Doing Business 2020 Benin Economy Profile Benin Page 1 Doing Business 2020 Benin Economy Profile of Benin Doing Business 2020 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as postfiling processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Employing workers Flexibility in employment regulation and redundancy cost Page 2 Doing Business 2020 Benin About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of employing workers. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational studies, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation. These studies provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The first Doing Business study, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s study covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. To learn more about Doing Business please visit doingbusiness.org Page 3 Doing Business 2020 Benin Ease of Doing Business in DB RANK DB SCORE Region Sub-Saharan Africa Benin Income Category Low income Population 11,485,048 52.4 149 City Covered Cotonou Rankings on Doing Business topics - Benin 65 82 110 108 120 126 152 162 171 178 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Topic Scores 90.6 70.5 33.8 56.3 30.0 42.0 49.3 68.9 41.5 41.0 Starting a Business (rank) 65 Getting Credit (rank) 152 Trading across Borders (rank) 110 Score of starting a business (0-100) 90.6 Score of getting credit (0-100) 30.0 Score of trading across borders (0-100) 68.9 Procedures (number) 5.5 Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Time to export Time (days) 8.5 Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 Documentary compliance (hours) 48 Cost (number) 3.45 Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Border compliance (hours) 78 Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 5.0 Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 1.3 Cost to export Documentary compliance (USD) 80 Dealing with Construction Permits (rank) 82 Protecting Minority Investors (rank) 120 Border compliance (USD) 354 Score of dealing with construction permits (0-100) 70.5 Score of protecting minority investors (0-100) 42.0 Time to export Procedures (number) 14 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 7.0 Documentary compliance (hours) 59 Time (days) 88 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 1.0 Border compliance (hours) 82 Cost (% of warehouse value) 4.8 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 Cost to export Building quality control index (0-15) 9.0 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 4.0 Documentary compliance (USD) 110 Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 2.0 Border compliance (USD) 599 Getting Electricity (rank) 178 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 2.0 Score of getting electricity (0-100) 33.8 Enforcing Contracts (rank) 162 Procedures (number) 5 Paying Taxes (rank) 171 Score of enforcing contracts (0-100) 41.5 Time (days) 90 Score of paying taxes (0-100) 49.3 Time (days) 595 Cost (% of income per capita) 11,584.3 Payments (number per year) 54 Cost (% of claim value) 64.7 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 Time (hours per year) 270 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.5 Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 48.9 Registering Property (rank) 126 Postfiling index (0-100) 49.3 Resolving Insolvency (rank) 108 Score of registering property (0-100) 56.3 Score of resolving insolvency (0-100) 41.0 Procedures (number) 4 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 23.9 Time (days) 120 Time (years) 4.0 Cost (% of property value) 3.4 Cost (% of estate) 21.5 Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 9.0 Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0 concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 9.0 Page 4 Doing Business 2020 Benin Starting a Business This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the (number) procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. • Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) The business: • Registration in the economy’s largest business city -Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited • Postregistration (for example, social security registration, liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms is company seal) chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical office. • Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave -Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the home to register the company the second largest business city. • Obtaining any gender specific document for company -Performs general industrial or commercial activities such as the production or sale to the public of registration and operation or national identification card goods or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) polluting production processes. • Does not include time spent gathering information -Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. -Is 100% domestically owned. • Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot -Has five business owners, none of whom is a legal entity. One business owner holds 30% of the start on the same day) company shares, two owners have 20% of shares each, and two owners have 15% of shares • Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day each. -Is managed by one local director. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is -Has between 10 and 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of them received domestic nationals. • No prior contact with officials -Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita. -Has an estimated turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per -Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate. capita) -Has an annual lease for the office space equivalent to one income per capita. • Official costs only, no bribes -Is in an office space of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). -Has a company deed that is 10 pages long. • No professional fees unless services required by law or commonly used in practice The owners: Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) -Have reached the legal age of majority and are capable of making decisions as an adult. If there • Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old. or up to 3 months after incorporation -Are in good health and have no criminal record. -Are married, the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. -Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. Page 5 Doing Business 2020 Benin Starting a Business - Benin Standardized Company Legal form Limited Liability Company, Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) Paid-in minimum capital requirement XOF 25,000 City Covered Cotonou Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Procedure – Men (number) 5 7.4 4.9 1 (2 Economies) Time – Men (days) 8 21.5 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 3.4 36.3 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies) Procedure – Women (number) 6 7.5 4.9 1 (2 Economies) Time – Women (days) 9 21.6 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 3.5 36.3 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 5.0 9.3 7.6 0.0 (120 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Benin – Score 73.6 92.0 98.3 98.7 Procedures Time Cost Paid-in min. capital Figure – Starting a Business in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Starting a Business Score 0 100 95.1: Togo (Rank: 15) 93.7: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 29) 90.6: Benin (Rank: 65) 88.2: Burkina Faso (Rank: 88) 85.0: Ghana (Rank: 116) 80.1: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 6 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Starting a Business in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 9 4 8 3.5 Cost (% of income per capita) 7 3 6 Time (days) 2.5 5 2 4 1.5 3 1 2 1 0.5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 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 7 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Starting a Business in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 APPLIES TO WOMEN ONLY: Obtain marriage certificate for national identification card 1 day XOF 300 Agency : Municipality To obtain a national identity card, married women in Benin need to present a certified copy of marriage certificate. Additionally, women must have a national ID when registering a business. Legalized marriage certificates can be obtained from the Municipality (Mairie de Cotonou) in 1 day on average. There is a stamp fee of XOF 300. If done with a notary, this procedure will cost on average XOF 5,000. 2 Verify the uniqueness of the company name 1 day notary service fees include Agency : One-Stop Shop (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations - name verification charges APIEX) In Benin, as in all member countries of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), any company must choose a unique company name before it is registered in the trade register. Checking the company name can now be done online, although this option is not the most commonly adopted one (www.gufebenin.org). 3 Deposit the capital in a bank and activate the bank account 1 day no charge Agency : Bank The entrepreneur needs to open and activate a Bank Account to deposit the company’s share capital. The operator will then obtain a receipt and an “attestation” from the bank, which will be necessary for the formalities at APIEX. 4 Register the company at the One-Stop Shop (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et 4 days XOF 12,000 registration des Exportations - APIEX) costs + XOF 5,000 for the Agency : One-Stop Shop (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations - trader card APIEX) Companies must be registered at the One-Stop Shop (APIEX), which was initially created by Decree N° 2009-542 of October 20, 2009. The One-Stop Shop became operational on March 26, 2012. It allows entrepreneurs to register with the commercial registry and the tax authority, the Labor directorate (Direction Générale du Travail) and the Directorate of commerce (Direction Générale du Commerce Intérieur et la Direction Générale du Commerce Extérieur) at one place. The costs are the following: 12,000 XOF for the commercial registry (cout de greffier) + 5,000 XOF for the business license (carte professionelle du commerçant) 5 Register the company and its employees with Social Security (Caisse Nationale de Securité 1 day no charge Sociale - CNSS) Agency : Caisse Nationale de Securité Sociale (CNSS) A newly registered company must register with Social Security at the CNSS within 3 months of incorporation. 6 Register the company with the Tax Authorities (Direction Nationale des Impots et des 1 day no charge Domaines) Agency : Direction Nationale des Impôts et des Domaines All new businesses must declare their existence (déclaration d’enregistrement aux impots) to the tax authorities (Direction Nationale des Impots et des Domaines) within 20 days of the start of the business activity. This is required to update the records of the Direction Nationale des Impots et des Domaines (DNID) in order to ensure that taxpayers are compliant with tax obligations. In order to register, the documents to be submitted are the fiscal number (IFU), the number of employees and the business license (carte du commerçant). The DNID tax agency will conduct a site visit to ensure that the address provided is correct. Applies to women only. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 8 Doing Business 2020 Benin Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates The construction company (BuildCo): • Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest inspections business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. • Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects • Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) experts, such as geological or topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its • Does not include time spent gathering information completion. • Each procedure starts on a separate day—though procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule The warehouse: - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be • No prior contact with officials located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If capita) preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior • Official costs only, no bribes approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory Building quality control index (0-15) requirements). • Quality of building regulations (0-2) The water and sewerage connections: • Quality control before construction (0-1) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water • Quality control during construction (0-3) delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. • Quality control after construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow • Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and • Professional certifications (0-4) a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Page 9 Doing Business 2020 Benin Dealing with Construction Permits - Benin Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse XOF 24,769,986.80 City Covered Cotonou Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 14 15.1 12.7 None in 2018/19 Time (days) 88 145.4 152.3 None in 2018/19 Cost (% of warehouse value) 4.8 8.9 1.5 None in 2018/19 Building quality control index (0-15) 9.0 8.9 11.6 15.0 (6 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Benin – Score 64.0 82.1 76.0 60.0 Procedures Time Cost Building quality control index Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Dealing with Construction Permits Score 0 100 70.5: Benin (Rank: 82) 68.7: Burkina Faso (Rank: 95) 67.6: Ghana (Rank: 104) 64.1: Togo (Rank: 127) 58.5: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 57.4: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 152) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 10 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value) 2.5 80 Cost (% of warehouse value) 70 2 60 Time (days) 1.5 50 40 1 30 20 0.5 10 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 11 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 14 12.0 12 11.0 11.0 10.0 10 Index score 9.0 8.9 8 6 4 2 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Faso d'Ivoire Africa Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Legalize the property title at a notary 1 day XOF 5,000 Agency : Notary BuildCo must present proof of ownership of the land it intends to build on. Building permit applicants have two options: present an original title deed issued by the Land Registry or submit a legalized version of the original title deed. In practice, most companies choose the latter, as this is faster and cheaper. Title deeds can be legalized by a notary, the court, or the issuing authority (i.e. the Land Registry). 2 Obtain approval and proof of membership from the Order of Architects 1 day XOF 130,060 Agency : Order of Architects The architect in charge of the project must submit the building drawings to the Order of Architects. The Order will review the plans and if they approve them, the Order will issue a certificate that proves that the architect in charge of the project is a member of the Order of Architects. BuildCo must submit an original of this proof of membership with every building permit application. This proof of membership serves as an external review of the building plans and is necessary for all buildings larger than 150 square meters that receive public visitors or that have many stories. Recent reform of February 19, 2019 (Circulaire N037/ONAUB/CNO-16/PDT/SG/SAJC/SA/19) now mandates that this fee should not be separately invoiced by the architect to BuildCo, but included in the overall contract. However, this fee will still be recorded since it impacts the total cost of the warehouse that BuildCo incurs. 3 Obtain fire safety report 7 days XOF 97,545 Agency : Fire Department A fire safety report must be done by the professional and is an essential part of the building permit request. 4 Obtain location map (leve topographique) 3 days XOF 85,000 Agency : Private company This leve topographique (or plan de situation) is needed by the architect to provide information of the plot of land in regards to its surroundings 5 Obtain building permit 14 days XOF 260,120 Agency : Municipality BuildCo completes the application form, while the architect compiles the file and submits it to the Municipality. In the Doing Business case study, it is assumed that the plan and the dossier can be completed by a company architect, who in this case is registered with the National Order of Architects. The dossier comprises the following: • Application form • Property title • Design proposal • Cost proposal • Technical plans All permit applications are submitted to the Municipality according to Article 14 of Decree No. 2014 -- 205 of March 13, 2014. Once the application is submitted to the Municipality, it is transferred to the Municipality's communal or departmental commission which has up to 3 days to provide a copy to all its members. The commission has 8 days to review the dossier and submit a decision to the Municipality. Subsequently, the mayor has 3 days to make a final decision. 6 Request and receive set out inspection by DST 1 day no charge Agency : Direction des Services Technique (DST) The Builder must inform the technical department that work will start and this service will do a site visit to verify the set out and the alignment in regards to the road – this is done in accordance to the law. Page 12 Doing Business 2020 Benin 7 Receive random municipal inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality The inspections are stipulated by law and may occur at random during construction. The number of inspections depends on the project’s visibility (usually between 2 and 5 inspections will take place). 8 Notify the Municipality of the end of construction and request final inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality Once the building is completed, the commission will inspect the building for compliance with the approved building plans. The fire department is also a part of that inspection. Once the inspection is complete, a report (Proces Verbal) will be written before the certificate of conformity and occupancy are issued. 9 Receive final inspection from the DST 1 day no charge Agency : Direction des Services Technique (DST) Once the building is completed, the commission will inspect the building for compliance with the approved building plans. The fire department will also be part of that inspection. Once the inspection is complete, a report (Proces Verbal) will be written which will lead to the issuance of the Certificate of conformity and Occupancy. 10 Obtain certificate of conformity and occupancy 45 days no charge Agency : Municipality 11 Apply for water connection 1 day XOF 110,000 Agency : Société Nationale des Eaux du Bénin (SONEB) One can obtain the form immediately, but the National Water Company (Société Nationale d'Eau du Bénin, SONEB) usually inspects the site in 1 - 2 weeks. 12 Receive on-site inspection by water company to assess cost 1 day no charge Agency : Société Nationale des Eaux du Bénin (SONEB) SONEB will conduct a site inspection and prepare the cost estimate for the water connection 13 Obtain water connection 15 days no charge Agency : Société Nationale des Eaux du Bénin (SONEB) After the inspection, it takes about 2 weeks to obtain the cost proposal. The water connection is completed within 30 days of payment. Once the work starts it takes about 2 weeks to complete. Build septic tank 14 days XOF 500,000 14 Agency : Private firm Obtaining a sewerage connection requires BuildCo to build a septic tank. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 13 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 9.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; Free 1.0 of charge; In official gazette. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building regulations or on any List of required 1.0 accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid; Required preapprovals. Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0 Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in compliance with existing Licensed architect; 1.0 building regulations? (0-1) Licensed engineer. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 0.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? (0-2) Unscheduled 0.0 inspections. 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) 2.0 Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved Yes, final inspection 2.0 plans and regulations? (0-2) is done by government agency. Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection does 0.0 not always occur in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 2.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use Architect or engineer; 1.0 (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) Construction company. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible structural flaws or Architect or engineer; 1.0 problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) Construction company. Professional certifications index (0-4) 2.0 What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the architectural plans Minimum number of 2.0 or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) years of experience; University degree in architecture or engineering; Being a registered architect or engineer. What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction on the ground? (0- Minimum number of 0.0 2) years of experience; There are no specific requirements. Page 14 Doing Business 2020 Benin Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances and permits The warehouse: • Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. inspections - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for • Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing the second largest business city. material for these works - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. • Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. supply - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). • Is at least 1 calendar day The electricity connection: • Each procedure starts on a separate day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140- kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). • Does not include time spent gathering information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution • Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the prior contact with officials warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per owners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road. capita) - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been • Official costs only, no bribes completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base. • Value added tax excluded The monthly consumption: The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8) - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours • Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours • Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. • Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier. - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for • Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1) the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used. • Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) • Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* • Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case study *Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing business score nor in the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 15 Doing Business 2020 Benin Getting Electricity - Benin Standardized Connection Name of utility Société béninoise d'énergie électrique (SBEE) Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 20.7 City Covered Cotonou Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 5 5.2 4.4 3 (28 Economies) Time (days) 90 109.6 74.8 18 (3 Economies) Cost (% of income per capita) 11584.3 3,187.5 61.0 0.0 (3 Economies) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 1.6 7.4 8 (26 Economies) Figure – Getting Electricity in Benin – Score 66.7 68.7 0.0 0.0 Reliability of supply and transparency of Procedures Time Cost tariff index Figure – Getting Electricity in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Getting Electricity Score 0 100 77.4: Ghana (Rank: 79) 72.6: Togo (Rank: 99) 59.2: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 141) 50.4: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 33.8: Benin (Rank: 178) 29.4: Burkina Faso (Rank: 183) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity. Figure – Getting Electricity in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 90 7000 80 6000 Cost (% of income per capita) 70 5000 60 Time (days) 50 4000 40 3000 30 2000 20 1000 10 0 0 1 *2 3 *4 5 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures Page 16 Doing Business 2020 Benin reflected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 6 5 5 4 Index score 4 3 3 2 1.6 1 0 0 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Faso d'Ivoire Africa Page 17 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Getting Electricity in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Submit application to SBEE and await estimate 8 calendar days XOF 408,140.89 Agency : Société Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) The customer has to go to a customer service office of the electricity company and complete an application form. No additional documents are required. The customer will then pay the application fees which are based on the capacity requested. 2 Receive site inspection by SBEE 1 calendar day XOF 10,000 Agency : Societe Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) The electricity company will proceed with an external site inspection and then prepare an estimate for the external works. While the customer is not required to be present during the inspection, it is highly recommended that someone is present to indicate where the meter will be installed. The site must be accessible. 3 Hire private company to install transformer post 30 calendar days XOF 31,570,000 Agency : Private contractor The customer hires a private company to buy a transformer post from Tout Electrique and then install it. 4 Receive internal wiring inspection by Contrelec 21 calendar days XOF 236,017 Agency : SBEE/Contrelec An inspection of the internal wiring is conducted by Contrelec, a government agency. In practice, however, this inspection sometimes does not take place. The cost for the service of Contrelec is already included in the cost estimate provided by SBEE. Therefore when the customer pays the cost estimate, the payment for Contrelec is done at the same time. This is an internal transaction between SBEE and Contrelec. SBEE wires the money to Contrelec and then Contrelec wires the money back to the Tresor Public. Contrelec knows automatically that they have to do an internal inspection when the customer pays the cost estimate at the utility. The customer has to be present for the inspection to sign the report of the inspection. Once the inspection is carried out, a report is issued within 3 days. 5 Receive external works from SBEE's electrical subcontractor 52 calendar days XOF 25,164,617 Agency : Société Beninoise D'Energie Electrique (SBEE) The client has the choice to either have his/her own private contractor carry-out the external works or have SBEE do it. The latter option is more common. SBEE will then hire an electrical subcontractor while providing the material and the meter. The connection of the transformer post to the network is done by underground cable. The meter takes time to be obtained: the utility has to do a public tender. The meter installation is done at the same time as the connection works. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 18 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Getting Electricity in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 0 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) .. System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) .. What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI N/A Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? No Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of supply? No Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages exceed a certain cap? No Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1 Are effective tariffs available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online http://sbee.bj/site/a- propos/votre-facture/ Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes Note: If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index. If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Page 19 Doing Business 2020 Benin Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the (number) transaction, the property and the procedures are used. • Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, The parties (buyer and seller): notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). • Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city. - Are located in the periurban (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits) • Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title with area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the municipality) second largest business city. - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities. • Does not include time spent gathering information The property (fully owned by the seller): • Each procedure starts on a separate day - though procedures - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule - Is fully owned by the seller. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. received - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. - Is located in a periurban commercial zone (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its • No prior contact with officials official limits), and no rezoning is required. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two- value) story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety standards, • Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties and building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be taxes). transferred in its entirety. • Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments are - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. excluded - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use, Quality of land administration index (0-30) industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. • Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) • Transparency of information index (0–6) • Geographic coverage index (0–8) • Land dispute resolution index (0–8) • Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Page 20 Doing Business 2020 Benin Registering Property - Benin Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 4 6.1 4.7 1 (5 Economies) Time (days) 120 51.6 23.6 1 (2 Economies) Cost (% of property value) 3.4 7.3 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 9.0 9.0 23.2 None in 2018/19 Figure – Registering Property in Benin – Score 75.0 43.1 77.3 30.0 Procedures Time Cost Quality of the land administration index Figure – Registering Property in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Registering Property Score 0 100 72.0: Togo (Rank: 56) 59.4: Ghana (Rank: 111) 58.6: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 112) 56.3: Benin (Rank: 126) 53.6: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 51.4: Burkina Faso (Rank: 141) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 21 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Registering Property in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 120 3.5 3 100 Cost (% of property value) 2.5 80 Time (days) 2 60 1.5 40 1 20 0.5 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 22 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Registering Property in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 14 12.5 12 10.0 9.5 10 Index score 9.0 9.0 8.0 8 6 4 2 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Faso d'Ivoire Africa Details – Registering Property in Benin – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 The notary checks the Property Title at the Land Registry 2 days XOF 10,000 Agency : Land Registry (Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier - ANDF) The seller brings the title or gives the number of the title to the notary. Notary carries out the verification of the property title with the Land Registry (l'Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier - ANDF) by requesting the descriptive statement of the property (etats descriptif). The descriptive statement will include all useful information regarding the property and its history since its registration. It's an important step to ensure that the seller is the rightful owner and that the property is not burdened. 2 The sale agreement is signed and authenticated at the public notary 2 days XOF 746,549.8; (Official Agency : Notary Notary fee schedule, The parties involved in the transaction addresses the public notary to constitute the file of property according to the property transfer "mutation" (Art. 157 Code Foncier et Domanial du Bénin). The notary prepares the sale value, is as follows: agreement that should be signed by the buyer and the seller in front of the notary. The notary - 0 - 5.000,000 = authenticates the sale by affixing his signature. 5.000,000 x 4,5% - 5.000,001 - 20.000,000 = 15.000,000 x 3% - 20.000.001 to 50.000.000 = 30.000.000 x 1,5% - 50.000.001 and over = difference x 0,75%) 3 Registration of the sale deed at Tax Authority 3 days XOF 14,400; (Timbre fiscal Agency : Tax Authority (Service de l'Enregistrement) of 1200 XOF per page is Since July 2016, the registration service (Service de l'Enregistrement) is independent of the Land paid. It is assumed that Registry (conservation foncière). During this procedure, the registration service verifies that the deed is 4 pages and 3 previous owner has paid all the property taxes, and the buyer can proceed with the registration of copies are necessary, the property at the Land Registry. According to Loi 2016, July 14, 2016, the registration is currently at no cost and only stamp duties XOF 1200 per page needs to be paid. adding to a total of XOF 14,400.) According to the Art 315 (new article 1095 - 1) of the General Tax Code, all different registration procedures, including company registration, civil registration, and property registration need to be communicated to the Tax Authority. 4 The buyer files for a transfer of title at the Land Registry 113 days XOF 74,309.96; (0.3% of Agency : Land Registry (Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier - ANDF) the property value) The notary requests the final transfer of the title under the name of the new owner. This process at the Agence Nationale du Domain et du Foncier (ANDF) could take up to 4.5 months due to the heavy workload at the Institute Geographique National (ING). The ANDF is currently working in different reforms that are expected to decrease the time for registration significantly. The reform agenda includes the implementation of the e-terre v2 system that will contain all digitalized cadastral plans and titles in Cotonou. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 23 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Registering Property in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 9.0 Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 1.0 Type of land registration system in the economy: Title Registration System What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier (ANDF) In what format are past and newly issued land records kept at the immovable property registry of the largest Computer/Scanned 1.0 business city of the economy —in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there a comprehensive and functional electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, No 0.0 restrictions and the like)? Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier (ANDF) In what format are past and newly issued cadastral plans kept at the mapping agency of the largest business Paper 0.0 city of the economy—in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing cadastral information No 0.0 (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral or mapping agency Separate databases 0.0 kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases? Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the same identification No 0.0 number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 3.5 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable property registration Anyone who pays the 1.0 in the largest business city? official fee Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made publicly available– Yes, online 0.5 and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.andf.bj/ind ex.php/procedures- et- demarches/inscription Is the applicable fee schedule for any type of property transaction at the agency in charge of immovable Yes, online 0.5 property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.andf.bj/ind ex.php/procedures- et-demarches/couts- des-prestations-2 Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration agency formally commit to deliver a legally Yes, online 0.5 binding document that proves property ownership within a specific timeframe –and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: https://www.andf.bj/in dex.php/procedures- et- demarches/normes- de-service-2 Is there a specific and independent mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the agency No 0.0 in charge of immovable property registration? Contact information: Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the immovable property Yes 0.5 registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2018: 486.0 Page 24 Doing Business 2020 Benin Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who pays the 0.5 official fee Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available—and if so, how? Yes, in person 0.0 Link for online access: Does the cadastral/mapping agency formally specifies the timeframe to deliver an updated cadastral plan—and No 0.0 if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a specific and independent mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the No 0.0 cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the immovable property No 0.0 registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property registry? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 4.5 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable property registry to make Yes 1.5 them opposable to third parties? Legal basis: Loi 2013-14 du 14 aout 2013 modifiée et completée par la loi 2017-01 du 10 aout 2017 Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5 Type of guarantee: State guarantee Legal basis: Loi 2013-14 du 14 aout 2013 modifiée et completée par la loi 2017-01 du 10 aout 2017 Is there a is a specific, out-of-court 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? Legal basis: Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property transaction (e.g., Yes 0.5 checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Notary; Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property transaction? Yes 0.5 If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Notary; Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of government issued identity documents? No 0.0 What is the Court of first instance in charge of a case involving a standard land dispute between two local Chambre de droit de businesses over tenure rights for a property worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located propriété foncière du in the largest business city? Tribunal de Première Instance de Cotonou How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a case (without Between 2 and 3 1.0 appeal)? years Are there publicly available statistics on the number of land disputes at the economy level in the first instance Yes 0.5 court? Number of land disputes in the economy in 2018: 726.0 Page 25 Doing Business 2020 Benin Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Page 26 Doing Business 2020 Benin Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit • Rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral laws (0-10) information index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of • Protection of secured creditors’ rights through bankruptcy laws credit information available through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights (0-2) index measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined whether a unitary Depth of credit information index (0–8) secured transactions system exists. Then two case scenarios, case A and case B, are used to • Scope and accessibility of credit information distributed by determine how a nonpossessory security interest is created, publicized and enforced according to credit bureaus and credit registries (0-8) the law. Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) secured lender, BizBank. • Number of individuals and firms listed in largest credit bureau In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case A or case B as a percentage of adult population (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Credit registry coverage (% of adults) • Number of individuals and firms listed in credit registry as a Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used: percentage of adult population - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Page 27 Doing Business 2020 Benin Getting Credit - Benin Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 5.1 6.1 12 (5 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 3.9 6.8 8 (53 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 8.3 24.4 100.0 (2 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 1.3 11.0 66.7 100.0 (14 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Benin – Score 30.0 Score - Getting Credit Figure – Getting Credit in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Getting Credit Score 0 100 70.0: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 48) 70.0: Togo (Rank: 48) 60.0: Ghana (Rank: 80) 45.2: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 30.0: Benin (Rank: 152) 30.0: Burkina Faso (Rank: 152) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their scores for getting credit. These scores are the sum of the scores for the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Page 28 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Legal Rights in Benin and comparator economies 6.2 6 6 6 6 6 6 5.8 Index Score 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.1 5 4.8 4.6 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Faso d'Ivoire Africa Page 29 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Legal Rights in Benin Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Does an integrated or unified legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and enforcement of functional equivalents Yes to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without requiring a specific description Yes of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a specific description of Yes collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and replacements of the Yes original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be secured between parties; Yes and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered? Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is unified geographically and by asset type, with an No electronic database indexed by debtor's name? Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? No Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be performed online by any interested third No party? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency procedure? No Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization procedure? Does the law No protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time limit for it? Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow the secured creditor to sell Yes the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep the asset in satisfaction of the debt? Figure – Credit Information in Benin and comparator economies 9 8 8 8 7 6 Index Score 6 5 3.9 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Faso d'Ivoire Africa Page 30 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Credit Information in Benin Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit bureau Credit registry Score Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? No No 0 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? No No 0 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and No No 0 financial institutions - distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries No No 0 that distribute more than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.) Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? No No 0 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or No No 0 credit registry? Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online No No 0 (for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help No No 0 banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either bureau or registry. If the credit bureau or registry is not operational or covers less than 5% of the adult population, the total score on the depth of credit information index is 0. Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry Number of individuals 81,810 N/A Number of firms 719 N/A Total 82,529 0 Percentage of adult population 1.3 0.0 Page 31 Doing Business 2020 Benin Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions • Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Disclosure, review, and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several assumptions about approval requirements for related-party transactions the business and the transaction. • Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of minority shareholders to sue and hold interested directors liable for The business (Buyer): prejudicial related-party transactions; Available legal - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock exchange. remedies (damages, disgorgement of profits, disqualification - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of from managerial position(s) for one year or more, rescission of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. the transaction) - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. James appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members. • Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): Access to internal - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum requirements. corporate documents; Evidence obtainable during trial and allocation of legal expenses Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory. - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. • Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-30): Sum of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of The transaction involves the following details: shareholder suits indices - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two directors to • Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6): Shareholders’ rights Buyer’s five-member board. and role in major corporate decisions - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. • Extent of ownership and control index (0-7): Governance - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Buyer’s safeguards protecting shareholders from undue board control distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price is equal to 10% of and entrenchment Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. • Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7): Corporate - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not outside the transparency on ownership stakes, compensation, audits and authority of the company. financial prospects - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all required disclosures made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently. • Extent of shareholder governance index (0–20): Sum of the - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the executives and extent of shareholders rights, extent of ownership and control directors that approved the transaction. and extent of corporate transparency indices • Strength of minority investor protection index (0–50): Sum of the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent of shareholder governance indices Page 32 Doing Business 2020 Benin Protecting Minority Investors - Benin Stock exchange information Stock exchange Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières Stock exchange URL http://www.brvm.org Listed firms with equity securities 46 City Covered Cotonou Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 7.0 5.5 6.5 10 (13 Economies) Extent of director liability index (0-10) 1.0 3.5 5.3 10 (3 Economies) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 5.5 7.3 10 (Djibouti) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 4.0 1.8 4.7 6 (19 Economies) Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 2.0 1.4 4.5 7 (9 Economies) Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 2.0 1.5 5.7 7 (13 Economies) Figure – Protecting Minority in Benin – Score 42.0 Score - Protecting Minority Investors Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Protecting Minority Investors Score 0 100 60.0: Ghana (Rank: 72) 42.0: Benin (Rank: 120) 42.0: Burkina Faso (Rank: 120) 42.0: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 120) 42.0: Togo (Rank: 120) 38.5: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Page 33 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Benin 2 1 7 2 4 5 Burkina Faso 2 1 7 2 4 5 Côte d'Ivoire 2 1 7 2 4 5 Ghana 3 5 7 3 5 7 Togo 2 1 7 2 4 5 OECD high income 5.6 5.6 6.6 4.3 4.5 7.4 Sub-Saharan Africa 1.7 3.6 5.6 1.5 1.9 5.6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) Extent of director liability index (0-10) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) Page 34 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-30) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 7.0 Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Shareholders 3.0 excluding interested parties Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James disclose his conflict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Full disclosure of all 2.0 material facts Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2) Disclosure on the 2.0 transaction and on the conflict of interest Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Extent of director liability index (0-10) 1.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the transaction caused to Yes 1.0 Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-2) Not liable 0.0 Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-2) Not liable 0.0 Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James repay profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Only in case of fraud 0.0 or bad faith Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the transaction documents? Yes 1.0 (0-1) Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Documents that 2.0 directly prove specific facts in the plaintiff’s claim Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying specific ones? (0-1) No 0.0 Can the plaintiff directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) Preapproved 1.0 questions only Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) No 0.0 Can shareholder plaintiffs recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) Yes if successful 1.0 Extent of shareholder governance index (0-20) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 4.0 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of shareholders? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? Yes 1.0 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new shares? No 0.0 Do shareholders elect and dismiss the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected shares approve? Yes 1.0 Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 2.0 Page 35 Doing Business 2020 Benin Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson of the board of directors? No 0.0 Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? No 0.0 Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the end of their term? Yes 1.0 Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board members? No 0.0 Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? No 0.0 Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? Yes 1.0 Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? No 0.0 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 2.0 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%? No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and directorships in other No 0.0 companies? Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? No 0.0 Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general meeting agenda? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? No 0.0 Page 36 Doing Business 2020 Benin Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2018 (January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018). See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in 2018 (number Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory contributions a medium size per year adjusted for electronic and joint filing and payment) company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of • Total number of taxes and contributions paid or withheld, filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply with the including consumption taxes (value added tax, sales tax or requirements of postfiling processes and time waiting. goods and service tax) • Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2017. It produces Time required to comply with 3 major taxes (hours per year) ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes and contributions recorded are paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2018). Taxes and mandatory contributions are measured • Collecting information, computing tax payable at all levels of government. • Preparing separate tax accounting books, if required • Completing tax return, filing with agencies The VAT refund process: - In June 2018, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the machine is 65 times • Arranging payment or withholding income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are equally expensed per month (875 times income Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial profits) per capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurred • Profit or corporate income tax in June will be fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will exceed Output • Social contributions, labor taxes paid by employer VAT in June 2018. • Property and property transfer taxes The corporate income tax audit process: • Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions taxes - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax depreciation rates, • Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily notified the Postfiling Index tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax • Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) liability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. • Time to obtain VAT refund (weeks) • Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) • Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) Page 37 Doing Business 2020 Benin Paying Taxes - Benin Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Payments (number per year) 54 36.6 10.3 3 (2 Economies) Time (hours per year) 270 280.6 158.8 49 (3 Economies) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 48.9 47.3 39.9 26.1 (33 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 49.3 54.7 86.7 None in 2018/19 Figure – Paying Taxes in Benin – Score 15.0 65.8 66.9 49.3 Payments Time Total tax and contribution rate Postfiling index Figure – Paying Taxes in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Paying Taxes Score 0 100 68.0: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 114) 57.8: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 56.0: Ghana (Rank: 152) 55.9: Burkina Faso (Rank: 154) 49.3: Benin (Rank: 171) 47.3: Togo (Rank: 174) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their scores for paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators, with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax and contribution rate. The threshold is defined as the total tax and contribution rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a total tax and contribution rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Page 38 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Paying Taxes in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 70 64.8 60 54.7 49.3 49.3 49.5 50 Index score 40 30 20 14.9 10 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Faso d'Ivoire Africa Page 39 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Paying Taxes in Benin Tax or Payments Notes on Time (hours) Statutory tax Tax base Total tax and Notes on TTCR mandatory (number) Payments rate contribution contribution rate (% of profit) Social security 12.0 120.0 19.4% gross salaries 21.88 contributions Corporate 5.0 30.0 25% taxable profit 11.90 income tax Single property 0.0 6% book value 5.86 tax (developed land) Payroll tax 12.0 4% gross salaries 4.51 plus social security contributions Single property 3.0 5% book value 2.53 tax (undeveloped land) Business license 2.0 fixed fee + nature of 1.45 tax proportional duty company's on professional activities premises Tax on insurance 1.0 20% insurance 0.42 contracts premium Tax on interest 1.0 15% interest income 0.38 Television Tax 1.0 XOF 3000 fixed fee 0.01 Stamp duty 1.0 XOF 350, 600 or paper size 0.00 small amount 1200 Tax on collection 1.0 min XOF 500 - rental value of 0.00 of trash max XOF 8,000 building Value added tax 12.0 120.0 18% value added 0.00 not included (VAT) Advertising tax 1.0 XOF 150 - square meter of 0.00 small amount 10,000 per day billposting Employee Paid 0.0 jointly gross salaries 0.00 withheld Social Security Contributions Fuel tax 1.0 included in fuel 0.00 small amount price Radio Tax 1.0 XOF 1000 fixed fee 0.00 Totals 54 270 48.9 Page 40 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Paying Taxes in Benin – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 11.9 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 26.4 Other taxes (% of profit) 10.6 Page 41 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Paying Taxes in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Score Postfiling index (0-100) 49.3 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? No Restrictions on VAT refund process none Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT refund per 0.0 case study scenario Time to obtain VAT refund (weeks) No VAT refund per 0.0 case study scenario Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? Yes Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) 0% - 24% Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) 3.0 97.2 Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) No tax audit per case 100 study scenario Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, profit tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate income tax in this table. The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable. The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general. The postfiling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction. N/A = Not applicable. Page 42 Doing Business 2020 Benin Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port or border handling in Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are recorded as origin economy 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents required by suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and destination economy and any transit economies can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours. • Covers all documents required by law and in practice, including electronic submissions of information Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the Border compliance costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. • Customs clearance and inspections Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and are informed about • Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% of exchange rates. shipments) Assumptions of the case study: • Handling and inspections that take place at the economy’s port - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in or border the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy. Domestic transport - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) from • Loading or unloading of the shipment at the warehouse or its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest value (price times port/border quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is • Transport between warehouse and port/border the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. • Traffic delays and road police checks while shipment is en - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product and route the trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter or leave an economy. - Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Page 43 Doing Business 2020 Benin Trading across Borders - Benin Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 78 97.1 12.7 1 (19 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 354 603.1 136.8 0 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) 48 71.9 2.3 1 (26 Economies) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 80 172.5 33.4 0 (20 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 82 126.2 8.5 1 (25 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 599 690.6 98.1 0 (28 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) 59 96.1 3.4 1 (30 Economies) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 110 287.2 23.5 0 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Benin – Score 51.6 66.6 72.2 80.0 71.0 50.1 75.9 84.3 Time Cost Time Cost Time Cost Time Cost to to to to to to to to export: export: export: export: import: import: import: import: Border Border Documentary Documentary Border Border Documentary Documentary compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance Figure – Trading across Borders in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Trading Across Borders Score 0 100 68.9: Benin (Rank: 110) 66.6: Burkina Faso (Rank: 122) 63.7: Togo (Rank: 131) 54.8: Ghana (Rank: 158) 53.6: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 52.4: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 163) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import. Page 44 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Trading across Borders in Benin – Time and Cost Time (hours) Cost (USD) 90 82 700 78 599 80 600 70 Time (hours) 59 500 Cost (USD) 60 354 48 400 50 40 300 30 200 20 110 80 100 10 0 0 Export Export Import Import - - - - Border Documentary Border Documentary Compliance Compliance Compliance Compliance Page 45 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Trading across Borders in Benin Characteristics Export Import Product HS 52 : Cotton HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor vehicles Trade partner China France Border Cotonou port Cotonou port Distance (km) 6 6 Domestic transport time (hours) 3 2 Domestic transport cost (USD) 178 261 Details – Trading across Borders in Benin – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by 8.0 120.0 customs authorities Export: Clearance and inspections required by 40.0 98.0 agencies other than customs Export: Port or border handling 72.0 136.3 Import: Clearance and inspections required by 72.0 435.6 customs authorities Import: Clearance and inspections required by 0.0 0.0 agencies other than customs Import: Port or border handling 72.0 163.6 Page 46 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Trading across Borders in Benin – Trade Documents Export Import Commercial invoice Commercial invoice Electronic cargo tracking note (BESC) Certificate of origin Certificate of origin Bill of lading Export declaration Electronic cargo tracking note (BESC) Single Pay Slip (BFU) Import declaration Bill of lading Single Pay Slip (BFU) Phytosanitary certificate SOLAS certificate Weight certificate Attestation of value SOLAS certificate Fumigation certificate Page 47 Doing Business 2020 Benin Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the courts The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between two domestic (calendar days) businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt enforcement. • Time to file and serve the case • Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data on the time and comparable across economies, several assumptions about the case are used: • Time to enforce the judgment - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and Buyer), both Cost required to enforce a contract through the courts (% of located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the claim value) second largest business city. - The Buyer orders custom-made furniture, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are not of • Average attorney fees adequate quality. • Court costs - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. • Enforcement costs - The Seller sues the Buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000 whichever is greater. Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) - The Seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to secure the • Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) claim. - The claim is disputed on the merits because of Buyer’s allegation that the quality of the goods • Case management (0-6) was not adequate. • Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. - The Seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the Buyer’s movable assets. • Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Page 48 Doing Business 2020 Benin Enforcing Contracts - Benin Standardized Case Claim value XOF 2,994,817 Court name Cotonou Commercial Court City Covered Cotonou Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Time (days) 595 654.9 589.6 120 (Singapore) Cost (% of claim value) 64.7 41.6 21.5 0.1 (Bhutan) Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.5 6.9 11.7 None in 2018/19 Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Benin – Score 61.1 27.3 36.1 Time Cost Quality of judicial processes index Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Enforcing Contracts Score 0 100 57.6: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 94) 54.0: Ghana (Rank: 117) 49.6: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 49.0: Togo (Rank: 140) 41.5: Benin (Rank: 162) 41.1: Burkina Faso (Rank: 165) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 49 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Benin – Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of claim value) 800 81.7 90 710 Cost (% of claim value) 700 654.9 80 595 64.7 589.6 70 600 525 Time (days) 488 60 500 446 47.5 50 400 41.7 41.6 40 300 23.0 30 21.5 200 20 100 10 0 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana OECD Sub-Saharan Togo Faso d'Ivoire high Africa income Page 50 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Benin 2.5 1 0 3 Burkina Faso 2.5 1 0 4 Côte d'Ivoire 2.5 2.5 0 4.5 Ghana 2.5 1 0 3 Togo 2.5 0 3 OECD high income 2.5 3.2 2.4 3.6 Sub-Saharan Africa 2.2 1.3 0.3 3.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Case management (0-6) Court automation (0-4) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Benin Indicator Time (days) 595 Filing and service 30 Trial and judgment 250 Enforcement of judgment 315 Cost (% of claim value) 64.7 Attorney fees 17.3 Court fees 36.5 Enforcement fees 10.9 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 3.0 Case management (0-6) 1.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 Page 51 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Enforcing Contracts in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 3.0 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? Yes 1.5 2. Small claims court 0.0 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? No 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? n.a. 3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0 4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? Yes, but manual 0.5 5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's? Yes 0.0 Case management (0-6) 1.0 1. Time standards 1.0 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil case? Yes 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? Yes 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? Yes 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be granted? No 2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances? No 2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) time to disposition report; (ii) No 0.0 clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single case progress report? 4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the competent court? No 0.0 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for use by judges? No 0.0 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for use by lawyers? No 0.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the competent court? No 0.0 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed before the competent court? No 0.0 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.0 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the general public No through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme court level made No available to the general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 1. Arbitration 1.5 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or consolidated chapter or Yes section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all its aspects? 1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public order or public policy— No that cannot be submitted to arbitration? 1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes Page 52 Doing Business 2020 Benin 2. Mediation/Conciliation 1.0 2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? Yes 2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or consolidated chapter or Yes section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects (for example, definition, aim and scope of application, desig 2.c. Are there financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation (i.e., if mediation or No conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income tax credits or the like)? Page 53 Doing Business 2020 Benin Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used: • Measured in calendar years • Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotel experiences financial difficulties. Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. • Measured as percentage of estate value - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s real estate. • Court fees The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to operate otherwise. • Fees of insolvency administrators In addition, Doing Business evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to judicial • Lawyers’ fees liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best insolvency practices have been implemented in each economy covered. • Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees • Other related fees Outcome • Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal Recovery rate for creditors • Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors • Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered • Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted • Depreciation of furniture is taken into account • Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) • Sum of the scores of four component indices: • Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) • Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) • Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) • Creditor participation index (0-4) Page 54 Doing Business 2020 Benin Resolving Insolvency - Benin Indicator Benin Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Africa income Performance Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 23.9 20.5 70.2 92.9 (Norway) Time (years) 4.0 2.9 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) 21.5 22.8 9.3 1.0 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going concern) 0 .. .. .. Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 9.0 6.5 11.9 None in 2018/19 Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Benin – Score 25.7 56.3 Recovery rate Strength of insolvency framework index Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Benin and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Resolving Insolvency Score 0 100 47.9: Côte d'Ivoire (Rank: 85) 47.0: Togo (Rank: 88) 41.0: Benin (Rank: 108) 40.8: Burkina Faso (Rank: 109) 31.3: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 25.4: Ghana (Rank: 161) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Page 55 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Benin – Time and Cost Time (years) Cost (% of estate) 4.5 22.8 25 4.0 21.5 4.0 22.0 4 21.0 Cost (% of estate) 3.5 18.0 20 3.0 Time (years) 2.9 3 15.0 15 2.5 2.2 1.9 2 1.7 9.3 10 1.5 1 5 0.5 0 0 Benin Burkina Côte Ghana OECD Sub-Saharan Togo Faso d'Ivoire high Africa income Page 56 Doing Business 2020 Benin Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Benin and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Benin 5.5 2 1 0.5 Burkina Faso 5.5 2 1 0.5 Côte d'Ivoire 5.5 2 1 0.5 Ghana 2 2 0 Togo 5.5 2 1 0.5 OECD high income 5.3 2.8 2.1 1.9 Sub-Saharan Africa 4.1 2.3 1 0.5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Benin and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery rate(cents on the dollar) 40 36.8 35.1 35 30 25 23.9 23.6 24.0 20.5 20 15 10 5 0 Benin Burkina Faso Côte d'Ivoire Ghana Togo Sub-Saharan Africa Page 57 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Resolving Insolvency in Benin Indicator Answer Score Proceeding liquidation (after an As Mirage will not be able to settle its current liabilities with its available assets, it will file a declaration of cessation of attempt at payments (article 25 of the Uniform Act Organizing Collective Proceedings for Wiping Off Debts). In order to continue reorganization) operating, Mirage will try to obtain the opening of reorganization proceedings and avoid liquidation. Under article 27, a composition proposal is a proposal lodged no later than 60 days following the declaration of cessation of payments, specifying the measures and conditions envisaged to redress the company. According to our information, Mirage will not reach an agreement with its creditors, so the composition proposal will not succeed and the court will convert the proceedings to liquidation some months after the lodging of the proposal (article 33 of the Uniform Act). A reorganization proceeding that is later converted into liquidation is the most likely proceeding in Benin. Outcome piecemeal sale According to our estimations, the reorganization attempt will fail and the proceedings will probably be converted to liquidation. The hotel will stop operating and will be dismantled, and the assets of the debtor will be sold separately. Time (in years) 4.0 Mirage will file a declaration of cessation of payments to obtain the opening of reorganization proceedings. The declaration has to be done 30 days following the cessation of payments. The competent court will then declare cessation of payments and open reorganization proceedings. The composition proposal will fail, so the proceedings will be converted to liquidation. According to our estimations, the complete process of a reorganization attempt that is then converted to liquidation takes approximately 48 months. Cost (% of estate) 21.5 According to our estimations, a reorganization attempt that is later converted into liquidation costs approximately 21.5% of the value of the estate. The following cost components are applicable: lawyer fees (12%), fees of the official receiver and receivers (6%) and bailiffs and assignees (3.5%). Recovery rate 23.9 (cents on the dollar) Page 58 Doing Business 2020 Benin Details – Resolving Insolvency in Benin – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 9.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency proceedings? (c) Debtor may file for 0.5 reorganization only Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a creditor 0.5 may file for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the insolvency framework? (a) (a) Debtor is 1.0 Debtor is generally unable to pay its debts as they mature (b) The value of debtor's liabilities exceeds the value generally unable to of its assets pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 5.5 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods and services to the Yes 1.0 debtor? Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome contracts? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit after commencement of Yes 1.0 insolvency proceedings? Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (a) Yes over all pre- 0.5 commencement creditors, secured or unsecured Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 0.5 Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? (a) All creditors 0.5 Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization receive at least as much as No 0.0 what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, does each class vote No 0.0 separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? Creditor participation index (0-4) 1.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or appointment of the insolvency No 0.0 representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial assets of the debtor? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request information from the insolvency No 0.0 representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions accepting or rejecting Yes 1.0 creditors' claims? Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Page 59 Doing Business 2020 Benin Employing Workers Doing Business presents detailed data for the employing workers indicators on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). The study does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the worker and the (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for permanent business are used. tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; (iii) length of the maximum probationary period; (iv) minimum The worker: wage;(v) ratio of minimum wage to the average value added per - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. worker. - Is a full-time employee. - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. Working hours (i) maximum number of working days allowed per week; (ii) The business: premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). (iii) whether there are restrictions on work at night, work on a - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 weekly rest day and for overtime work; (iv) length of paid annual economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. leave. - Has 60 employees. - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than 50% of the Redundancy rules food retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them. (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating workers; (ii) - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than those whether employer needs to notify and/or get approval from third mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining agreements. party to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant workers; (iii) whether the law requires employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments, and (iii) penalties due when terminating a redundant worker. Data on the availability of unemployment protection for a worker with one year of employment is also collected. Page 60 Doing Business 2020 Benin Employing Workers - Benin Details – Employing Workers in Benin Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) No limit Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) No limit Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 70.2 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.5 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 2.0 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 6.0 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 12.0 Restrictions on night work? No Restrictions on weekly holiday? No Restrictions on overtime work? No Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 24.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 24.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 24.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 24.0 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? No Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure (weeks of salary) 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in weeks of salary) 4.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure (weeks of salary) 1.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 6.5 Page 61 Doing Business 2020 Benin Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 14.1 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in weeks of salary) 7.3 Unemployment protection after one year of employment? No Page 62 Doing Business 2020 Benin Business Reforms in Benin From May 2, 2018 to May 1, 2019, 115 economies implemented 294 business regulatory reforms across the 10 areas measured by Doing Business. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since Doing Business 2008. =Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business. DB2020 Registering Property: Benin improved the reliability and transparency of the land administration system by publishing official statistics on land transactions and land disputes for the previous calendar year and committing to deliver a legally binding document within a specific time frame. DB2019 Getting Credit: Benin improved access to credit information by launching a new credit bureau. Enforcing Contracts: Benin made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a law that regulates all aspects of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. Employing Workers: Benin amended its regulations pertaining to fixed-term contracts. DB2018 Dealing with Construction Permits: Benin increased the transparency of dealing with construction permits by publishing regulations related to construction online, free of charge. Registering Property: Benin made registering property less costly by eliminating the tax registration. It also improved the transparency of the land administration system by publishing documentary requirements and fee schedule required for property transactions. Getting Credit: Benin improved its credit reporting system by introducing regulations that govern the licensing and functioning of credit bureaus in the member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). DB2017 Starting a Business: Benin made starting a business easier by eliminating the need to notarize company bylaws to activate a bank account after incorporation. Resolving Insolvency: Benin made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a new conciliation procedure for companies in financial difficulties and a simplified preventive settlement procedure for small companies. DB2016 Starting a Business: Benin made starting a business less costly by reducing the fees for filing company documents at the one-stop shop. Dealing with Construction Permits: Benin made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by establishing a one-stop shop and by reducing the number of signatories required on building permits. Trading across Borders: Benin made trading across borders easier by further developing its electronic single-window system, which reduced the time for border compliance for both exporting and importing. DB2015 Starting a Business: Benin made starting a business easier by reducing the minimum capital requirement and the fees to be paid at the one-stop shop. Protecting Minority Investors: Benin strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to related-party transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Trading across Borders: Benin made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of documents needed for imports. Enforcing Contracts: Benin made enforcing contracts easier by creating a commercial section within its court of first instance. DB2014 Starting a Business: Benin made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop. Trading across Borders: Benin made trading across borders easier by improving port management systems, enhancing the infrastructure around the port and putting in place new rules for the transit of trucks. Page 63 Doing Business 2020 Benin DB2013 Starting a Business: Benin made starting a business easier by appointing a representative of the commercial registry at the one-stop shop and reducing some fees. Dealing with Construction Permits: Benin reduced the time required to obtain a construction permit by speeding up the processing of applications. Trading across Borders: Benin reduced the time required to trade across borders by implementing an electronic single-window system integrating customs, control agencies, port authorities and other service providers at the Cotonou port. Enforcing Contracts: Benin made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a new code of civil, administrative and social procedures. DB2012 Starting a Business: Benin made starting a business easier by replacing the requirement for a copy of the founders’ criminal records with one for a sworn declaration at the time of the company’s Getting Credit: Access to credit in Benin was improved through amendments to the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) Uniform Act on Secured Transactions that broaden the range of assets that can be used as collateral (including future assets), extend the security interest to the proceeds of the original asset and introduce the possibility of out-of-court enforcement. DB2011 Dealing with Construction Permits: Benin created a new municipal commission to streamline construction permitting and set up an ad hoc commission to deal with the backlog in permit applications. DB2010 Paying Taxes: Benin made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income and payroll tax rates. Trading across Borders: Benin reduced the time needed to clear goods through customs by implementing an electronic data interchange system. DB2009 Dealing with Construction Permits: In Benin an administrative backlog in the Municipality of Cotonou resulted in longer waits to obtain a building permit. Trading across Borders: Benin reduced the time for exporting through improvements in port infrastructure. DB2008 Registering Property: Benin made transferring property less costly by reducing the registration fee. Page 64 Doing Business 2020 Benin Page 65