The Doing Business 2014 study by the World Bank released this week has published among other things the procedures it takes to start a business in 189 studied economies.
Haiti ranked 187th in the world for ease of business start-up. It takes 12 procedures, 97 days and it costs 264% of income per capita.

The procedures of starting a business in Haiti captured in the study are the following:

1. Prepare of company statutes with a lawyer (Articles and Memorandum of Association). It takes 10 days and 25,000 - 35,000 Gourdes.

2. Notarize the company deeds and articles of association. It takes 7 days and 15,000 - 25,000 Gourdes for notary fees.

3. Deposit the legally required initial capital in the National Bank and obtain deposit evidence. It takes 1 day and there is no charge.

4. Register the statutes with the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI). It takes 1 day and the costs are included in the notary fees.

5. Registration with the Commercial Registry at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and obtain the authorization of operations (Droit de fonctionnement). It takes 2 weeks for registration and 60 days for publication. It costs 225 Gourdes for “frais de dossier” + 25 Gourdes for “vignette bleue” + 20,000 Gourdes for publication in Le Moniteur (10-25 pages).

6. Obtain the Tax ID number (numero d’identification fiscale -NIF) from the Tax authorities (DGI), pay fees, and obtain the “certificat de patente”. It takes 15 days (simultaneous with previous procedure), and it costs 50 Gourdes (tax ID card) + 2% of initial capital + 0.3% per share + 1500 Gourdes (droit de fonctionnement) + 1500 Gourdes (taxe carte d’identite professionelle).

7. Obtain the “Carte d’Identite Professionelle” from the Ministry of Commerce. It takes 15-20 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) and the cost is included in procedure 6.

8. Obtain special commercial books. It takes 2 days, simultaneous with previous procedure and costs 5,000 Gourdes.

9. Notification to the Labor Ministry about hiring. It takes 7 days, simultaneous with previous procedure and there is no charge.

10. Legalize the commercial books. It takes 1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure and costs 1,000 Gourdes.

11. Register for social security (OFATMA). It takes 1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure and there is no charge for this procedure.

12. Register for Retirement Insurance Office (ONA). It takes 1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure and there is no charge.

You can see detailed information by downloading the study here.