Economy Profile 2015 Doing Business 2015

 
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Economy Profile 2015 Doing Business 2015
Doing Business 2015    Burundi

                      Economy Profile 2015
                          Burundi
Economy Profile 2015 Doing Business 2015
Doing Business 2015                   Burundi                                                                 2

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ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648-0351-2
ISBN (electronic): 978-1-4648-0352-9
DOI: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0351-2
ISSN: 1729-2638
Cover design: Corporate Visions, Inc.
Doing Business 2015                          Burundi                                                                                        3

CONTENTS

Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4
The business environment .......................................................................................................... 6
Starting a business ..................................................................................................................... 16
Dealing with construction permits ........................................................................................... 22
Getting electricity ....................................................................................................................... 30
Registering property .................................................................................................................. 36
Getting credit .............................................................................................................................. 43
Protecting minority investors ................................................................................................... 49
Paying taxes ................................................................................................................................ 60
Trading across borders .............................................................................................................. 65
Enforcing contracts .................................................................................................................... 70
Resolving insolvency .................................................................................................................. 77
Labor market regulation ........................................................................................................... 82
Distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking ...................................................... 88
Resources on the Doing Business website .............................................................................. 91
Doing Business 2015                  Burundi                                                                       4

INTRODUCTION
Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is     1, 2014 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which
for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to           cover the period January–December 2013).
medium-size business when complying with relevant
                                                              The Doing Business methodology has limitations. Other
regulations. It measures and tracks changes in
                                                              areas important to business—such as an economy’s
regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a
                                                              proximity to large markets, the quality of its
business: starting a business, dealing with construction
                                                              infrastructure services (other than those related to
permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting
                                                              trading across borders and getting electricity), the
credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes,
                                                              security of property from theft and looting, the
trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving
                                                              transparency       of      government      procurement,
insolvency and labor market regulation.
                                                              macroeconomic conditions or the underlying strength of
In a series of annual reports Doing Business presents         institutions—are not directly studied by Doing Business.
quantitative indicators on business regulations and the       The indicators refer to a specific type of business,
protection of property rights that can be compared            generally a local limited liability company operating in
across 189 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe,           the largest business city. Because standard assumptions
over time. The data set covers 47 economies in Sub-           are used in the data collection, comparisons and
Saharan Africa, 32 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 25     benchmarks are valid across economies. The data not
in East Asia and the Pacific, 26 in Eastern Europe and        only highlight the extent of obstacles to doing business;
Central Asia, 20 in the Middle East and North Africa and      they also help identify the source of those obstacles,
8 in South Asia, as well as 31 OECD high-income               supporting policy makers in designing regulatory reform.
economies. The indicators are used to analyze economic
                                                              More information is available in the full report. Doing
outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where
                                                              Business 2015 presents the indicators, analyzes their
and why.
                                                              relationship with economic outcomes and presents
This economy profile presents the Doing Business              business regulatory reforms. The data, along with
indicators for Burundi. To allow useful comparison, it also   information on ordering Doing Business 2015, are
provides data for other selected economies (comparator        available on the Doing Business website at
economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are    http://www.doingbusiness.org.
current as of June
Doing Business 2015                  Burundi                                                                      5

CHANGES IN DOING BUSINESS 2015

As part of a 2-year update in methodology, Doing             Finally, the name of the employing workers indicator set
Business 2015 incorporates 7 important changes. First,       has been changed to labor market regulation, and the
the ease of doing business ranking as well as all topic-     scope of this indicator set has also been changed. The
level rankings are now computed on the basis of              indicators now focus on labor market regulation
distance to frontier scores (see the chapter on the          applying to the retail sector rather than the
distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking).    manufacturing sector, and their coverage has been
Second, for the 11 economies with a population of more       expanded to include regulations on labor disputes and
than 100 million, data for a second city have been added     on benefits provided to workers. The labor market
to the data set and the ranking calculation. These           regulation indicators continue to be excluded from the
economies are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India,              aggregate distance to frontier score and ranking on the
Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian     ease of doing business.
Federation and the United States. Third, for getting
                                                             Beyond these changes there are 3 other updates in
credit, the methodology has been revised for both the
                                                             methodology. For paying taxes, the financial statement
strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit
                                                             variables have been updated to be proportional to 2012
information index. The number of points has been
                                                             income per capita; previously they were proportional to
increased in both indices, from 10 to 12 for the strength
                                                             2005 income per capita. For enforcing contracts, the
of legal rights index and from 6 to 8 for the depth of
                                                             value of the claim is now set at twice the income per
credit information index. In addition, only credit bureaus
                                                             capita or $5,000, whichever is greater. For dealing with
and registries that cover at least 5% of the adult
                                                             construction permits, the cost of construction is now set
population can receive a score on the depth of credit
                                                             at 50 times income per capita (before, the cost was
information index.
                                                             assessed by the Doing Business respondents). In addition,
Fourth, the name of the protecting investors indicator set   this indicator set no longer includes the procedures for
has been changed to protecting minority investors to         obtaining a landline telephone connection.
better reflect its scope—and the scope of the indicator
                                                             For more details on the changes, see the “What is
set has been expanded to include shareholders’ rights in
                                                             changing in Doing Business?” chapter starting on page
corporate governance beyond related-party transactions.
                                                             24 of the Doing Business 2015 report. For more details
Fifth, the resolving insolvency indicator set has been
                                                             on the data and methodology, please see the “Data
expanded to include an index measuring the strength of
                                                             Notes” chapter starting on page 114 of the Doing
the legal framework for insolvency. Sixth, the calculation
                                                             Business 2015 report. For more details on the distance to
of the distance to frontier score for paying taxes has
                                                             frontier metric, please see the “Distance to frontier and
been changed. The total tax rate component now enters
                                                             ease of doing business ranking” chapter in this profile.
the score in a nonlinear fashion, in an approach different
from that used for all other indicators (see the chapter
on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business
ranking).
Doing Business 2015                  Burundi                                                                       6

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
For policy makers trying to improve their economy’s
regulatory environment for business, a good place to start     ECONOMY OVERVIEW
is to find out how it compares with the regulatory
environment in other economies. Doing Business provides
an aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business
                                                               Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
based on indicator sets that measure and benchmark
regulations applying to domestic small to medium-size          Income category: Low income
businesses through their life cycle. Economies are ranked
from 1 to 189 by the ease of doing business ranking. This      Population: 10,162,532
year's report presents results for 2 aggregate measures:
the distance to frontier score and the ease of doing           GNI per capita (US$): 280
business ranking. The ranking of economies is determined
by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier (DTF) scores.    DB2015 rank: 152
The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies
with respect to regulatory practice, showing the absolute      DB2014 rank: 150*
distance to the best performance in each Doing Business
                                                               Change in rank: -2
indicator. An economy’s distance to frontier score is
indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the
                                                               DB 2015 DTF: 51.07
worst performance and 100 the frontier. (See the chapter
on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business).       DB 2014 DTF: 49.94
The 10 topics included in the ranking in Doing Business
2015: starting a business, dealing with construction           Change in DTF: 1.13
permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting
credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading   * DB2014 ranking shown is not last year’s published
across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving              ranking but a comparable ranking for DB2014 that
insolvency. The labor market regulation indicators             captures the effects of such factors as data
(formerly employing workers) are not included in this          corrections and the changes in methodology. See
year’s aggregate ease of doing business ranking, but the       the data notes starting on page 114 of the Doing
data are presented in this year’s economy profile.             Business 2015 report for sources and definitions.
The aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business
benchmarks each economy’s performance on the
indicators against that of all other economies in the Doing
Business sample (figure 1.1). While this ranking tells much
about the business environment in an economy, it does
not tell the whole story. The ranking on the ease of doing
business, and the underlying indicators, do not measure all
aspects of the business environment that matter to firms
and investors or that affect the competitiveness of the
economy. Still, a high ranking does mean that the
government has created a regulatory environment
conducive to operating a business.
Doing Business 2015              Burundi

      THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
      Figure 1.1 Where economies stand in the global ranking on the ease of doing business

      Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi

 THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
 For policy makers, knowing where their economy                regional average (figure 1.2). The economy’s rankings
 stands in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing          (figure 1.3) and distance to frontier scores (figure 1.4)
 business is useful. Also useful is to know how it ranks       on the topics included in the ease of doing business
 relative to comparator economies and relative to the          ranking provide another perspective.

Figure 1.2 How Burundi and comparator economies rank on the ease of doing business

Note: The rankings are benchmarked to June 2014 and based on the average of each economy’s distance to frontier (DTF) scores
for the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking. The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to
regulatory practice, showing the absolute distance to the best performance in each Doing Business indicator. An economy’s
distance to frontier score is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the frontier.
For the economies for which the data cover 2 cities, scores are a population-weighted average for the 2 cities.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi                                                                            9

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Figure 1.3 Rankings on Doing Business topics - Burundi
(Scale: Rank 189 center, Rank 1 outer edge)

Figure 1.4 Distance to frontier scores on Doing Business topics - Burundi
(Scale: Score 0 center, Score 100 outer edge)

Note: The rankings are benchmarked to June 2014 and based on the average of each economy’s distance to frontier (DTF) scores
for the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking. The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to
regulatory practice, showing the absolute distance to the best performance in each Doing Business indicator. An economy’s
distance to frontier score is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the frontier.
For the economies for which the data cover 2 cities, scores are a population-weighted average for the 2 cities.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi                                                                               10

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Just as the overall ranking on the ease of doing business tells      Doing Business introduced the distance to frontier score. This
only part of the story, so do changes in that ranking. Yearly        measure shows how far on average an economy is from the
movements in rankings can provide some indication of                 best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing
changes in an economy’s regulatory environment for firms,            Business indicator.
but they are always relative.
                                                                     Comparing the measure for an economy at 2 points in time
Moreover, year-to-year changes in the overall rankings do            allows users to assess how much the economy’s regulatory
not reflect how the business regulatory environment in an            environment as measured by Doing Business has changed
economy has changed over time—or how it has changed in               over time—how far it has moved toward (or away from) the
different areas. To aid in assessing such changes,                   most efficient practices and strongest regulations in areas
                                                                     covered by Doing Business (figure 1.5).

Figure 1.5 How far has Burundi come in the areas measured by Doing Business?

Note: The distance to frontier score shows how far on average an economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on
each Doing Business indicator since 2010, except for getting credit, paying taxes, protecting minority investors and resolving insolvency
which had methodology changes in 2014 and thus are only comparable to 2013. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100,
with 100 representing the best performance (the frontier). See the data notes starting on page 114 of the Doing Business 2015 report for
more details on the distance to frontier score.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                            Burundi                                                                                                                                               11

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
The absolute values of the indicators tell another part of                                        regulation—such as a regulatory process that can be
the story (table 1.1). The indicators, on their own or in                                         completed with a small number of procedures in a few
comparison with the indicators of a good practice                                                 days and at a low cost. Comparison of the economy’s
economy or those of comparator economies in the                                                   indicators today with those in the previous year may
region, may reveal bottlenecks reflected in large numbers                                         show where substantial bottlenecks persist—and where
of procedures, long delays or high costs. Or they may                                             they are diminishing.
reveal unexpected strengths in an area of business

 Table 1.1 Summary of Doing Business indicators for Burundi

                                                                                                                                                                              Best performer globally
                                                               Congo, Dem. Rep.

                                                                                                                                      Tanzania DB2015
                             Burundi DB2015

                                              Burundi DB2014

                                                                                                                      Rwanda DB2015

                                                                                                                                                        Uganda DB2015
  Indicator
                                                                                  France DB2015

                                                                                                       Kenya DB2015
                                                               DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                              DB2015
  Starting a Business
                                 18               20                172               28               143            112             124               166               New Zealand (1)
  (rank)

  Starting a Business (DTF
                             94.25            93.74              58.53            93.00               74.02           81.66           78.85             63.44           New Zealand (99.96)
  Score)

  Procedures (number)           3.0              3.0                 7.0             5.0              10.0             8.0              9.0             15.0            New Zealand (1.0)*

  Time (days)                   5.0              5.0               16.0              4.5              30.0             6.5            26.0              32.0             New Zealand (0.5)

  Cost (% of income per
                             13.4             17.5                 30.0              0.9              42.7            52.3            23.8              64.4               Slovenia (0.0)
  capita)

  Paid-in min. capital (%
                                0.0              0.0             500.0               0.0                0.0            0.0              0.0              0.0            112 Economies (0.0)*
  of income per capita)

  Dealing with
                                                                                                                                                                          Hong Kong SAR,
  Construction Permits        133              146                  111               86                 95             34            169               163
                                                                                                                                                                             China (1)
  (rank)

  Dealing with
                                                                                                                                                                          Hong Kong SAR,
  Construction Permits       64.16            60.16              67.72            73.14               71.02           81.55           52.03             54.88
                                                                                                                                                                           China (95.53)
  (DTF Score)
Doing Business 2015                             Burundi                                                                                                                                               12

                                                                                                                                                                             Best performer globally
                                                              Congo, Dem. Rep.

                                                                                                                                   Tanzania DB2015
                            Burundi DB2015

                                             Burundi DB2014

                                                                                                                  Rwanda DB2015

                                                                                                                                                       Uganda DB2015
Indicator

                                                                                 France DB2015

                                                                                                  Kenya DB2015
                                                              DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                             DB2015
                                                                                                                                                                        Hong Kong SAR,
Procedures (number)         14.0             14.0                   8.0             8.0            8.0            10.0             18.0               15.0
                                                                                                                                                                          China (5.0)

Time (days)                 99.0             99.0               119.0            183.0           125.0            77.0            205.0               154.0             Singapore (26.0)

Cost (% of warehouse
                            10.1             12.5                 11.6              4.7            9.3             4.1               8.1              11.7                Qatar (0.0)*
value)

Getting Electricity
                             182              178                  175               60           151               62                87               184               Korea, Rep. (1)
(rank)

Getting Electricity (DTF
                            35.27            35.27              43.19            79.87           58.85           79.48            75.28               33.48            Korea, Rep. (99.83)
Score)

Procedures (number)            5.0              5.0                 6.0             5.0            6.0             4.0               4.0                6.0            12 Economies (3.0)*

Time (days)                 158.0            158.0                65.0           79.0            158.0            34.0            109.0               132.0            Korea, Rep. (18.0)*

Cost (% of income per
                           16,367.3 20,509.0 16,191.8                            42.9            1,020.2         3,073.9          1,453.0            11,004.9              Japan (0.0)
capita)

Registering Property
                                48               51                142            126             136               15             123                 125                 Georgia (1)
(rank)

Registering Property
                            78.38            77.81              55.39            59.36           56.88           89.20            60.10               59.76              Georgia (99.88)
(DTF Score)

Procedures (number)            5.0              5.0                 7.0             8.0            9.0             3.0               8.0              11.0             4 Economies (1.0)*

Time (days)                 23.0             26.0                 44.0           49.0             72.0            32.0             67.0               43.0             3 Economies (1.0)*

Cost (% of property
                               3.2              3.2                 9.5             6.1            4.3             0.1               4.5                2.6            4 Economies (0.0)*
value)

Getting Credit (rank)        171              169                  131               71           116                  4           151                 131              New Zealand (1)

Getting Credit (DTF
                            10.00            10.00              30.00            50.00           35.00           90.00            25.00               30.00            New Zealand (100)
Score)

Strength of legal rights
                                   2                2                 6                 4              7            11                   5                  6          3 Economies (12)*
index (0-12)
Doing Business 2015                            Burundi                                                                                                                                           13

                                                                                                                                                                        Best performer globally
                                                             Congo, Dem. Rep.

                                                                                                                               Tanzania DB2015
                           Burundi DB2015

                                            Burundi DB2014

                                                                                                               Rwanda DB2015

                                                                                                                                                 Uganda DB2015
Indicator

                                                                                France DB2015

                                                                                                Kenya DB2015
                                                             DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                        DB2015
Depth of credit
                                  0                0                 0                 6             0              7                0                0           23 Economies (8)*
information index (0-8)

Credit registry coverage
                              3.9              0.3                 0.2          44.5             0.0            2.4              0.0              0.0              Portugal (100.0)
(% of adults)

Credit bureau coverage
                              0.0              0.0                 0.0             0.0           4.9           15.7              0.6              4.9            23 Economies (100.0)*
(% of adults)

Protecting Minority
                               94               91                146               17          122            117             141               110               New Zealand (1)
Investors (rank)

Protecting Minority
                           51.67            51.67              42.50            67.50           45.83          46.67           43.33             47.50           New Zealand (81.67)
Investors (DTF Score)

Extent of conflict of
interest regulation           6.3              6.3                 4.0             5.7           4.7            6.3              5.3              5.0              Singapore (9.3)*
index (0-10)

Extent of shareholder
governance index (0-          4.0              4.0                 4.5             7.8           4.5            3.0              3.3              4.5                France (7.8)*
10)

Strength of minority
investor protection           5.2              5.2                 4.3             6.8           4.6            4.7              4.3              4.8             New Zealand (8.2)
index (0-10)

                                                                                                                                                                 United Arab Emirates
Paying Taxes (rank)         124              126                  168               95          102              27            148               104
                                                                                                                                                                         (1)*

Paying Taxes (DTF                                                                                                                                                United Arab Emirates
                           66.78            64.40              46.11            72.12           71.49          85.79           58.95             71.32
Score)                                                                                                                                                                 (99.44)*

Payments (number per                                                                                                                                               Hong Kong SAR,
                           25.0             25.0                 50.0              8.0          30.0           17.0            49.0              31.0
year)                                                                                                                                                                China (3.0)*

Time (hours per year)      274.0            274.0              316.0            137.0           201.5          107.0           181.0             209.0            Luxembourg (55.0)

Trading Across Borders
                            169              171                  175               10          153            164             137               161                 Singapore (1)
(rank)

Trading Across Borders     37.50            33.52              29.09            90.18           54.49          44.67           62.96             48.01             Singapore (96.47)
Doing Business 2015                             Burundi                                                                                                                                               14

                                                                                                                                                                             Best performer globally
                                                              Congo, Dem. Rep.

                                                                                                                                    Tanzania DB2015
                           Burundi DB2015

                                             Burundi DB2014

                                                                                                                   Rwanda DB2015

                                                                                                                                                       Uganda DB2015
Indicator

                                                                                  France DB2015

                                                                                                   Kenya DB2015
                                                              DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                             DB2015
(DTF Score)

Documents to export
                                  9                 9                 7                  2              8               7                 7                 7              Ireland (2)*
(number)

Time to export (days)      32.0              32.0                 44.0            10.0             26.0            26.0             18.0               28.0            5 Economies (6.0)*

Cost to export (US$ per
                          2,905.0           2,905.0           3,365.0            1,335.0          2,255.0         3,245.0          1,090.0            2,800.0          Timor-Leste (410.0)
container)

Cost to export (deflated
                         2,905.0            3,295.8           3,365.0            1,335.0          2,255.0         3,245.0          1,090.0            2,800.0
US$ per container)

Documents to import
                                  9                 9               10                   2              9               9              11                10                Ireland (2)*
(number)

Time to import (days)      43.0              46.0                 63.0            11.0             26.0            27.0             26.0               31.0              Singapore (4.0)

Cost to import (US$ per
                        4,420.0             4,420.0           4,290.0            1,445.0          2,350.0         4,990.0          1,615.0            3,375.0          Singapore (440.0)
container)

Cost to import (deflated
                         4,420.0            5,014.6           4,290.0            1,445.0          2,350.0         4,990.0          1,615.0            3,375.0
US$ per container)

Enforcing Contracts
                            158               158                  176                10           137               62                45                80              Singapore (1)
(rank)

Enforcing Contracts
                          42.15             42.15               33.51            77.67            48.96           63.94            66.17              60.48            Singapore (89.54)
(DTF Score)

Time (days)               832.0             832.0               610.0            395.0            465.0           230.0            515.0              490.0            Singapore (150.0)

Cost (% of claim)          38.6              38.6                 80.6            17.4             47.2            82.7             14.3               31.3               Iceland (9.0)

Procedures (number)        44.0              44.0                 43.0            29.0             44.0            23.0             38.0               38.0            Singapore (21.0)*

Resolving Insolvency
                            144               142                  189                22           134             101              105                  98                Finland (1)
(rank)

Resolving Insolvency
                          30.55             30.70                 0.00           75.94            33.31           41.77            41.12              42.27              Finland (93.85)
(DTF Score)
Doing Business 2015                               Burundi                                                                                                                                          15

                                                                                                                                                                           Best performer globally
                                                                 Congo, Dem. Rep.

                                                                                                                                   Tanzania DB2015
                               Burundi DB2015

                                                Burundi DB2014

                                                                                                                   Rwanda DB2015

                                                                                                                                                     Uganda DB2015
 Indicator

                                                                                    France DB2015

                                                                                                    Kenya DB2015
                                                                 DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                           DB2015
                                                                   no
 Time (years)                     5.0              5.0                                 1.9           4.5            2.5              3.0              2.2               Ireland (0.4)
                                                                 practice

                                                                   no
 Cost (% of estate)            30.0             30.0                                   9.0          22.0           29.0            22.0              29.5               Norway (1.0)
                                                                 practice

 Outcome (0 as
                                                                   no
 piecemeal sale and 1 as              0                0                                   1             1              0                0                1
                                                                 practice
 going concern)

 Recovery rate (cents on
                                  7.4              7.7                 0.0          77.2            27.1           19.5            21.2              37.9               Japan (92.9)
 the dollar)

 Strength of insolvency                                            no
                                  8.5              8.5                              11.0             6.0           10.0              9.5              7.0            5 Economies (15.0)*
 framework index (0-16)                                          practice

Note: DB2014 rankings shown are not last year’s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2014 that capture the effects of such
factors as data corrections and changes to the methodology. Trading across borders deflated and non-deflated values are identical in
DB2015 because it is defined as the base year for the deflator. The best performer on time for paying taxes is defined as the lowest time
recorded among all economies in the DB2015 sample that levy the 3 major taxes: profit tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and
VAT or sales tax. If an economy has no laws or regulations covering a specific area—for example, insolvency—it receives a “no practice”
mark. Similarly, an economy receives a “no practice” or “not possible” mark if regulation exists but is never used in practice or if a
competing regulation prohibits such practice. Either way, a “no practice” mark puts the economy at the bottom of the ranking on the
relevant indicator.
* Two or more economies share the top ranking on this indicator. A number shown in place of an economy’s name indicates the number
of economies that share the top ranking on the indicator. For a list of these economies, see the Doing Business website
(http://www.doingbusiness.org).
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                        Burundi                                                                     16

STARTING A BUSINESS
Formal registration of companies has many                                WHAT THE STARTING A BUSINESS
immediate benefits for the companies and for
business owners and employees. Legal entities can                        INDICATORS MEASURE
outlive their founders. Resources are pooled as
several shareholders join forces to start a company.                     Procedures to legally start and operate a
Formally registered companies have access to                             company (number)
services and institutions from courts to banks as well
                                                                          Preregistration (for example, name
as to new markets. And their employees can benefit
                                                                          verification or reservation, notarization)
from protections provided by the law. An additional
benefit comes with limited liability companies. These                     Registration in the economy’s largest
limit the financial liability of company owners to their                  business city1
investments, so personal assets of the owners are not
                                                                          Postregistration (for example, social security
put at risk. Where governments make registration
                                                                          registration, company seal)
easy, more entrepreneurs start businesses in the
formal sector, creating more good jobs and                               Time required to complete each procedure
generating more revenue for the government.                              (calendar days)

What do the indicators cover?                                             Does not include time spent gathering
                                                                          information
Doing Business measures the ease of starting a
business in an economy by recording all procedures                        Each procedure starts on a separate day (2
officially required or commonly done in practice by                       procedures cannot start on the same day).
an entrepreneur to start up and formally operate an                       Procedures that can be fully completed
industrial or commercial business—as well as the                          online are recorded as ½ day.
time and cost required to complete these procedures.                      Procedure completed once final document is
It also records the paid-in minimum capital that                          received
companies must deposit before registration (or
within 3 months). The ranking of economies on the                         No prior contact with officials
ease of starting a business is determined by sorting                     Cost required to complete each procedure
their distance to frontier scores for starting a                         (% of income per capita)
business. These scores are the simple average of the
distance to frontier scores for each of the component                     Official costs only, no bribes
indicators.                                                               No professional fees unless services required
To make the data comparable across economies,                             by law
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the                        Paid-in minimum capital (% of income
business and the procedures. It assumes that all                         per capita)
information is readily available to the entrepreneur
and that there has been no prior contact with                              Deposited in a bank or with a notary before
officials. It also assumes that the entrepreneur will                      registration (or within 3 months)
pay no bribes. And it assumes that the business:
      Is a limited liability company, located in the                    Has a start-up capital of 10 times income per
       largest business city and is 100% domestically                     capita.
       owned1.
                                                                         Has a turnover of at least 100 times income per
      Has between 10 and 50 employees.                                   capita.
      Conducts general commercial or industrial                         Does not qualify for any special benefits.
       activities.
                                                                         Does not own real estate.

1
    For the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million, data for a second city have been added.
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi                                                                              17

STARTING A BUSINESS

Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to start a business in Burundi?                 largest business city of an economy, except for 11
According to data collected by Doing Business, starting a         economies for which the data are a population-weighted
business there requires 3.0 procedures, takes 5.0 days,           average of the 2 largest business cities. See the chapter
costs 13.4% of income per capita and requires paid-in             on distance to frontier and ease of doing business
minimum capital of 0.0% of income per capita (figure              ranking at the end of this profile for more details.
2.1). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the

Figure 2.1 What it takes to start a business in Burundi
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita): 0.0

Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the
total time calculation. For more information on the methodology of the starting a business indicators, see the Doing Business
website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                  Burundi                                                                       18

STARTING A BUSINESS
Globally, Burundi stands at 18 in the ranking of 189         average ranking provide other useful information for
economies on the ease of starting a business (figure 2.2).   assessing how easy it is for an entrepreneur in Burundi to
The rankings for comparator economies and the regional       start a business.

Figure 2.2 How Burundi and comparator economies rank on the ease of starting a business

Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi                                                                        19

STARTING A BUSINESS
Economies around the world have taken steps making it             they often are part of a larger regulatory reform
easier to start a business—streamlining procedures by             program. Among the benefits have been greater firm
setting up a one-stop shop, making procedures simpler             satisfaction and savings and more registered businesses,
or faster by introducing technology and reducing or               financial resources and job opportunities.
eliminating minimum capital requirements. Many have
                                                                  What business registration reforms has Doing Business
undertaken business registration reforms in stages—and
                                                                  recorded in Burundi (table 2.1)?

Table 2.1 How has Burundi made starting a business easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year from DB2010 to DB2015

DB year            Reform

                    Burundi made starting a business easier by eliminating the
                    requirements to have company documents notarized, to
DB2013              publish information on new companies in a journal and to
                    register new companies with the Ministry of Trade and
                    Industry.
                    Burundi made starting a business easier by allowing
                    registration with the Ministry of Labor at the one-stop shop
DB2014
                    and by speeding up the process of obtaining the registration
                    certificate.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2005), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                   Burundi                                                                        20

STARTING A BUSINESS

What are the details?
Underlying the indicators shown in this chapter for
                                                              STANDARDIZED COMPANY
Burundi is a set of specific procedures—the
bureaucratic and legal steps that an entrepreneur
must complete to incorporate and register a new                Legal form: Société à Responsabilité Limitée
firm. These are identified by Doing Business through           (SARL) - Limited Liability Company
collaboration with relevant local professionals and
the study of laws, regulations and publicly available          Paid in minimum capital requirement: BIF 0
information on business entry in that economy.                 City: Bujumbura
Following is a detailed summary of those procedures,
along with the associated time and cost. These                 Start-up Capital: 10 times GNI per capita
procedures are those that apply to a company
matching      the    standard     assumptions      (the
“standardized company”) used by Doing Business in
collecting the data (see the section in this chapter on
what the indicators measure).
Table 2.2 Summary of time, cost and procedures for starting a business in Burundi
                                                                                   Time to
 No.    Procedure                                                                                Cost to complete
                                                                                  complete
       Submit all documents to the one-stop shop (API) and obtain
       registration certificate and the tax identification number

       The following documents need to be submitted at the Agence des
       Promotions des Investissements (API):
       1. Application form for the creation of a new company (includes name
       of the company, type of company, address, initial capital, number of
       partners and their names, contribution of each partner)
       2. Standard company statutes
       3. Application form for registration with the Greffe of the Tribunal de
       Commerce                                                                                 BIF 40,000 for a LLC
       4. Application form for registration with the OBR to obtain the NIF                      performing general
       5. Photos of all partners                                                   2 days           commercial
   1
       6. Copy of identities of all partners
                                                                                                      activities
       The applicant first deposits all these documents at the API and then
       pays the registration fees of BIF 40,000 at the API. The applicant will
       then obtain a certificate of incorporation and a fiscal identification
       number (NIF) issued by the tax authority (Office Burundais des
       Recettes). In addition, the applicant can now complete the registration
       of the company with the National Institute for Social Security at the
       one-stop shop.

       Agency: Commercial Registry
Doing Business 2015                     Burundi                                                                21

                                                                                    Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                            Cost to complete
                                                                                   complete
        Pay the registration fees at the Commercial Bank cashier

        All new businesses must pay the registration fees at the Commercial
        Bank cashier.
   2                                                                                1 day        no charge

        Agency: Bank

        Make a company seal

        The company seal is not required by law but it is done in practice. Some
        banks would require the company seal to issue a loan contract, for
   3    example.                                                                    2 days      BIF 20,000

        Agency: Shops dealing with stamp making

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                   Burundi                                                                   22

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Regulation of construction is critical to protect the      WHAT THE DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION
public. But it needs to be efficient, to avoid excessive
                                                           PERMITS INDICATORS MEASURE
constraints on a sector that plays an important part in
every economy. Where complying with building
regulations is excessively costly in time and money,        Procedures to legally build a warehouse
many builders opt out. They may pay bribes to pass          (number)
inspections or simply build illegally, leading to            Submitting all relevant documents and
hazardous construction that puts public safety at risk.      obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses,
Where compliance is simple, straightforward and              permits and certificates
inexpensive, everyone is better off.                         Submitting all required notifications and
What do the indicators cover?                                receiving all necessary inspections

Doing Business records the procedures, time and cost         Obtaining utility connections for water and
for a business in the construction industry to obtain        sewerage
all the necessary approvals to build a warehouse in          Registering the warehouse after its
the economy’s largest business city, connect it to           completion (if required for use as collateral or
basic utilities and register the warehouse so that it        for transfer of the warehouse)
can be used as collateral or transferred to another         Time required to complete each procedure
entity.                                                     (calendar days)
The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with         Does not include time spent gathering
construction permits is determined by sorting their          information
distance to frontier scores for dealing with
                                                             Each procedure starts on a separate day.
construction permits. These scores are the simple
                                                             Procedures that can be fully completed online
average of the distance to frontier scores for each of
                                                             are recorded as ½ day.
the component indicators.
                                                             Procedure considered completed once final
To make the data comparable across economies,                document is received
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the
business and the warehouse, including the utility            No prior contact with officials
connections.                                                Cost required to complete each procedure (%
The business:                                               of warehouse value)
                                                             Official costs only, no bribes
       Is a limited liability company operating in
        the construction business and located in                Will have complete architectural and
        the largest business city. For the 11                    technical plans prepared by a licensed
        economies with a population of more than                 architect or engineer.
        100 million, data for a second city have
                                                                Will be connected to water and sewerage
        been added. Is domestically owned and
                                                                 (sewage system, septic tank or their
        operated.
                                                                 equivalent). The connection to each utility
       Has 60 builders and other employees.                     network will be 150 meters (492 feet) long.
The warehouse:                                                  Will be used for general storage, such as of
                                                                 books or stationery (not for goods requiring
       Is valued at 50 times income per capita.
                                                                 special conditions).
       Is a new construction (there was no
                                                                Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all
        previous construction on the land).
                                                                 delays due to administrative and regulatory
                                                                 requirements).
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi                                                                            23

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to comply with the formalities to build        business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for
a warehouse in Burundi? According to data collected by           which the data are a population-weighted average of the
Doing Business, dealing with construction permits there          2 largest business cities. See the chapter on distance to
requires 14.0 procedures, takes 99.0 days and costs              frontier and ease of doing business ranking at the end of
10.1% of the warehouse value (figure 3.1).          Most         this profile for more details.
indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest

Figure 3.1 What it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in Burundi

Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the
total time calculation. For more information on the methodology of the dealing with construction permits indicators, see the
Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary at the
end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015              Burundi                                                                     24

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Globally, Burundi stands at 133 in the ranking of 189   economies and the regional average ranking provide
economies on the ease of dealing with construction      other useful information for assessing how easy it is for
permits (figure 3.2). The rankings for comparator       an entrepreneur in Burundi to legally build a warehouse.

Figure 3.2 How Burundi and comparator economies rank on the ease of dealing with construction permits

Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Burundi                                                                      25

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Smart regulation ensures that standards are met while             an effort to ensure building safety while keeping
making compliance easy and accessible to all. Coherent            compliance costs reasonable, governments around the
and transparent rules, efficient processes and adequate           world have worked on consolidating permitting
allocation of resources are especially important in sectors       requirements. What construction permitting reforms has
where safety is at stake. Construction is one of them. In         Doing Business recorded in Burundi (table 3.1)?

Table 3.1 How has Burundi made dealing with construction permits easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year from DB2010 to DB2015

DB year            Reform

                    Burundi made dealing with construction permits easier by
DB2012
                    reducing the cost to obtain a geotechnical study.
                    Burundi made obtaining a construction permit easier by
DB2013              eliminating the requirement for a clearance from the Ministry
                    of Health and reducing the cost of the geotechnical study.
                    Burundi made dealing with construction permits easier by
DB2014              establishing a one-stop shop for obtaining building permits
                    and utility connections.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2006), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                     Burundi                                                                        26

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Burundi are based
                                                                BUILDING A WAREHOUSE
on a set of specific procedures—the steps that a
company must complete to legally build a
warehouse—identified by Doing Business through                  Estimated cost of
information collected from experts in construction                                        BIF 22,359,770
                                                                construction :
licensing, including architects, civil engineers,
construction lawyers, construction firms, utility
                                                                City :                    Bujumbura
service providers and public officials who deal with
building regulations. These procedures are those              The procedures, along with the associated time and cost,
that apply to a company and structure matching the            are summarized below.
standard assumptions used by Doing Business in
collecting the data (see the section in this chapter on
what the indicators cover).
Table 3.2 Summary of time, cost and procedures for dealing with construction permits in Burundi
                                                                                      Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                                Cost to complete
                                                                                     complete
        Obtain a geotechnical study

        Fees are based on a maximum calculation (Maximum d'essais), which
        comprises all the verifications the National Laboratory of Construction
        and Public Works has to do.
   1                                                                                 14 days         BIF 600,000

        Agency: National Laboratory for Building Construction and Public Works
        (Laboratoire National Du Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics)

        Submit application for the building permit at the DGHU

        Documents needed for the building permit are:

        • One copy of the property title
        • One copy of the original payment receipt of the “rrais de viabilisation”
        • One copy of the original “proces Verbal de bornage et d’arpentage”
        (obtained when the property title is being processed on the bare land)
        • Construction plans: Vues en plan, facades, coupe, plan d’implantation
        (4 copies of each)
        • Original estimated cost of construction: original (3 copies)
        • Original septic tank plan (3 copies)                                        1 day           no charge
   2
        • Original structural plan since it is a G1 structure (ground level with 1
        floor)
        • Original geotechnical study since it is a G1 structure

        The files are submitted at the ‘Service de Control de la DGHU’, who in
        turn will forward them internally to the Service de L’instruction.

        Applicants are instructed to return to the DGHU 3 days after submitting
        their files to check on the status of the applications and to see whether
        additional information or documents or changes must be made to the
        plans. Assuming that no modifications are required, BuildCo will
        accompany the inspector to the site of construction. This is to verify
Doing Business 2015                     Burundi                                                                  27

                                                                                    Time to
No.    Procedure                                                                              Cost to complete
                                                                                   complete
      that the parcel is correct and no construction work has started without
      a permit.

      During those 3 days, the service verifies the plans, particularly in terms
      of “plan d’occupation des sols” (which surface one is allowed to build
      on). If some remarks and missing documents need to be addressed, the
      on-premise inspection will occur once all issues are addressed.

      Agency: Directorate of Urban Planning and Habitat (DGHU)

      Pay permit fees and the construction tax at the Banque de la
      Republique du Burundi

      Payment of the permit fees and the construction tax is made at the
      Banque de la Republique du Burundi.

      The cost of the permit is 0.6% of estimated construction cost per
      square meter (BIF 750,000.00 x 1,300.6).

3                                                                                   1 day       BIF 654,399
      In addition, the urban development cost must also be paid and the
      amount depends on the location of construction. For the Doing
      Business case study, the location of the warehouse is the “quartier des
      usines.” For this specific location, the cost is BIF 400 per square meter
      of the building (BIF 400 * 1,300.6).

      Agency: Banque de la Republique du Burundi

      Present proof of payment of the construction tax (taxe de batisse)
      to the DGHU

      The proof of payment must be provided to the DGHU.                            1 day        no charge
4
      Agency: Directorate of Urban Planning and Habitat (DGHU)

      Obtain building permit

      There are two signatures on a building permit. The Director of DGHU
      signs the file which is then forwarded to the Director General of DGHU
      for his signature. There are no mechanisms to inform applicants that
5     their construction permit has been processed. It is the responsibility of    14 days       no charge
      the applicant to follow up.

      Agency: Directorate of Urban Planning and Habitat (DGHU)

      Request certificate of conformity and proof of development

      Once the construction is completed, the owner requests an ‘attestation
      de mise en valeur et de conformité’ from DGHU. This attestation               1 day        no charge
6
      validates that the construction has been built in accordance to the
      approved plans. To complete the attestation, DGHU will inspect the site
      of construction.
Doing Business 2015                     Burundi                                                              28

                                                                                Time to
No.    Procedure                                                                          Cost to complete
                                                                               complete
      The application for a certificate of conformity must be accompanied by
      a picture of the newly constructed building.

      Agency: Directorate of Urban Planning and Habitat (DGHU)

      Receive inspection from DGHU

7                                                                               1 day        no charge
      Agency: Directorate of Urban Planning and Habitat (DGHU)

      Obtain certificate of conformity and proof of development

8                                                                               1 day        no charge
      Agency: Directorate of Urban Planning and Habitat (DGHU)

      Deposit request for the modification of the "proces verbal de
      bornage et d'arpentage" at the Cadastre

      Once a building has been completed, it must be registered at the Land
      Registry to have a property tile. Therefore, the “process verbal de
      bornage et d’arpentage” must be modified to reflect the new
9     constructed building. A new “process verbal de bornage et                 1 day        no charge
      d’arpentage" will be issued. This is required in order for the Land
      Registry to issue the property title.

      Agency: Direction National du Cadastre

      Receive site inspection from the Cadastre

10                                                                              1 day        no charge
      Agency: Direction National du Cadastre

      Obtain updated "proces verbal de bornage et d'arpentage" from
      the Cadastre

11                                                                              3 days       no charge
      Agency: Direction National du Cadastre

      Request and receive updated property title from the land registry

12                                                                             60 days       BIF 2,500
      Agency: Department of Land Titles (Ministry of Justice)
Doing Business 2015                     Burundi                                                           29

                                                                               Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                       Cost to complete
                                                                              complete

        * Obtain water connection

  13                                                                          30 days      BIF 500,000
        Agency: REGIDESO

        * Obtain sewage connection

  14                                                                          15 days      BIF 500,000
        Agency: SETEMU

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                      Burundi                                                                    30

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Access to reliable and affordable electricity is vital for     WHAT THE GETTING ELECTRICITY
businesses. To counter weak electricity supply, many
firms in developing economies have to rely on self-            INDICATORS MEASURE
supply, often at a prohibitively high cost. Whether
electricity is reliably available or not, the first step for   Procedures to obtain an electricity
a customer is always to gain access by obtaining a             connection (number)
connection.
                                                                Submitting all relevant documents and
What do the indicators cover?                                   obtaining all necessary clearances and permits
Doing Business records all procedures required for a            Completing all required notifications and
local business to obtain a permanent electricity                receiving all necessary inspections
connection and supply for a standardized warehouse,
as well as the time and cost to complete them. These            Obtaining external installation works and
procedures include applications and contracts with              possibly purchasing material for these works
electricity utilities, clearances from other agencies           Concluding any necessary supply contract and
and the external and final connection works. The                obtaining final supply
ranking of economies on the ease of getting
electricity is determined by sorting their distance to         Time required to complete each procedure
frontier scores for getting electricity. These scores are      (calendar days)
the simple average of the distance to frontier scores           Is at least 1 calendar day
for each of the component indicators. To make the
data comparable across economies, several                       Each procedure starts on a separate day
assumptions are used.                                           Does not include time spent gathering
The warehouse:                                                  information

        Is owned by a local entrepreneur, located              Reflects the time spent in practice, with little
         in the economy’s largest business city, in             follow-up and no prior contact with officials
         an area where other warehouses are                    Cost required to complete each procedure
         located. For the 11 economies with a                  (% of income per capita)
         population of more than 100 million, data
                                                                Official costs only, no bribes
         for a second city have been added.
                                                                Excludes value added tax
        Is not in a special economic zone where
         the connection would be eligible for
         subsidization or faster service.                          Is to either the low-voltage or the medium-
                                                                    voltage distribution network and either
        Is located in an area with no physical
                                                                    overhead or underground, whichever is more
         constraints (ie. property not near a railway).
                                                                    common in the area where the warehouse is
        Is a new construction being connected to                   located. Included only negligible length in the
         electricity for the first time.                            customer’s private domain.
        Is 2 stories, both above ground, with a total             Requires crossing of a 10-meter road but all
         surface of about 1,300.6 square meters                     the works are carried out in a public land, so
         (14,000 square feet), is built on a plot of                there is no crossing into other people's
         929 square meters (10,000 square feet), is                 private property.
         used for storage of refrigerated goods
                                                                   Involves installing one electricity meter. The
The electricity connection:                                         monthly electricity consumption will be
                                                                    26880 kilowatt hour (kWh). The internal
        Is 150 meters long and is a 3-phase, 4-wire
                                                                    electrical wiring has been completed.
         Y, 140-kilovolt-ampere (kVA) (subscribed
         capacity) connection.
Doing Business 2015                      Burundi                                                                                 31

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to obtain a new electricity connection             Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest
in Burundi? According to data collected by Doing                     business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for
Business, getting electricity there requires 5.0 procedures,         which the data are a population-weighted average of the
takes 158.0 days and costs 16367.3% of income per                    2 largest business cities. See the chapter on distance to
capita (figure 4.1).                                                 frontier and ease of doing business ranking at the end of
                                                                     this        profile        for        more         details.

Figure 4.1 What it takes to obtain an electricity connection in Burundi

Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. For more information on the methodology of the
getting electricity indicators, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures reflected
here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                  Burundi                                                                     32

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Globally, Burundi stands at 182 in the ranking of 189        average ranking provide another perspective in assessing
economies on the ease of getting electricity (figure 4.2).   how easy it is for an entrepreneur in Burundi to connect
The rankings for comparator economies and the regional       a warehouse to electricity.

Figure 4.2 How Burundi and comparator economies rank on the ease of getting electricity

Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                   Burundi                                                                   33

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Obtaining an electricity connection is essential to enable     ensure safety in the connection process while keeping
a business to conduct its most basic operations. In many       connection costs reasonable, governments around the
economies the connection process is complicated by the         world have worked to consolidate requirements for
multiple laws and regulations involved—covering service        obtaining an electricity connection. What reforms in
quality, general safety, technical standards, procurement      getting electricity has Doing Business recorded in
practices and internal wiring installations. In an effort to   Burundi (table 4.1)?

Table 4.1 How has Burundi made getting electricity easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year from DB2010 to DB2015

DB year           Reform

                   Burundi made getting electricity easier by eliminating the
                   electricity utility’s monopoly on the sale of materials needed
DB2014
                   for new connections and by dropping the processing fee for
                   new connections.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                     Burundi                                                                              34

GETTING ELECTRICITY
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Burundi are based on a
                                                                      OBTAINING AN ELECTRICITY CONNECTION
set of specific procedures—the steps that an
entrepreneur must complete to get a warehouse
connected to electricity by the local distribution utility—                                         Régie de Production et
identified by Doing Business. Data are collected from the             Name of utility:              Distribution d'Eau et
distribution utility, then completed and verified by                                                d'Electricité (Regideso)
electricity regulatory agencies and independent
professionals such as electrical engineers, electrical                City:                         Bujumbura
contractors and construction companies. The electricity
                                                                   The procedures are those that apply to a warehouse and
distribution utility surveyed is the one serving the area          electricity connection matching the standard
(or areas) in which warehouses are located. If there is a          assumptions used by Doing Business in collecting the
choice of distribution utilities, the one serving the largest      data (see the section in this chapter on what the
number         of        customers         is       selected.      indicators cover). The procedures, along with the
                                                                   associated time and cost, are summarized below.
Table 4.2 Summary of time, cost and procedures for getting electricity in Burundi
                                                                                          Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                                        Cost to complete
                                                                                         complete
        Client submits application at one of REGIDESO's customer service
        centers, await and receive estimate

        Applications cannot be submitted online. The customer goes to a
        REGIDESO customer service office in person and completes a form to
        request the connection. The documents needed for the application do
        not need to be notarized. The customer must specify the location of the
        warehouse. The customer has to provide copies of two documents, the
        national identification card and the family composition certificate. There
        is an application fee to be paid. A few days after the external inspection,
        the customer goes to the office of REGIDESO to obtain the estimate and
        to pay it. Once payment is made, REGIDESO will prepare a report of the
   1    works. This is an internal report listing all the material necessary for the 16 calendar days           BIF 0
        connection. The report is then transmitted to the department in charge
        of the actual connection work.

        No internal inspection and no certificate regarding the safety of the
        internal wiring has to be submitted. The electrician must be a licensed
        one, but not necessarily with REGIDESO. The customer takes the entire
        responsibility regarding the safety of the internal wiring with signing the
        contract.

        Agency: REGIDESO-Burundi
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