Belize

Ease of Doing Business in

Belize

This page shows summary Doing Business 2012 data for Belize. The first table lists the overall "Ease of Doing Business" rank (out of 183 economies) and the rankings by each topic. The rest of the tables summarize the key indicators for each topic and benchmark against regional and high-income economy (OECD) averages.

Economy Overview

Region Latin America & Caribbean
Income Category Lower middle income
Population 344,700
GNI Per Capita (US$) 3,740.00
Doing Business 2012 Rank Doing Business 2011 Rank Change in Rank
93 92 down -1
Topic Rankings DB 2012 Rank DB 2011 Rank Change in Rank
Starting a Business 152 147 up -5
Dealing with Construction Permits 9 9 No change
Getting Electricity 53 50 up -3
Registering Property 137 135 up -2
Getting Credit 98 96 up -2
Protecting Investors 122 120 up -2
Paying Taxes 55 73 up 18
Trading Across Borders 107 106 up -1
Enforcing Contracts 168 168 No change
Resolving Insolvency 29 28 up -1

Economy Profile

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Starting a Business

Info

The challenges of launching a business are shown below. Included are: the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

DB 2012 Rank 152 DB 2011 Rank 147 Change in Rank down-5
Indicator Belize Latin America & Caribbean OECD

The total number of procedures required to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).

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Procedures (number)
9 9 5

The total number of days required to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.

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Time (days)
44 54 12

Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law.

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Cost (% of income per capita)
51.2 37.3 4.7

The amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita.

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Paid-in Min. Capital (% of income per capita)
0.0 4.3 14.1
No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Conduct a name search at the Companies’ Registry 1 day no charge
2 Register company statutes and memorandum and articles of association at the Companies’ Registry 2 days BZD 500 for the certificate of incorporation + BZD 10 filing fee, BZD 50 registration fee + BZD 12 (x 2) for registering the statutes and memorandum + BZD 13 to register the directors to act on behalf of the company
3 Submit application to City Council for a trade license 1 day no charge
4 Receive inspection from City Council inspector 20 days no charge
* 5 Pay for the trade license at the City Council 1 day (simultaneous with procedure 4) 25% of the annual rental value of the business premises
6 Make a company seal 2 days BZD 50-200
7 Register the company for business tax at the income tax department 10 days BZD 150
* 8 Register the company for general sales tax (GST) at the GST office 2-3 weeks (simultaneous with procedure 7) no charge
* 9 Register the employees with the Social Security Board 2 days (simultaneous with procedure 7) no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

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