Barbados Economy Profile - Doing Business 2020
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Economy Profile
Barbados
Page 1
Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Economy Profile of Barbados
Doing Business 2020 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety
mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and
the transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as postfiling
processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for
insolvency
Employing workers Flexibility in employment regulation and redundancy cost
Page 2Doing Business 2020 Barbados
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and
regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life
cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for
starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across
borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of employing workers. Although Doing Business does not present rankings
of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages
economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector
researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational studies, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation.
These studies provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected
cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business study, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s study covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most
indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013
(Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data
for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from
feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the
regulatory environment for business around the world.
To learn more about Doing Business please visit doingbusiness.org
Page 3Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Ease of Doing Business in DB RANK DB SCORE
Region Latin America & Caribbean
Barbados
Income Category High income
Population 286,641 128 57.9
City Covered Bridgetown
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Barbados
35
96
102
117 118
136 132
153 152
170
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Topic Scores
86.4 56.6 66.2 58.0 30.0 38.0 72.3 62.8 38.9 69.8
Starting a Business (rank) 102 Getting Credit (rank) 152 Trading across Borders (rank) 132
Score of starting a business (0-100) 86.4 Score of getting credit (0-100) 30.0 Score of trading across borders (0-100) 62.8
Procedures (number) 7 Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Time to export
Time (days) 16 Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 Documentary compliance (hours) 48
Cost (number) 7.3 Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Border compliance (hours) 41
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Cost to export
Documentary compliance (USD) 117
Dealing with Construction Permits (rank) 153 Protecting Minority Investors (rank) 136 Border compliance (USD) 486
Score of dealing with construction permits (0-100) 56.6 Score of protecting minority investors (0-100) 38.0 Time to export
Procedures (number) 9 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0 Documentary compliance (hours) 46
Time (days) 377 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0 Border compliance (hours) 81
Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.2 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7.0 Cost to export
Building quality control index (0-15) 6.5 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 3.0 Documentary compliance (USD) 150
Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 1.0 Border compliance (USD) 1,776
Getting Electricity (rank) 117 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 4.0
Score of getting electricity (0-100) 66.2 Enforcing Contracts (rank) 170
Procedures (number) 8 Paying Taxes (rank) 96 Score of enforcing contracts (0-100) 38.9
Time (days) 78 Score of paying taxes (0-100) 72.3 Time (days) 1,340
Cost (% of income per capita) 61.6 Payments (number per year) 28 Cost (% of claim value) 19.7
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 6 Time (hours per year) 241 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.0
Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 35.6
Registering Property (rank) 118 Postfiling index (0-100) 74.1 Resolving Insolvency (rank) 35
Score of registering property (0-100) 58.0 Score of resolving insolvency (0-100) 69.8
Procedures (number) 7 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 65.7
Time (days) 50 Time (years) 1.8
Cost (% of property value) 4.5 Cost (% of estate) 15.0
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 10.5 Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 1
concern)
Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 11.0
Page 4Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and
formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to
10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of
operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one
company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their
scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the
(number) procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the
entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation,
notarization)
The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business city -Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited
• Postregistration (for example, social security registration, liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms is
company seal) chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the
statistical office.
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave -Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for
the home to register the company
the second largest business city.
• Obtaining any gender specific document for company -Performs general industrial or commercial activities such as the production or sale to the public of
registration and operation or national identification card goods or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle
products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering information -Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
-Is 100% domestically owned.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot -Has five business owners, none of whom is a legal entity. One business owner holds 30% of the
start on the same day)
company shares, two owners have 20% of shares each, and two owners have 15% of shares
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day each.
-Is managed by one local director.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is -Has between 10 and 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of them
received
domestic nationals.
• No prior contact with officials -Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita.
-Has an estimated turnover of at least 100 times income per capita.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per -Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate.
capita) -Has an annual lease for the office space equivalent to one income per capita.
• Official costs only, no bribes -Is in an office space of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
-Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• No professional fees unless services required by law or
commonly used in practice The owners:
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) -Have reached the legal age of majority and are capable of making decisions as an adult. If there
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old.
or up to 3 months after incorporation -Are in good health and have no criminal record.
-Are married, the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
-Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man in
question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be
the one that applies to the majority of the population.
Page 5Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Starting a Business - Barbados
Standardized Company
Legal form SRL
Paid-in minimum capital requirement No minimum
City Covered Bridgetown
Indicator Barbados Latin America & OECD high Best Regulatory
Caribbean income Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 7 8.1 4.9 1 (2 Economies)
Time – Men (days) 16 28.8 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 7.3 31.4 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies)
Procedure – Women (number) 7 8.1 4.9 1 (2 Economies)
Time – Women (days) 16 28.8 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 7.3 31.4 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 0.4 7.6 0.0 (120 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Barbados – Score
64.7 84.4 96.3 100.0
Procedures Time Cost Paid-in min. capital
Figure – Starting a Business in Barbados and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Starting a Business Score
0 100
97.4: Jamaica (Rank: 6)
89.4: St. Lucia (Rank: 69)
88.6: Trinidad and Tobago (Rank: 79)
88.0: Grenada (Rank: 89)
86.4: Barbados (Rank: 102)
79.6: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of
the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Figure – Starting a Business in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
16 5
14
Cost (% of income per capita)
4
12
Time (days)
10
3
8
2
6
4
1
2
0 0
1 2 3 *4 5 *6 *7
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 7Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Details – Starting a Business in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit a request for company name search and name reservation 2 days BBD 30 (BBD 25 for
Agency : Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office reserving the name + BBD
The name search can be done online through form 33. In the form, entrepreneur suggests 3 5 for electronic search)
names in order of priority. The original documents still have to be filed with the Corporate Affairs
and Intellectual Property Office. The registrar checks if the proposed name is available and returns
the form to the entrepreneur with a tick on the name that is available. Name reservation is
provided the next day and it is valid for 90 days.
2 Draft articles of incorporation 2 days BBD 1,500
Agency : Lawyer
There is a standard form for articles of incorporation that is downloaded online from the registrar’s
website: www.caipo.gov.bb The procedure to incorporate a Company must be completed in
person. In addition to the articles of association, the company needs submit to the registrar the
notice of directors, the notice of address and the notice of secretary appointment.
Fees are set under the Legal Profession Act Cap. 370A, Remuneration for Non-Contentions
Business Rules, 1997.
3 Submit application for business registration 7 days on average no charge
Agency : Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office
Once the attorney submits all the above documents, the Deputy Registrar of Corporate Affairs
reviews the Article of Incorporation and makes sure they comply with the law. Upon the review, the
Registrar files the application and the articles of incorporation and assigns a company number to
the file. That company number will be included in the certificate of incorporation and inserted into
the articles of incorporation.
4 Pay the registration fees 1 day (simultaneous with BBD 750
Agency : Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office previous procedure)
Fees are paid to the in-house cashier (a separate person receives the document and payment is
done at a separate window). The fee can be paid online as well, but it is only available for
registered agents of the CAIPO system (lawyers who frequently incorporate business). Online
payment is restricted, most entrepreneurs do not use it.
5 Register for income tax payment and VAT 5 days no charge
Agency : Barbados Revenue Authority
The registration for income tax payment and VAT are done together, at the same window and at
the same time in the Revenue Authority office. A company with income more than 200,000 BDS
per year has to register for VAT based on an Amendment to the VAT Act. The following documents
need to be submitted to the Barbados Revenue Authority:
- Form for CIT registration
- Form for VAT registration
- Copy of articles of incorporation
- Copy of Certificate of Incorporation
- Notice of Director
- Notice of Address
The tax registration and payment can be done as well through the online platform TAMIS but the
majority of entrepreneurs prefer to register in person at the agency's office.
6 Register with the National Insurance Scheme 2 days (simultaneous no charge
Agency : National Insurance with previous procedure)
All business founders must register with the National Insurance Scheme.
7 Make company seal 1 day (simultaneous with BBD 60
Agency : Private printing shop previous procedure)
According to Section 25 of the Companies Act, a company must have a common seal with its
name engraved on it. A company must seal all of its documents when doing business with other
parties (e.g., borrowing for a mortgage). Business in practice cannot be done without a seal.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 8Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications,
requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building
quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional
certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction
company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary
clearances, licenses, permits and certificates
The construction company (BuildCo):
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest
inspections
business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has a
licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) experts, such as geological or topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its
• Does not include time spent gathering information completion.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day—though procedures
that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule The warehouse:
- Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is
received - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6
square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be
• No prior contact with officials located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100%
owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If
capita)
preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior
• Official costs only, no bribes approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures.
- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory
Building quality control index (0-15) requirements).
• Quality of building regulations (0-2) The water and sewerage connections:
• Quality control before construction (0-1) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water
• Quality control during construction (0-3) delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage
infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built.
• Quality control after construction (0-3)
- Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and
• Professional certifications (0-4) a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day.
- Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1
inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.
Page 9Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Dealing with Construction Permits - Barbados
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse BBD 1,598,335.80
City Covered Bridgetown
Indicator Barbados Latin America & OECD high Best Regulatory
Caribbean income Performance
Procedures (number) 9 15.5 12.7 None in 2018/19
Time (days) 377 191.2 152.3 None in 2018/19
Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.2 3.6 1.5 None in 2018/19
Building quality control index (0-15) 6.5 9.0 11.6 15.0 (6 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Barbados – Score
84.0 0.0 99.2 43.3
Procedures Time Cost Building quality control index
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Barbados and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
76.4: St. Lucia (Rank: 38)
71.9: Jamaica (Rank: 70)
64.1: Trinidad and Tobago (Rank: 126)
63.2: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean)
62.5: Grenada (Rank: 130)
56.6: Barbados (Rank: 153)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 10Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
0.14
350
0.12
Cost (% of warehouse value)
300
0.1
250
Time (days)
0.08
200
0.06
150
0.04
100
50 0.02
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 11Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Barbados and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
14
12.0
12 10.5 10.0
Index score
10 9.0
8 6.5
6 5.0
4
2
0
Barbados Grenada Jamaica St. Trinidad Latin
Lucia and America
Tobago &
Caribbean
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Request Develop Land Permission from Town and Country Planning Department and 270 days BBD 2,094
receive approval
Agency : Town & Country Planning Department
The following documents are required for the Develop Land Permission:
• three copies of the application reform
• design plans
• elevation plan
• site plan
• location plan
• copy of certificate of registration by the architect
An approved seal/stamp of the Architect’s Registration Board must be affixed on all accompanying
drawings. No proof of ownership needs to be attached. Town and Country Planning gets internal
clearance from Department of Transport. No construction can start until this application gets
approved, which leads to delays in construction.
After passing the front desk, the application must be forwarded to a number of agencies for
clearance. The Town Planning Department obtains all these clearances internally (since 1972):
Ministry of Transport (for the road), Building Standard Authority, Chief Fire Officer, Coastal Zone
Management Unit and Environment Protection Development Agency (EPD). It takes 14 -- 21 days
for the different agencies to provide their comments so they can finalize the building permit.
After obtaining all clearances, the application is forwarded to a planning assistant who takes 4
weeks to write his/her report. The assistant will send the report to the supervisor who could either
be the decision officer or under the decision officer. If the application is incomplete, the supervisor
will request additional information. It takes the supervisor 3 weeks to put his assessment in the
report and send it to the senior town planner to issue a final decision. The building permit is 3
sheets of paper. It takes 2 weeks to issue the building permission from the senior town planner.
2 Submit letter on commencement of construction 1 day BBD 100
Agency : Town & Country Planning Deparment
This letter is issued once the permission is granted. Therefore, it cannot be a simultaneous
procedure.
3 Request and receive site inspection 14 days BBD 100
Agency : Town & Country Planning Deparment
During the initial inspection, the inspector checks for compliance with site plan and drawings. All
proposed works should be set out for inspection by an Officer of the TCDPO prior to the
commencement of works. It is critical that all 'line marks'/irons are visible at the time of the
inspection in order to allow for accurate measurements.
4 Request certificate of compliance 1 day BBD 150
Agency : Town & Country Planning Deparment
This certificate is required once the inspection is conducted.
5 Request and receive final inspection 14 days no charge
Agency : Town & Country Planning Deparment
The inspector checks the height of the building (height as per plans).
6 Receive certificate of compliance 49 days no charge
Agency : Town & Country Planning Deparment
This certificate of compliance is only issued once the final inspections is conducted.
7 Request water and sewage connection 1 day BBD 50
Agency : Barbados Water Authority
Once the construction is finalized this procedure is done, and as a result, along with the
application, BuildCo must submit copies of the approved drawings and the approved application
(stamped). The Barbados Water Authority takes 3 to 4 weeks to conduct the connection. The utility
workers can connect to water mains and install the meter based on drawings submitted. The
customer does not need to be present during the connection process.
Page 12Doing Business 2020 Barbados
8 Receive water and sewage inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : Barbados Water Authority
Once the inspection has been requested, BuildCo. receives an examination from the utility
company.
9 Obtain water and sewage connection 26 days no charge
Agency : Barbados Water Authority
The reception of the water connection can only be done once the related inspection has been
done.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 13Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Barbados – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 6.5
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; Free 1.0
of charge; They must
be purchased.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building regulations or on any List of required 1.0
accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to
be paid; Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 0.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in compliance with existing By law, there is no 0.0
building regulations? (0-1) need to verify plans
compliance; Civil
servant reviews
plans.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 0.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? (0-2) No inspections are 0.0
legally required
during construction..
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 0.0
inspections are not
always done in
practice during
construction.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved Yes, final inspection 2.0
plans and regulations? (0-2) is done by
government agency.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0
always occurs in
practice.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.5
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use Architect or engineer. 0.5
(Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1)
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible structural flaws or No party is required 0.0
problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) by law to obtain
insurance .
Professional certifications index (0-4) 1.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the architectural plans There are no specific 0.0
or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) requirements.
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction on the ground? (0- Minimum number of 1.0
2) years of experience;
University degree in
engineering,
construction or
construction
management; There
are no specific
requirements.
Page 14Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally,
the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data
collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, the
electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary
clearances and permits The warehouse:
• Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
inspections
- Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing the second largest business city.
material for these works - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with no
physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
supply
- Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
• Is at least 1 calendar day The electricity connection:
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-
kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW).
• Does not include time spent gathering information
- Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the
prior contact with officials warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by
excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
owners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road.
capita)
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been
• Official costs only, no bribes completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base.
• Value added tax excluded The monthly consumption:
The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts
(assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier.
- Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1)
the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used.
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1)
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case
study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is
not included in the ease of doing business score nor in the ranking
on the ease of getting electricity.
Page 15Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Getting Electricity - Barbados
Standardized Connection
Name of utility Barbados Light and Power Company Limited
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 26.6
City Covered Bridgetown
Indicator Barbados Latin America & OECD high Best Regulatory
Caribbean income Performance
Procedures (number) 8 5.5 4.4 3 (28 Economies)
Time (days) 78 66.8 74.8 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 61.6 407.2 61.0 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 6 4.4 7.4 8 (26 Economies)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Barbados – Score
16.7 73.9 99.2 75.0
Reliability of supply and transparency of
Procedures Time Cost
tariff index
Figure – Getting Electricity in Barbados and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
84.3: Trinidad and Tobago (Rank: 43)
83.0: St. Lucia (Rank: 56)
73.4: Grenada (Rank: 93)
71.7: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean)
66.2: Barbados (Rank: 117)
65.0: Jamaica (Rank: 120)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the
scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
35
70
30
Cost (% of income per capita)
60
25
50
Time (days)
20
40
15
30
10
20
10 5
0 0
1 2 3 *4 5 6 7 8
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
Page 16Doing Business 2020 Barbados
reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Barbados and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8
7
7
6 6
Index score
6
5
5 4.4
4
3
3
2
1
0
Barbados Grenada Jamaica St. Trinidad Latin
Lucia and America
Tobago &
Caribbean
Page 17Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Details – Getting Electricity in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Inform Light & Power of requirements and receive estimate of connection costs 10 calendar days BBD 0
Agency : Barbados Light and Power Company
When the customer is planning to carry out their construction, or sometime during the construction
process, they would normally contact the utility for a quotation to provide power. The contractor
usually sends a letter at the beginning of the internal wiring process. The utility staff makes an
external site visit to note the location of the warehouse, nearest connection point and access to
warehouse. There is no need for the customer to be present for this inspection. Once this
inspection has been completed, Light & Power will send a cost estimate, which is valid for 6
months, to the customer.
2 Request and receive final inspection by government's Electrical Engineering Department 21 calendar days BBD 0
Agency : Government Electrical Engineering Department
The customer requests a final inspection from the Government Electrical Engineering Department-
there are usually two earlier inspection done by GEED to check internal wiring.
3 Prepare customer's premises for external works 14 calendar days BBD 10,000
Agency : Electrical Contractor
The customer’s contractor will build a transformer pad, and install the ducts. The contractor
connects the transformer's LT cables to the customer' panel before the transformer is installed by
the utility.
4 Obtain Excavation Permit from Ministry of Public Works 10 calendar days BBD 0
Agency : Ministry of Public Works
The customer's contractor needs to obtain the excavation permit from the Ministry of Public Works
before the external works can be started.
5 Submit connection application to Light & Power 1 calendar day BBD 9,485
Agency : Barbados Light and Power Company
The customer submits a connection application to Light & Power and the following documents
must be provided:
• The Electrical Inspection certificate of approval (or notice of inspection form if certificate not yet
available).
• Certificate of registration for the Business.
• Excavation permit (authorization for road crossing from the Ministry of Public Works)
6 Receive inspection by Light & Power 2 calendar days BBD 0
Agency : Barbados Light and Power Company
An external inspection is required when installation of transformer pad and ducts is complete.
Contractor does not need to be present, however it is usually the practice that the contractor is
present on the site.
7 Obtain external works from utility 28 calendar days BBD 0
Agency : Barbados Light and Power Company
The utility is responsible for installation of HT cable, transformer and any pole and HT linework
that may be required.
8 Receive meter installation and turn-on of electricity 2 calendar days BBD 200
Agency : Barbados Light and Power Company
The meter will be installed by a specialized meter technician, which is not the same crew that
installs the transformer. The connection is energized once the meter is installed (unless the
customer instructs the utility not to do so).
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 18Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Details – Getting Electricity in Barbados – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 6
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 1
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 3.2
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 6.0
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 5.0
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of supply? Yes
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 1
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages exceed a certain cap? Yes
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online http://www.blpc.com.bb/ne
wfront/home.cfm
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 19Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a
building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality
of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access
to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the
(number) transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, The parties (buyer and seller):
notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes)
- Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city. - Are located in the periurban (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits)
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title with area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the
municipality) second largest business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities.
• Does not include time spent gathering information The property (fully owned by the seller):
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - though procedures - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule
- Is fully owned by the seller.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years.
received - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
- Is located in a periurban commercial zone (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its
• No prior contact with officials
official limits), and no rezoning is required.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two-
value) story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse
is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety standards,
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties and building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be
taxes).
transferred in its entirety.
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments are - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
excluded - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind.
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use,
Quality of land administration index (0-30) industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required.
- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 20Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Registering Property - Barbados
Indicator Barbados Latin America & OECD high Best Regulatory
Caribbean income Performance
Procedures (number) 7 7.4 4.7 1 (5 Economies)
Time (days) 50 63.7 23.6 1 (2 Economies)
Cost (% of property value) 4.5 5.9 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 10.5 12.0 23.2 None in 2018/19
Figure – Registering Property in Barbados – Score
50.0 76.6 70.3 35.0
Procedures Time Cost
Quality of the land administration index
Figure – Registering Property in Barbados and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Registering Property Score
0 100
65.3: Jamaica (Rank: 85)
59.8: St. Lucia (Rank: 107)
58.0: Barbados (Rank: 118)
54.9: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean)
50.1: Grenada (Rank: 147)
46.7: Trinidad and Tobago (Rank: 158)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of
the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 21Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Figure – Registering Property in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
50 3.5
3
Cost (% of property value)
40
2.5
Time (days)
30
2
1.5
20
1
10
0.5
0 0
1 2 3 4 *5 *6 7
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 22Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Figure – Registering Property in Barbados and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
20 18.5
18
16 14.0
Index score
14 12.0
12 10.5 11.0
10
8 7.0
6
4
2
0
Barbados Grenada Jamaica St. Trinidad Latin
Lucia and America
Tobago &
Caribbean
Details – Registering Property in Barbados – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Lawyer of the seller drafts the sale agreement 10 days BBD 400; (Cost for
Agency : Lawyer drafting agreements for
The lawyer of the seller has initiated the process. A sale/purchase agreement is drafted by the the sale and purchase of
seller’s lawyers. Seller photocopies all title documents and contacts the buyer's lawyer, so he can
land is under the Legal
verify if everything in the agreement matches the documents. After the revision the parties will
Profession Remuneration
agree on a closing date for the transaction. Then the buyer and seller lawyers settle the contract.
Although, drafting the contract can be accomplished in a couple of days, the process takes longer for Non-Contentious
since the contract must go out to the buyer and then for it to come back by courier. The purchaser Business Rules 1997,
needs to meet with their attorney to confirm the document and how it will be purchased. Section 7.1
Section 7.1 provides:
• Vendor
o For building estates
$250
o Other agreements $400
• Purchaser
o For building estates
$300
o Other agreements $600
Sale/Purchase
agreements fall under the
‘other’ category.)
2 The lawyer of the buyer investigates the Title 2 days BBD 6; (No fee if
Agency : Land Registry conducted by a lawyer. For
All the original documents in the seller possession, are also found at the land registry in copies. all others it is 10BBD. The
Every transaction over the past 20 years is processed through the land registry. The land registry
Land Registry charges 3
must record the conveyance within 3 months when the transaction is completed. With the
BBD per copy of past
documentation received, the lawyer of the buyer investigates the title and checks that all
documents he has received are valid and that they match what is recorded in the land registry. transactions on the
The lawyer conducts a search at the land registry to make sure all requirements are met, and no property. Two copies are
debts are attached to the property. obtained.)
Under the Property Act, the title search should go back 20 years. If for any reason, the buyer
attorney needs to go beyond 20 years he would pay an additional $5 for searching through the
books.
Page 23Doing Business 2020 Barbados
3 Conveyance is prepared and approved by the parties 14 days BBD 18,691.69; (The
Agency : Lawyer Legal Profession Act Cap.
The seller's lawyer prepares the draft conveyance (document that transfers the ownership). The 370A Statutory
seller's lawyer sends the draft conveyance to the buyer's lawyer who approves it and sends it
Instruments Supplement
back to the seller's lawyer who engrosses it and sends it back for the buyer’s signature. The buyer
No. 48 Supplement to
signs and returns it to seller lawyer for his signature. The buyer's lawyer receives the conveyance
signed by both parties plus the original title documents and in return the buyer pays the Official Gazette No. 82
purchasing price. dated 9th of October,
1997. Article 27 provides -
For preparing and
completing conveyance of
unregistered land
(excluding conveyances
under the Tenantries
Freehold Purchase Act)
Vendor:
Up to $25 000 is $750
On the next $75 000 is 2%
On the next $100 000 is
1.5%
On the next $300 000 is
1.25%
Thereafter 1% Registered
land two thirds of the scale
above
Purchaser:
Up to $25 000 = $1 000
On the next $75 000 =
2.5%
On the next $100 000 =
1.5%
On the next $300 000 =
1.25%
Thereafter 1% Registered
land one third of the scale
above)
4 Obtain Land Tax Certificate 2 days no charge
Agency : Barbados Revenue Authority
The Land Tax Certificate shows that all land taxes are paid. It is issued by the Barbados Revenue
Authority. This certificate doesn’t need to be stamped.
5 Stamp Notice of the Transfer of Ownership at the Land Tax Department 1 day no charge
Agency : Land Tax Department
Notice of transfer of ownership is issued by the land registry (downloadable from the Land
Registry’s website) and it should be stamped by the Land Tax Department. The objective of this
form is to give information to the Land Tax Department as to what price the land was sold for, the
location of the land, its area, the parties to the transaction, the day the property was sold, and
whether property is residential or commercial.
To get the Transfer of Ownership form stamped a valid Land Tax Certificate showing that all taxes
have been paid must be produced.
6 Stamp Section 12A Form 1 day no charge
Agency : Inland Revenue Department
Section 12A form is issued by the Inland Revenue Department (downloadable online). It should be
stamped by the Inland Revenue Department and tells whether any real estate commission was
payable and if so to whom.
7 Record the conveyance (register an instrument) at the Land Registry and pay transfer fees 21 days BBD 52,207.75; (Transfer
and stamp duties tax (if there is a building on
Agency : Land Registry top of the land, the first
The buyer must process the conveyance at the land registry i.e. record the conveyance at the
BDS 150,000 are
registry by buyer lawyer. To record the conveyance, the following documents are submitted:
exempted of transfer tax
1. Original conveyance
2. Notice of transfer of ownership stamped by the Land Tax Department. and the rest is taxed at
3. Section 12A form stamped by the Inland Revenue Department. 2.5%) + Stamp Duty (1%
4. Land Tax Certificate of the purchase price) +
The Land Registry completes 2 tasks: fees for recording the new
1. Have the conveyance assessed by the registry and then buyer pays stamp duties and transfer conveyance (BDS 4 per
tax. page of the new
2. Record the conveyance. The buyer lawyer goes to Land Registry. The land registry would conveyance and it usually
record the conveyance and the buyer's lawyers would receive back the original conveyance.
is 4 pages))
When collecting the conveyance, the registry attached to it a page which identifies the recording
particulars (i.e. where can it be found, which volume and which page). The original conveyance is
needed so the buyer can use the property as collateral.
Page 24Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 25Doing Business 2020 Barbados
Details – Registering Property in Barbados – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 10.5
Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 4.0
Type of land registration system in the economy: Dual system (Title &
Deed)
What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? The Land Registry
under the Ministry of
Housing, Lands and
Rural Development
In what format are past and newly issued land records kept at the immovable property registry of the largest Computer/Scanned 1.0
business city of the economy —in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?
Is there a comprehensive and functional electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, Yes 1.0
restrictions and the like)?
Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Land Survey
Department under the
Ministry of Housing,
Lands and Rural
Development
In what format are past and newly issued cadastral plans kept at the mapping agency of the largest business Computer/Scanned 1.0
city of the economy—in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?
Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing cadastral information No 0.0
(geographic information system)?
Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral or mapping agency Separate databases 0.0
kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases?
Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the same identification Yes 1.0
number for properties?
Transparency of information index (0–6) 2.0
Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable property registration Anyone who pays the 1.0
in the largest business city? official fee
Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made publicly available– Yes, in person 0.0
and if so, how?
Link for online access:
Is the applicable fee schedule for any type of property transaction at the agency in charge of immovable Yes, online 0.5
property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://www.landregistr
y.gov.bb/Registration
Fees2.aspx
Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration agency formally commit to deliver a legally No 0.0
binding document that proves property ownership within a specific timeframe –and if so, how does it
communicate the service standard?
Link for online access:
Is there a specific and independent mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the agency No 0.0
in charge of immovable property registration?
Contact information:
Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the immovable property No 0.0
registration agency?
Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2018:
Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Freely accessible by 0.5
anyone
Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available—and if so, how? No 0.0
Link for online access:
Page 26You can also read
