Trend of the Doing Business ranking for Burundi

The Doing Business in Burundi

The improvement of the business climate remains one of the main priorities of the Government of Burundi. Since November 2010, the launch of the thinking process in Burundi on Doing Business indicators, significant progress has been made by the country in initiating and implementing reforms.

Since 2011, the Burundi Government has made major reforms in improving its business environment. Reforms already carried out have gradually improved the business climate and the image of the country while bringing tangible results to the economy. These reforms have led Burundi to being ranked for three consecutive years in 2011, 2012 and 2013, among the 10 best reformers in the world. It should also be noted that Burundi is one of the 9 out of 20 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa that have made great improvement in terms of reforms for the last five years (DB 2015 Report).

However, there is a need to increase the momentum for effective implementation of the reforms undertaken so far.

Trend of the Doing Business ranking for Burundi


INDICATORS	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015 Distance to the border	2016 Distance to the border		Reforms
Starting a business	135	99	27	20	18 94.5	19 *94.5	116	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB2013: Burundi has made significant progress by eliminating certain requirements for starting a business: the authentication of statutes by the notary, the publication in an official journal (the BOB) and the registration of new companies in the Ministry responsible for trade; DB 2014: Significant reduction in the time needed to register a company, strengthening of the one-stop shop for company registration by integrating an officer from the labour inspection bureau Other reforms: In 2012:* Establishment of the One-Stop Shop for Business registration (IPA/ OBR / Trade Tribunal) Costs are reduced from 62 500 BIF to 42 500 BIF (i.e 20 000 BIF less, following the removal of the cost of seal) Time has been reduced from 14 days to one day (24 hours) In 2013: strengthening of the one-stop shop by integrating an officer from labour inspection bureau Time has been reduced to 24 hours Cost reduction from 42 500 BIF to 40 000 BIF: Ministerial Ordinance No 550/779 of 31/05/2013 fixing the fees for the Trade Registry Certificate. In 2014: Strengthening the One-stop shop through the integration of the National Institute of Social Security and Commercial Court. Simplifying procedures for the registration of branches Law No. 1/12 of 9 April 2014 on the accession of Burundi to the apostille convention of October 5, 1961 In 2015: Promulgation of the Commercial code to strengthen the legal status of the One-stop shop at IPA in transferring complete jurisdiction in the delivering of Tax Identification Number as well as registration in the Trade Register * Law n ° 1/01 of January 16, 2015 revising the law n° 1/07 of April 26, 2010 on the Commercial Code. Ongoing reforms -Adoption of the draft of the Code of private companies with public participation. -Computerisation of the one-stop shop to enable online business registration.
Construction Permits	175	166	144	146	163 53.12	165 53.16	10	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2012: Burundi has made progress under this indicator by reducing costs for carrying out the geotechnical study. DB 2013: Removal of the need for an authorization from Ministry of Health and reduction of fee for geotechnical study. DB 2014: Establishment of a one-stop shop for the granting of a building permit, integrating all the stakeholders. Other reforms: DB 2013* Establishment of a one-stop shop for issuing the building permit, since March 11, 2013, which led to a decrease in the number of procedures. Likewise, delays and the costs related to the obtaining of the Building permit have been reduced. The one-stop shop is made up of the following institutions: General Directorate of Urban Planning and Housing Land Titles National Land Registry National Telecommunication Company (ONATEL) National Water Company (REGIDESO) General Directorate of Municipal Technical Services (SETEMU) Commercial Bank 2014-2015 Strengthening the one-stop shop by setting up a single point of contact at the one-stop shop who is responsible for receiving all requests and submitting them to the back office In 2015, Burundi simplified the single form for building permit by making it easier for applicants.
Connecting to electricity	-	163	165	178	186 26.45	185 26.45	22	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2014: The liberalization of the sale of transformers and the reduction of the costs for connecting to a new medium voltage. Other reforms: 2012-2013* The reduction of delays and costs for connecting to a medium voltage, bringing it down to a maximum of 16 days for connection procedures. Establishment of one-stop shop that brings together all REGIDESO departments in charge of the connection procedures. 2014 Reduced cost and time for connecting Making available of 4 telephone numbers to call in case deadlines are not met Translation of the application form into English. 2015 In 2015, Burundi enacted laws on the organization of the electricity sector: Law No. 1/13 of 23 April 2015 on the restructuring of the electricity sector and Law No. 1/14 of 27 April 2015 on the Public-Private Partnership.
Transfer of ownership	115	143	124	51	91 62.53	94 62.53	11	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2013: Burundi has reduced the time for the transfer of ownership by setting the maximum period of time for the processing of land registration files DB 2013: Establishment of the one-stop shop made of the Land Titles Department, OBR, City Council for property transfer ownership to reduce procedures and time. Other reforms: 2014-2015* Design of contract template for the transfer property ownership Ongoing reforms: Adoption and enactment of a bill on Urban Planning and of the Law on land-use planning.
Access to credit			167	169	171 10	174 10	8	2013 Promote the legal protection of borrowers and lenders as well as the sharing of information on credit, the elaboration of draft laws on personal property security and credit bureau. 2014-2015 Draft law on the credit bureau and the register of guarantees in the process of being adopted in parliament
Protection of investors			32	91	114 46.67	115 46.67	63	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2012: Burundi has strengthened protection of investor by introducing new requirements for the approval of transactions between related parties, requiring greater disclosure of the annual report of the board of directors and making it easier to prosecute directors in the event of prejudicial transactions between related parties Other reforms: 2011:* Adoption of the Code on private companies with public participation *Ongoing reforms: Draft review of the Code on private companies with public participation
Tax payment		131	141	126	111 69.45	111 69.45	20	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2011: Burundi has improved on this Indicator by replacing the transaction tax with value-added tax DB 2012: Reduction of the frequency of payment by companies of social security contributions from monthly to quarterly DB 2014: Reduction of the corporate tax rate by reducing the income tax rate Other reforms 2013* Reduction of time, delays and costs 2014 Law No. 1/02 of 24/01/2013 on Income Taxes (Burundi Official Journal No.1/2013) Decrease in tax filing and payment time Reduction of the income tax rate (from 35% to 30%) Removal of the minimum tax (1%). Progress on the establishment of approved management centres. Designing of the taxpayer's charter and a single declaration form including VAT, Employment Income Tax and Withholding Tax 2015 During 2014-2015, Burundi continued to improve the "Payment of Taxes" indicator by modernizing tax legislation in order to facilitate users in fulfilling their tax obligations (promulgation of tax laws on income, VAT and tax procedures). In order to facilitate tax audits, a Ministerial Order of October 2014 allowed the establishment of approved management centres that will assist small and medium taxpayers to meet their tax obligations. In addition, Burundi has taken many steps in the post filing process
Cross-border trade	-	177	179	171	154 47.38	154 47.38	23	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2013: Burundi has reduced time for the indicator by improving the use of electronic data sharing systems, the introduction of a more efficient system for tracking goods in transit, and improving coordination at transit points with neighbouring countries. DB 2014: The removal of the requirement of an inspection report before sending the results. Other reforms: 2013-2014* Decrease in time, number of documents and cost of import / export; ♦ Inspection based on operational risk since May 2013 (Best Practice); ♦ Establishment of the system of "Accredited Economic Operators"; ♦ Import and installation of scanners at Bujumbura port and border posts. 2014-2015 Cost reduction in the cross-border procedures Deployment of customs auditors to Dar-es-Salaam. During 2014-2015, Burundi continued to facilitate cross-border trade by computerizing customs services and allowing online reporting (interconnection of customs services at Bujumbura border and port). Migration from The ASYCUDA ++ to ASYCUDA WORLD was effective in May 2013. Launch of the Electronic Single Window for commercial transactions.
Resolving Insolvency	-	160	160	142	144 30.55	146 30.46	14	* Reforms Recognized by World Bank Assessors: DB 2015 Ratification of Burundi to the New York Convention (Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards since April 2014). National legislation on deal proceeding and bankruptcy procedures, although scattered and fragmented. Ongoing reforms Adoption of the bill on the insolvency of the trader in Burundi. A single law integrating cross-border insolvency resolution.
10. Contracts enforcement	-	-	178	158	144 47.59	145 47.59	33	Other reforms: 2014-2015* Capacity building for the magistrate staff of the Trade Tribunal, the Commercial Chamber and the Court of Appeal.

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