Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Page 1
Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Economy Profile of Vanuatu
Doing Business 2018 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, 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 and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-
filing 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
Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality
Page 2Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
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 labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market
regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier 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 reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and
regions within a nation. These reports 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 report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report 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.
The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance
observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is
reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business
ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to
two decimals.
More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)
Page 3Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Ease of Doing Business in DB 2018 Rank
Region East Asia & Pacific
190 1
Vanuatu
Income Category Lower middle income 90
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
Population 270,402
0 100
City Covered Port Vila 63.08
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
63.89: Samoa (Rank: 87)
63.08: Vanuatu (Rank: 90)
62.70: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
51.45: Marshall Islands (Rank: 149)
48.99: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 155)
48.74: Kiribati (Rank: 157)
Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the
indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the
lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Vanuatu
1
29
28
57
55
80
82 86
Rank
96
108
109
128
135
136 143
151
163
190
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
Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Vanuatu
100
81.23
80 77.85
75.00
72.01
65.63
57.58 59.13
60
DTF
50.00 49.27
43.04
40
20
0
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
Page 4Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Starting a Business
This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in 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 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 distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scores obtained for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
â— Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
The business:
certificates
â— Submitting all required notifications and receiving - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
all necessary inspections of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
â— Obtaining utility connections for water and
lawyers or the statistical office.
sewerage
- Operates in the economy’s largest business city and the entire office space is
â— Registering and selling the warehouse after its approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11 economies the data
completion are also collected for the second largest business city.
- Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
Time required to complete each procedure
and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at
(calendar days)
least 100 times income per capita.
â— Does not include time spent gathering information - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
procedures cannot start on the same day) activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
â— Procedures fully completed online are recorded
- Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
as ½ day
amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to 1 times income per
â— Procedure is considered completed once final capita.
document is received - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
â— No prior contact with officials - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Has a company deed 10 pages long.
income per capita)
The owners:
â— Official costs only, no bribes
â— No professional fees unless services required by - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
law or commonly used in practice assumed to be 30 years old.
- Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
â— Funds deposited in a bank or with third party - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
before registration or up to 3 months after man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
incorporation answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.
Page 5Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Starting a Business - Vanuatu
Standardized Company
Legal form Private Limited Liability Company
Paid-in minimum capital requirement VUV 0
City Covered Port Vila
Indicator Vanuatu East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedure – Men (number) 7 7.0 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)
Time – Men (days) 18 22.7 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 44.4 18.4 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)
Procedure – Women (number) 7 7.0 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)
Time – Women (days) 18 22.8 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 44.4 18.4 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 15.1 8.7 0.00 (113 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
92.54: Samoa (Rank: 33)
88.49: Marshall Islands (Rank: 72)
82.32: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
81.23: Vanuatu (Rank: 128)
77.47: Kiribati (Rank: 147)
69.56: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 170)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Figure – Starting a Business in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
18 35
16
30
Cost (% of income per capita)
14
25
12
Time (days)
10 20
8 15
6
10
4
5
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 2018 Vanuatu
Details – Starting a Business in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Check the uniqueness of the company name 1 day no charge
Agency : Vanuatu Financial Services Commission
This service is not automated and cannot be completed on the spot. A form must be
completed and faxed to the VFSC – this form is usually available at the lawyer’s office or
can be downloaded from http://www.vfsc.vu/steps.html. At least three alternatives must
be provided and the VFSC will return the form providing information on their
availability. There is no charge for this service and it takes only 1 day to complete this
process.
In addition to checking the name (as recorded by the Starting a business indicator), it is
possible to reserve the name, which costs VUV 2,000. Reserving the name is a good
practice but not required and not done systematically.
2 Apply for incorporation at the VFSCU 4 days VUV 35,000 for in
Agency : Vanuatu Financial Services Commission person filing and VUV
Pursuant to Official Gazette No. 75 of 2015 (dated 31 August 2015), it is now possible to 30,000 for online
register a company online. A company can conduct all steps online, and also has the applications.
option to choose model rules, to avoid having to use legal services to draft their own
rules. The application is filled out online, and reviewed by officers online. Fees can be
paid through an online payment processing system. The certificate of incorporation is
delivered by email on confirmation of incorporation. However, most applications for
incorporation are filed in person. Online applications cost VUR 30,000 and in person,
35,000
3 Apply for a business license from the Department of Customs and Inland 1 day VUV 20,000 to
Revenue services 1,000,000 (VUV
Agency : Department of Customs and Inland Revenue Services 100,000 in case of a
An incorporated company is not entitled to begin operating until it has obtained a turnover between
business license from the Department of Customs and Inland Revenue Services. It may
VUV 20,000,000 and
take 2–3 weeks to obtain such a license.
VUV 30,000,000).
Business license certificates are issued by the Rates and Taxes Authority. The fee varies
by type and size of business, as shown below for 2006.
Fee schedule:
• < VUV 4million(annual turnover): No charge
• > VUV 4 Million to 10 Million (annual turnover): VUV 20 thousand (fee)
• > VUV 10 Million to 20 Million (annual turnover): VUV 50 thousand (fee)
• > VUV 20 Million to 50 Million (annual turnover): VUV100 thousand (fee)
• > VUV 50 Million to 100 Million (annual turnover): VUV 250 thousand (fee)
• > VUV 100 Million to 200 Million (annual turnover): VUV 500 thousand (fee)
• > VUV 200 Million />(annual turnover): VUV 1 Million(fee)
4 Register with the VAT office 3 days, no charge
Agency : Department of Customs and Inland Revenue Services simultaneous with
A company must register with the value added tax (VAT) office if it anticipates turnover procedure 4
of at least VUV 4 million per year.
5 Register as an employer with the National Provident Fund 1 week no charge
Agency : National Provident Fund
All employees from the age of 14 – 55 must join the fund. 50% of the monthly
contribution (understand gross salary) is paid by the employer and 50% by the employee.
This is for the retirement benefits of the employees. Under the law, an employer must
register with this fund 7 days after incorporation of the business (or 7 days as soon as the
first employee is recruited).
Payment of contribution is made directly at the National Provident Fund.
6 Enroll employees in the work accident insurance 3 days, no charge
Agency : Any insurance fund simultaneous with
All employers are required to insure their employees against workplace accidents. previous procedure
7 Make a company seal 3 days VUV 3,000
Agency : Sealmaker
By law, a company must have a seal – a mean to authenticate its documents
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 8Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
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 June 2017. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
â— Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
â— Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
all necessary inspections largest business city.
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
â— Obtaining utility connections for water and
legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
sewerage
the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
â— Registering and selling the warehouse after its other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
completion topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
Time required to complete each procedure
upon its completion.
(calendar days)
â— Does not include time spent gathering information The warehouse:
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day— - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
though procedures that can be fully completed - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
online are an exception to this rule approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
â— Procedure is considered completed once final meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
document is received 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
â— No prior contact with officials
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
income per capita) documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
as procedures.
â— Official costs only, no bribes
- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
regulatory requirements).
Building quality control index (0-15)
â— Sum of the scores of six component indices: The water and sewerage connections:
â— Quality of building regulations (0-2) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
â— Quality control before construction (0-1) is no water 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
â— Quality control during construction (0-3)
installed or built.
â— Quality control after construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
â— Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
â— Professional certifications (0-4) 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and 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 2018 Vanuatu
Dealing with Construction Permits - Vanuatu
Standardized Company
Estimated value of warehouse VUV 15,550,316.90
City Covered Port Vila
Indicator Vanuatu East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedures (number) 14 15.2 12.5 7.00 (Denmark)
Time (days) 124 138.2 154.6 27.5 (Korea, Rep.)
Cost (% of warehouse value) 7.8 2.2 1.6 0.10 (5 Economies)
Building quality control index (0-15) 5.0 8.9 11.4 15.00 (3 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
70.93: Marshall Islands (Rank: 71)
69.60: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
68.68: Samoa (Rank: 83)
65.72: Kiribati (Rank: 111)
61.05: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 137)
57.58: Vanuatu (Rank: 151)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for
dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component
indicators.
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
8
120
7
Cost (% of income per capita)
100
6
80
Time (days)
5
60 4
3
40
2
20
1
0 0
1 2 3 *4 *5 *6 *7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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 10Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
15
Index score
10 8.9
6.0 6.0
5.0
5
1.0
0.0
0
Vanuatu Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Samoa East Asia & Pacific
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Request and obtain preliminary environmental assessment 15 days VUV 20,000
Agency : Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation (DEPC)
According to the Law on Environment published in the Official Gazette on August 13,
2011, it is mandatory to obtain a preliminary environmental impact assessment (EIA)
conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation (DEPC). If no
full EIA is required, an approval may be granted with conditions. This is a requirement
prior to having all other departments involved in clearing the permit application.
2 Request building permit and pay application fee 1 day VUV 10,000
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
BuildCo must submit the plans and specifications along with a copy of the lease title (as
urban land in Vanuatu belongs to the government). During this process, the approval from
5 departments will be needed:
• Public Works Department
• Department of Land, Survey and Registry
• Geology and Mines Department
• Fire Department
• Physical Planning Department -- located in the Municipality
The following documents must be submitted to these agencies:
• Floor plan
• Elevation plan
• Cross section plan
• Detail plan of ring beam and roof structure – details of next floor must also be provided
since this building has one ground floor and 1 level
• Services layout plan (electricity, plumbing lines, power point)
• Septic tank Plan
• Site plan
• Location plan
• Copy of survey plan
• Copy of front page of lease document
The application fee is a fixed fee of VUV 10,000.00.
3 Obtain approval from the Public Works Department 5 days no charge
Agency : Public Works Department
This is the office that would verify the safety of the building. Plans are checked.
4 Obtain approval from the Department of Land, Survey and Registry 3 days no charge
Agency : Department of Land, Survey & Registry
This office will check that the land lease fees have paid and that the lease type and
location are accurate.
5 Obtain approval from the Geology and Mines Department 2 days no charge
Agency : Geology and Mines Department
This office will check whether the soil is suitable for construction based solely on the
location of the intended building.
6 Obtain approval from the Fire Department 1 day no charge
Agency : Fire Department
This office will check the fire safety requirements of the building.
7 Obtain approval from the Physical Planning Department 2 days no charge
Agency : Physical Planning department
Page 11Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
8 Pay building permit fee and obtain building permit 90 days VUV 1,138,025
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
Payment for the construction permit itself is made when the Town Council has approved
the permit. The Town Council will meet only if there are more than 10 applications for
approval.
The fee for a construction permit is VUV 875.00 per sq. m. for commercial or industrial
constructions.
9 Notify the Town Planning and Building Division of commencement of work 1 day no charge
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
According to Article 14, Section 4 of the Building Act 2013, BuildCo must notify the
Town Planning and Building Division about the intended commencement of work 7 days
before starting construction.
10 Request and receive inspection for excavation for a foundation 1 day no charge
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
According to Article 14, Section 4 (b) (i) of the BuildingAct 2013, the builder or his
representative must notify the Town Planning and Building Division 7 days before the
intended covering up of the excavation for foundation.
11 Request and obtain connection to water services from UNELCO 7 days VUV 25,000
Agency : UNELCO Vanuatu Ltd.
UNELCO is the sole provider of water and electricity and all requests for connection
must be made in person.
12 Request certificate of completion from Town Planning and Building 1 day VUV 13,000
Division (Port Vila Municipality)
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
13 Receive inspection from Town Planning and Building Division (Port Vila 1 day no charge
Municipality)
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
The Town Planning Unit, Port Vila Municipality would issue a certificate of completion
upon performing an inspection. A VUV 13,000.00 fee must be paid for this certificate.
14 Obtain completion certificate 1 day no charge
Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 12Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 5.0
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) They must be 0.0
purchased; Not
easily accessible.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 1.0
regulations or on any 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 By law, there is 0.0
compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) no need to verify
plans
compliance; Civil
servant reviews
plans.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 1.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections at 1.0
(0-2) various phases.
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 Yes, final 2.0
with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection 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) 0.0
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building No party is held 0.0
once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the
law.
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 0.0
structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law
or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain
insurance .
Professional certifications index (0-4) 0.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the There are no 0.0
architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) specific
requirements.
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction There are no 0.0
on the ground? (0-2) specific
requirements.
Page 13Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
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 June 2017. See the methodology
for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
â— Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances and permits
â— Completing all required notifications and - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
receiving all necessary inspections largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
largest business city.
â— Obtaining external installation works and possibly
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
purchasing material for these works
legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
â— Concluding any necessary supply contract and the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
obtaining final supply other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
topographical experts.
Time required to complete each procedure
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
(calendar days)
upon its completion.
â— Is at least 1 calendar day
The warehouse:
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day
â— Does not include time spent gathering information - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
- Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
â— Reflects the time spent in practice, with little
approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
follow-up and no prior contact with officials
meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
income per capita) warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
â— Official costs only, no bribes architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
â— Value added tax excluded documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
as procedures.
The reliability of supply and transparency of - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
tariffs index (0-8) regulatory requirements).
â— Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3)
The water and sewerage connections:
â— Tools to monitor power outages (0–1)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
â— Tools to restore power supply (0–1)
is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
â— Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
(0–1) installed or built.
â— Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
â— Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* gallons) a day.
- Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
â— Price based on monthly bill for commercial
year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
warehouse in case study
the sewerage connection.
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the distance to
frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting
electricity.
Page 14Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Getting Electricity - Vanuatu
Standardized Company
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 35.1
Name of utility Unelco
City Covered Port Vila
Indicator Vanuatu East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedures (number) 4 4.5 4.7 2 (United Arab
Emirates)
Time (days) 120 71.6 79.1 10 (United Arab
Emirates)
Cost (% of income per capita) 1090.4 712.0 63.0 0.00 (Japan)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 5 3.7 7.4 8.00 (28 Economies)
index (0-8)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
79.70: Samoa (Rank: 60)
72.23: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
72.01: Vanuatu (Rank: 86)
64.48: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 109)
59.26: Marshall Islands (Rank: 126)
41.50: Kiribati (Rank: 168)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting
electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 15Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Figure – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
120 1200
Cost (% of income per capita)
100 1000
80 800
Time (days)
60 600
40 400
20 200
0 0
1 *2 3 *4
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.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8
7
6
Index score
5
5
4
4 3.7
3
2
1
0 0 0
0
Vanuatu Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Samoa East Asia & Pacific
Page 16Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Details – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application to Unelco and await estimate 30 calendar days USD 0
Agency : Unelco
The application for connection can be submitted in person or by mail and the following
documents should be attached to the application:
1) Land tile showing all cadastral limits (Electronic version georeferenced). The land title
must show clearly that the applicant is the owner. The land in question must also show
evidence of roads or easement up to the existing electricity grid.
2) Calculation of Power requirement
3) Building plan showing service point
The utility is in charge of designing the details of the external connection works. It is also
in charge of designing the details of the external connection works.
2 Receive external site inspection by Unelco for preparing technical study 1 calendar day USD 0
Agency : Unelco
Unelco visits the site for a technical study after the application for connection is
submitted. Someone from the applicant’s party has to be present during the inspection.
3 Await completion of external works by Unelco 90 calendar days VUV 3,244,444.44
Agency : Unelco
4 Sign supply contract and pay security deposit for electricity to flow 30 calendar days VUV 146,889.52
Agency : Unelco
The customer has to sign a supply contract right after the commissioning of the works
and before electricity starts flowing. When the customer signs a supply contract he/she
has to pay a deposit. The security deposit is based on load the customer is subscribing to.
There is no interest paid on the security deposit and it is returned at the end of the
contract.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 17Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Details – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 5
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 1
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 6.0
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 6.2
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 3.0
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 Yes
supply?
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 Yes
exceed a certain cap?
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 0
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online http://www.ura.gov.vu
/index.php?
option=com_content
&view=article&id=68
&Itemid=98&lang=en
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? No
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 18Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
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 June 2017.See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
â— Preregistration procedures (for example,
The parties (buyer and seller):
checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
â— Registration procedures in the economy's largest - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
business citya. economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
â— Postregistration procedures (for example, filling
- Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
title with municipality)
- Perform general commercial activities.
Time required to complete each procedure
The property (fully owned by the seller):
(calendar days)
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
â— Does not include time spent gathering information
- Is fully owned by the seller.
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day - though - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
procedures that can be fully completed online are 10 years.
an exception to this rule
- Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
â— Procedure is considered completed once final - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
document is received - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
â— No prior contact with officials square feet). A two-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
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
property value) requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
â— Official costs only (such as administrative fees, entirety.
duties and taxes). - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
- Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
â— Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit
any kind.
payments are excluded
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
Quality of land administration index (0-30) residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
activities, are required.
â— Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
â— Transparency of information index (0–6)
â— Geographic coverage index (0–8)
â— Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
â— Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 19Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Registering Property - Vanuatu
Standardized Company
Property value VUV 15,550,316.90
City Covered Port Vila
Indicator Vanuatu East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedures (number) 4 5.5 4.6 1.00 (4 Economies)
Time (days) 58 74.5 22.3 1.00 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of property value) 7.0 4.3 4.2 0.00 (5 Economies)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 18.5 15.8 22.7 29.00 (Singapore)
Figure – Registering Property in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
69.51: Samoa (Rank: 66)
65.63: Vanuatu (Rank: 80)
57.21: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
49.12: Kiribati (Rank: 146)
0.00: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 187)
0.00: Marshall Islands (Rank: 187)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for registering
property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Registering Property in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
6
50 Cost (% of income per capita)
5
40
4
Time (days)
30 3
20 2
10 1
0 0
1 *2 3 4
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 20Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Figure – Registering Property in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
30
25
Index score 18.5
20
15.8
15 13.0
10 9.0
5
0
no practice no practice
Vanuatu Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Samoa East Asia & Pacific
Details – Registering Property in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Payment of stamp duty at the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission 1-14 days 2% stamp duty on the
Agency : Vanuatu Financial Services Commission value of the lease
Transfer of a lease is done by mean of an instrument in the prescribed form. The seller, (stamp duty)
must provide warranty that there are no outstanding payment (such as the ren). The buyer
should provide warranty that he/she will pay the rent and other obligations. After the
agreement is executed by the parties, with no need to engage the services of a lawyer, the
stamp duty must be paid. The stamp duty is paid at the Vanuatu Financial Services
Commission. The Controller of Stamp Duties may take from one to 14 days to stamp the
document. It depends on what type of lease documents are submitted to that Office. The
Controller of Stamp Duty may require further details from the parties to assist that office
to assess duty. In cases when a lease is transferred, before the parties may execute a
transfer, the vendor (registered proprietor of the registered Lease) must have ready to
hand to the purchaser a consent granted by the lessor (either the Government or custom
owners as the case may be) agreeing to such transfer of the interests comprised in the
lease. The stamp duties act establishes stamp duty at 2% of property value. The 2007
amendment reduced it from 5 to 2%.
2 Check for encumbrances 1 day (simultaneous VT 1,000
Agency : Department of Lands Records with Procedure 1)
It is usually the buyer who will request that a search is done on the property. The
checking is done before so that the discharge of mortgage can be done prior to the
registration.
3 Obtain Ministerial consent to transfer the lease 3 weeks VT 3375
Agency : Lands Department
According to the law, it is mandatory to request the consent of the Minister of lands to
transfer a property, if the property is located in an urban area. In practice, there is a sale
agreement between the parties and there is no need to hire a lawyer, or a real estate agent.
All relevant documents are provided at the land registry. The land department will verify
that all taxes are paid. The State Law office will provide its legal advice on the
documents to the Minister. The consent is picked up at the department of lands and
surveys. Once consent is granted (and all encumbrances cleared – see following
Procedure), ownership is transferred and payment to the seller is made.
4 Apply for and obtain registration of the deed of transfer at the Department 30 days 5% registration fee on
of Lands Records the value of the lease
Agency : Department of Lands Records (registration fee)
When the consent to transfer is granted, the documents are filed at the Department of
Lands Records where payment of the registration fees is made. The fee is established in
the Land lease act. The amendment of 2004 increased it from 2 to 6% and the amendment
of 2006 decreased it from 6 to 5%. The Department of Lands Records is computerized
and this has significantly reduced the time it takes to process new requests. When a
company is involved, the memorandum and articles of association as well as the
certificate of incorporation must be provided at registration.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 21Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Details – Registering Property in Vanuatu – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 18.5
Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 6.0
What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Department of
Lands Records
In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Scann 1.0
paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? ed
Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions Yes 1.0
and the like)?
Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Land Survey and
Mapping
department of the
Ministry of Land
and Natural
Resources
In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Scann 1.0
paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? ed
Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing Yes 1.0
cadastral information (geographic information system)?
Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral Different 1.0
or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases but
databases? linked
Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the Yes 1.0
same identification number for properties?
Transparency of information index (0–6) 4.5
Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable Anyone who 1.0
property registration in the largest business city? pays the official
fee
Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made Yes, online 0.5
publicly available–and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://mol.gov.vu/i
ndex.php/en/land
-survey-3/256-
land-registration-
checklist
Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5
immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if
so, how?
Link for online access: http://mol.gov.vu/i
ndex.php/en/land
-survey-3/255-
registration-fees
Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally No 0.0
binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how
does it communicate the service standard?
Link for online access:
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that Yes 1.0
occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?
Contact information: Land
Ombudsman
under the
Ministry of
Justice. Phone
number: +(678)
33615
Page 22Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the No 0.0
immovable property registration agency?
Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2016:
Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who 0.5
pays the official
fee
Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— Yes, online 0.5
and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://mol.gov.vu/
attachments/articl
e/264/Map%20Pr
inting%20Fees.p
df
Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a No 0.0
specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard?
Link for online access:
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that Yes 0.5
occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency?
Contact information: Land
Ombudsman
under the
Ministry of
Justice. Phone
number: +(678)
33615
Geographic coverage index (0–8) 4.0
Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property No 0.0
registry?
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the No 0.0
immovable property registry?
Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? Yes 2.0
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? Yes 2.0
Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 4.0
Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable Yes 1.5
property registry to make them opposable to third parties?
Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5
Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0
engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by
the immovable property registry?
Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property Yes 0.5
transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)?
If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Registrar; Notary.
Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5
transaction?
If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar; Notary.
Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? No 0.0
For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property Land Tribunal
worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business
city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance?
How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a Between 2 and 3 1.0
case (without appeal)? years
Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance? No 0.0
Page 23Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2016:
Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0
Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0
Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0
Page 24You can also read
