will be converted to an online system to facilitate participation in the regional e-registry.

This Thursday, January 28, there will be a demonstration of the national registry system (NRS) via video conference to Member States by Caseflow Systems, the project consultants and developers of the prototype software information system. Thursday’s demonstration session will explain the key features and functions of the system and invite comments and recommendations from Member States. Participants will comprise national registrars and other relevant personnel who are expected to utilize and interact with the system.

The NRS will be deployed in the twelve Member States over the coming months and relevant users will be able to access the system. There will also be a demonstration of the regional registry system in early February to Member States to obtain feedback on its functions and any possible improvements to the system before it is deployed. This session will also take place in Barbados.

This online registry within the CSME is a vital part of the drive toward creating a single jurisdiction for companies operating in the single market whereby once registered in one participating Member State, companies will be deemed as being registered in all. The twelve participating Member States include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.