The department store will be “fully operational” by the end of June, the government promises.

After numerous setbacks, the government announced on Wednesday that it wants to have a one-stop shop for businesses “fully operational” by the end of June.

Launched on January 1, the Unified Business Formalities Service is an online platform that is the only gateway for registering a business, changing its articles of association, or declaring a termination. But the site has experienced some hiccups since its inception, and the government has acknowledged difficulties with some of the formalities, notably the modifications and decommissioning performed on this meter, which should streamline administrative procedures.

To overcome meter failures, the government announced temporary measures in February, including the reopening of the arbitration courts’ Info graft website until June 30. The paper route used for most procedures in front of the Single Window has also been temporarily allowed for some formalities.

Deployment “ongoing”

“Since January 1st, we have been continuously working to ensure that the one-stop-shop is fully operational,” Delegate Minister for Small and Medium Business Olivia Gregoire said during a Senate Government Questions Session. The rollout is “ongoing,” she said, adding that “over 470,000 formalities (creations and modifications)” have been recorded since the launch of the counter. She added that on Tuesday the formalities for terminating the contract were submitted for review, “which brings us closer and guarantees the goal of achieving a single instrument by the end of June.”

The emergence of a one-stop-shop managed by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has raised concerns among business representatives and professionals who help them complete the formalities, including certified public accountants and notaries. Prior to the creation of the single window, the procedures, which amounted to four million per year, were processed by six networks of business document processing centers (BFCs) and on the bailiffs’ website Info graft.