Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Economy Pro le of Bahamas Doing Business 2018 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and permits safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality 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 rms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers 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 o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erent cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has bene ted 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. Page 2   for insolvency Doing Business Labor market 2018 regulation Bahamas, The Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality 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 rms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers 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 o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erent cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has bene ted from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to two decimals. More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB) Ease of Doing Business in Latin America & DB 2018 Rank Region 190 1 Caribbean Bahamas, The Income Category High income 119 DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) Population 391,232 0 100 GNI Per Capita (US$) 21,020 57.47 City Covered Nassau DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 82.54: United States (Rank: 6) 82.22: United Kingdom (Rank: 7) 59.63: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 107) 58.66: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 57.47: Bahamas, The (Rank: 119) Page 3   aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to two decimals. More Doingabout 2018 (PDF, Doing Business Business 5MB) The Bahamas, Ease of Doing Business in Latin America & DB 2018 Rank Region 190 1 Caribbean Bahamas, The Income Category High income 119 DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) Population 391,232 0 100 GNI Per Capita (US$) 21,020 57.47 City Covered Nassau DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 82.54: United States (Rank: 6) 82.22: United Kingdom (Rank: 7) 59.63: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 107) 58.66: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 57.47: Bahamas, The (Rank: 119) 55.20: Barbados (Rank: 132) Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. Rankings on Doing Business topics - Bahamas 1 28 55 55 64 74 86 82 Rank 108 109 117 129 136 142 157 167 163 190 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Bahamas 100 84.18 78.09 80 68.30 60.96 59.43 60 53.07 52.93 DTF 42.71 45.00 40 30.00 20 0 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Change:-0.01 Change:-0.03 Change:0.00 Investors Change:+6.70 Borders Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Change:+1.47 Permits Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Starting a Business Page 4   a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Change:-0.01 Change:-0.03 Change:0.00 Investors Change:+6.70 Borders Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Change:+1.47 Permits Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Change:0.00 Starting a Business This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scores obtained for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and operate a To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions company (number) about the business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay Pre-registration (for example, name verification no bribes. or reservation, notarization) Registration in economy’s largest business city The business: - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than Post-registration (for example, social security one type of limited liability company in the economy, the most common registration, company seal) among domestic rms is chosen. Information on the most common form is Obtaining approval from spouse to start business obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical o ce. or leave home to register company - Operates in the economy’s largest business city and the entire o ce Obtaining any gender-specific permission that space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11 can impact company registration, company economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. operations and process of getting national - Is 100% domestically owned and has ve owners, none of whom is a legal identity card entity; and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a Time required to complete each procedure turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. (calendar days) - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale of goods or services to the public. The business does Does not include time spent gathering not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subject information to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It does not use Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 heavily polluting production processes. procedures cannot start on the same day) - Leases the commercial plant or o ces and is not a proprietor of real Procedures fully completed online are recorded estate and the amount of the annual lease for the o ce space is equivalent as ½ day to 1 times income per capita. Procedure is considered completed once final - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special bene ts. document is received - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. No prior contact with officials - Has a company deed 10 pages long. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of The owners: income per capita) - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, Official costs only, no bribes they are assumed to be 30 years old. No professional fees unless services required by - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. law or commonly used in practice - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) - Where the answer di ers according to the legal system applicable to the Funds deposited in a bank or with third party woman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where there before registration or up to 3 months after is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the incorporation majority of the population. Standardized Company Page 5   before registration or up to 3 months after is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the incorporation majority of the population. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Standardized Company Legal form Limited Liability Company (LLC) Paid-in minimum capital requirement BSD 0 City Covered Nassau Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Procedure – Men (number) 7 8.4 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand) Time – Men (days) 21.5 31.7 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 13.8 37.5 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom) Procedure – Women (number) 7 8.5 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand) Time – Women (days) 21.5 31.8 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 13.8 37.5 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 2.1 8.7 0.00 (113 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 94.58: United Kingdom (Rank: 14) 91.23: United States (Rank: 49) 85.11: Barbados (Rank: 99) 84.18: Bahamas, The (Rank: 108) 81.69: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 126) 78.09: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Starting a Business in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 6 20 5 ost (% of income per capita) 15 4 Time (days) 3 10 2 Page 6   5 starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Starting a Business in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 6 20 5 Cost (% of income per capita) 15 4 Time (days) 3 10 2 5 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 *7 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Details – Starting a Business in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Search for a company name and reserve the proposed name online Less than one day BSD 25 Agency : Registrar General's Department (online procedure) The online name search system has been in place since 2004. The name reservation expires after 90 days. 2 A lawyer prepares and notarizes the company documents 1 day on average Usually about BSD (memorandum and articles of association) 650 (BSD 100 to Agency : Lawyer or corporate service provider public treasury + BSD 550 register of Legally, only the memorandum has to be led at the moment of the company) incorporation. Standard articles of association are available and the memorandum has to be a statutory declaration. Therefore, the most common scenario is to prepare both. Since 2001, the Bahamas has issued many provisions on anti-money laundering and since then the information requested from the client has increased. Usually, a client has to provide the law rm with a nancial and a character reference. In addition to nancial and character references and a notarised copy of the client's passport, a client is also required to provide evidence of his or her current address, usually a notarised copy of a utility bill and a notarised copy of the passport and evidence of a current address for each of the directors. The A davit, which records the oath of the subscribing witness, must be signed by said witnesses in the presence of a Notary Public. The Statutory Declaration is not mandatory under the Companies Act. However section 3(3) thereof states that if the Memorandum of Association is led along with the Statutory Declaration, the Statutory Declaration shall be conclusive Page 7   evidence of the capacity of the subscribers to the Memorandum. The (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Starting a Business in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Search for a company name and reserve the proposed name online Less than one day BSD 25 Agency : Registrar General's Department (online procedure) The online name search system has been in place since 2004. The name reservation expires after 90 days. 2 A lawyer prepares and notarizes the company documents 1 day on average Usually about BSD (memorandum and articles of association) 650 (BSD 100 to Agency : Lawyer or corporate service provider public treasury + BSD 550 register of Legally, only the memorandum has to be led at the moment of the company) incorporation. Standard articles of association are available and the memorandum has to be a statutory declaration. Therefore, the most common scenario is to prepare both. Since 2001, the Bahamas has issued many provisions on anti-money laundering and since then the information requested from the client has increased. Usually, a client has to provide the law rm with a nancial and a character reference. In addition to nancial and character references and a notarised copy of the client's passport, a client is also required to provide evidence of his or her current address, usually a notarised copy of a utility bill and a notarised copy of the passport and evidence of a current address for each of the directors. The A davit, which records the oath of the subscribing witness, must be signed by said witnesses in the presence of a Notary Public. The Statutory Declaration is not mandatory under the Companies Act. However section 3(3) thereof states that if the Memorandum of Association is led along with the Statutory Declaration, the Statutory Declaration shall be conclusive evidence of the capacity of the subscribers to the Memorandum. The Statutory declaration is not required to be executed by a Notary Public but instead by an attorney. 3 Stamp duty on the memorandum paid to the Public Treasury 1 day BSD 100 stamp duty Agency : Public Treasury is payable on the first BSD 5,000 The fees includes BSD 100 stamp duty is payable on the rst BSD 5,000 authorized capital of authorized capital of the company and BSD 5 for every additional BSD 1,000 the company and authorized capital. BSD 5 for every additional BSD 1,000 authorized capital 4 File the company documents at the Companies Registry 3 days BSD 1,000 for the Agency : Companies Registry incorporation and BSD 50 for certified The registration is usually done by a lawyer or a corporate service provider. copy of the If submitted online, the fees are:BSD 1,000 for the incorporation and BSD 50 Memorandum and for Certi ed copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association. Articles of Association. Entrepreneurs and certi ed providers have the option to submit in person, which will take roughly 10 days to receive the incorporation documents. 5 Obtain the National Insurance Number from the National Insurance 1 day no charge Board Agency : National Insurance Board Page 8   The National Insurance Number is a requirement to obtain business license. Association. Entrepreneurs and certi ed providers have the option to submit in person, Doing which will take Business roughly 2018 receive the incorporation documents. 10 days toThe Bahamas, 5 Obtain the National Insurance Number from the National Insurance 1 day no charge Board Agency : National Insurance Board The National Insurance Number is a requirement to obtain business license. According to the National Insurance Act, every employer has to have a national insurance employer’s number. This could be obtained at no cost and it can be done in a day (by mail or in person). The document required for registration is a certi cate of incorporation. Employer also registers the employees if they have not been registered already. Where an employee is being registered with the National Insurance Board they must provide a copy of a document that veri es their birth, i.e. a birth certi cate, passport or a davit. 6 Register the company for a business license and VAT at the Department 15 days BSD 100 (flat fee) of Inland Revenue - Central Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Finance Agency : Department of Inland Revenue - Central Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Finance Under the Business License Act all persons carrying on business in The Bahamas must have a business license before operations commence, whether or not the business is owned by Bahamians. Since the coming into force of the Business License Act, 2010 there is no longer a requirement to separately register the trading name of the company. The requested trading name is indicated on the Business Registration Form. When the Business Registration Form is submitted online it must be accompanied by: (i) proof of citizenship of the bene cial owners of the company; (ii) a copy of the Certi cate of Incorporation of the company; (iii) a copy of the Certi cate of Registration from the National Insurance Board; (iv) a copy of the lease for the property; (v) a copy of the Certi cate of Sanitation from the Department of Environmental Health Services, depending on the nature of the business operations, a Certi cate of Sanitation may or may not be required. ; and (vi) the licensing fee of BSD 100. On 1 January, 2015, the Value Added Tax Act (the "VAT Act") came into e ect in The Bahamas. The VAT Act requires all persons, including companies, carrying on a business with an annual turnover of B$100,000 or more, or who have reasonable grounds to expect that the business will obtain an annual turnover of B$100,000 or more, to register with the VAT Department of the Ministry of Finance. VAT registrants are required charge and collect VAT at a rate of 7.5% on the supply of all goods and services (except goods and services which are exempt or zero-rated under the VAT Act) and remit the VAT collected to the Government of The Bahamas. In addition, persons meeting the registration threshold will be required to submit returns to the VAT Department on a monthly or quarterly basis. Business are able to register for VAT at the same time as registering for the business license. In order to register for VAT the company must register within 14 days of commencing business if it is anticipated that it will meet the annual turnover threshold of B$100,000. The application for registration must be submitted through the VAT Department's Online Tax Administration System (OTAS): vat.revenue.gov.bs, which will require the company to create a free online user account and complete and submit the VAT Registration Application. Once the VAT Department has approved the registration, which takes between 3 and 14 days, it will issue a Certi cate of Registration to the Page 9   company, which must be displayed in all locations where the company Board they must provide a copy of a document that veri es their birth, i.e. a Doing birth certi cate, Business 2018 passport or a davit. Bahamas, The 6 Register the company for a business license and VAT at the Department 15 days BSD 100 (flat fee) of Inland Revenue - Central Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Finance Agency : Department of Inland Revenue - Central Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Finance Under the Business License Act all persons carrying on business in The Bahamas must have a business license before operations commence, whether or not the business is owned by Bahamians. Since the coming into force of the Business License Act, 2010 there is no longer a requirement to separately register the trading name of the company. The requested trading name is indicated on the Business Registration Form. When the Business Registration Form is submitted online it must be accompanied by: (i) proof of citizenship of the bene cial owners of the company; (ii) a copy of the Certi cate of Incorporation of the company; (iii) a copy of the Certi cate of Registration from the National Insurance Board; (iv) a copy of the lease for the property; (v) a copy of the Certi cate of Sanitation from the Department of Environmental Health Services, depending on the nature of the business operations, a Certi cate of Sanitation may or may not be required. ; and (vi) the licensing fee of BSD 100. On 1 January, 2015, the Value Added Tax Act (the "VAT Act") came into e ect in The Bahamas. The VAT Act requires all persons, including companies, carrying on a business with an annual turnover of B$100,000 or more, or who have reasonable grounds to expect that the business will obtain an annual turnover of B$100,000 or more, to register with the VAT Department of the Ministry of Finance. VAT registrants are required charge and collect VAT at a rate of 7.5% on the supply of all goods and services (except goods and services which are exempt or zero-rated under the VAT Act) and remit the VAT collected to the Government of The Bahamas. In addition, persons meeting the registration threshold will be required to submit returns to the VAT Department on a monthly or quarterly basis. Business are able to register for VAT at the same time as registering for the business license. In order to register for VAT the company must register within 14 days of commencing business if it is anticipated that it will meet the annual turnover threshold of B$100,000. The application for registration must be submitted through the VAT Department's Online Tax Administration System (OTAS): vat.revenue.gov.bs, which will require the company to create a free online user account and complete and submit the VAT Registration Application. Once the VAT Department has approved the registration, which takes between 3 and 14 days, it will issue a Certi cate of Registration to the company, which must be displayed in all locations where the company conducts business. 7 Obtain a company seal 2 days on average BSD 35 Agency : Registry Agency  (simultaneous with previous A proof of seal has to be provided at the time of ling the rst annual procedure) statement. Under Section 26 of the Companies Act of 1992, every company must have a common seal. Seals are locally manufactured and can usually be obtained within 2-3 business days at a cost of BSD 30- BSD 35. Applies to women only. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 10   obtained within 2-3 business days at a cost of BSD 30- BSD 35. Doing to women2018 Business Applies only. Bahamas, The Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. 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 noti cations, 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 certi cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining connections are used. all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates The construction company (BuildCo): Submitting all required notifications and - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the receiving all necessary inspections economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining utility connections for water and - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of whom sewerage is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both Registering and selling the warehouse after its registered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is completion not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed Time required to complete each procedure experts, such as geological or topographical experts. (calendar days) - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its completion. Does not include time spent gathering information The warehouse: Each procedure starts on a separate day— - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or though procedures that can be fully completed stationery. online are an exception to this rule - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of Procedure is considered completed once final approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor will document is received be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of No prior contact with officials 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 - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a warehouse value) licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as Official costs only, no bribes obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external Building quality control index (0-15) agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative Sum of the scores of six component indices: and regulatory 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 Quality control during construction (0-3) tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole Quality control after construction (0-3) will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an Professional certifications (0-4) average wastewater ow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater ow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater ow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Page 11   Applies to women only. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 noti cations, 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 certi cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining connections are used. all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates The construction company (BuildCo): Submitting all required notifications and - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the receiving all necessary inspections economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining utility connections for water and - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of whom sewerage is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both Registering and selling the warehouse after its registered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is completion not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed Time required to complete each procedure experts, such as geological or topographical experts. (calendar days) - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its completion. Does not include time spent gathering information The warehouse: Each procedure starts on a separate day— - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or though procedures that can be fully completed stationery. online are an exception to this rule - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of Procedure is considered completed once final approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor will document is received be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of No prior contact with officials 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 - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a warehouse value) licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as Official costs only, no bribes obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external Building quality control index (0-15) agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative Sum of the scores of six component indices: and regulatory 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 Quality control during construction (0-3) tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole Quality control after construction (0-3) will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an Professional certifications (0-4) average wastewater ow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater ow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater ow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Standardized Warehouse Page 12   and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse BSD 1,102,489.60 City Covered Nassau Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Procedures (number) 16 15.7 12.5 7.00 (Denmark) Time (days) 180 191.8 154.6 27.5 (Korea, Rep.) Cost (% of warehouse value) 1.0 3.2 1.6 0.10 (5 Economies) Building quality control index (0-15) 10.0 8.8 11.4 15.00 (3 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 80.39: United Kingdom (Rank: 14) 75.77: United States (Rank: 36) 68.30: Bahamas, The (Rank: 86) 67.09: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 99) 63.59: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 56.63: Barbados (Rank: 155) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 180 0.5 160 0.4 Cost (% of warehouse value) 140 120 Time (days) 0.3 100 80 0.2 60 40 0.1 20 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Page 13   component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 180 0.5 160 0.4 Cost (% of warehouse value) 140 120 Time (days) 0.3 100 80 0.2 60 40 0.1 20 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 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 di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 12 10.0 10.0 10 9.0 9.0 8.8 8 Index score 6.5 6 4 2 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Request and obtain “approval in principle” (planning permission) with 30 days no charge the Town Planning Committee Agency : Town Planning Committee This approval is not a prerequisite for the building permit but most constructors would still want to obtain it in advance to make sure that their project is viable/acceptable in terms of town planning. Only the plot and location plan needs to be submitted. to be attached. No proof of ownership is needed at this point. The Committee that examines the proposal meets only every other week. The Committee members represent the di erent interest groups that are interested in building process. The Committee agenda is prepared by the Department of Physical Planning. The Committee Page 14   also hears complaints and addresses grievances. Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Request and obtain “approval in principle” (planning permission) with 30 days no charge the Town Planning Committee Agency : Town Planning Committee This approval is not a prerequisite for the building permit but most constructors would still want to obtain it in advance to make sure that their project is viable/acceptable in terms of town planning. Only the plot and location plan needs to be submitted. to be attached. No proof of ownership is needed at this point. The Committee that examines the proposal meets only every other week. The Committee members represent the di erent interest groups that are interested in building process. The Committee agenda is prepared by the Department of Physical Planning. The Committee also hears complaints and addresses grievances. 2 Request and obtain building permit at the Building Control Unit of the 120 days BSD 4,900 Ministry of Works Agency : Ministry of Works BuildCo will submit the request for the building permit to the Building Control Department and pay 10% as a deposit. The le will be inserted in a cardboard jacket and submitted to various department, one after the other. The application and supporting documents are sent to the following departments for processing: b. Civil Design Section, where checks are made for drainage and road access. c. Department of Physical Planning, which grants zoning approval. d. Department of Environmental Health/BEST Commission, to assess the environmental impact and ensure compliance with Environmental Health codes. e. Control Division of the Ministry of Works & Urban Development, where they complete mechanical, electrical, structural and other checks as necessary. 4. The Building Permit is then prepared for issue. Drawings are stamped as approved and the nal fee is assessed and calculated. 5. Applicants are noti ed via telephone that the Building Permit has been approved and can be collected upon payment of the building permit fee. The applicant must then make nal payment and collect the Building Permit at the Buildings Control Division of the Ministry of Works & Urban Development. Buildings Regulation Art. 4. (1) “Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall commence or carry on, or cause or procure to be commenced or carried on, any building operation save under and in accordance with the conditions of a valid building permit and in accordance with the provisions of this Act and any rules and the Building Code.” The status of the application can be checked online. 3 Request and receive plumbing permit 1 day BSD 3,500 Agency : Ministry of Works A request for plumbing inspection must be requested by the licensed plumber. 4 Receive "rough-in" plumbing inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works Page 15   A request for plumbing inspection must be requested by the licensed Doing plumber. Business 2018 Bahamas, The 4 Receive "rough-in" plumbing inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works 5 Receive stand pipe inspection by the Fire Branch of the Royal Bahamas 1 day no charge Police Force Agency : Fire Branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force The Fire Department will proceed with an inspection of the stand pipes and sprinkler system during the construction phase. 6 Receive inspection of oors 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works 7 Receive inspection of walls 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works 8 Receive inspection of roo ng 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works 9 File notice of completion of the plumbing works 1 day no charge Agency : Building Control Division The certi ed plumber must le a notice of completion of all plumbing works so that the nal inspection can take place. 10 Receive nal inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works 11 Obtain nal plumbing inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Ministry of Works After the plumbing has been approved, the plumber can obtain a copy of the approval at the Ministry of Works. 12 Receive re safety inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Fire Branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force After the nal inspection performed by the Ministry of Works, it is often determined that a re inspection is also required. Some contractors even have the re inspection conducted before the nal inspection from the Ministry of Works, to ensure that the nal inspection goes smoothly. 13 Obtain occupancy permit 2 days no charge Agency : Ministry of Works BuildCo must apply for the occupancy permit, which can only be obtained after the nal inspection for the electrical, plumbing and re protection nal inspections are carried out. 14 Request water and sewage connection 1 day no charge Agency : Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation The request for water and sewage connection is done online at http://www.wsc.com.bs/NewConnectionsForm.aspx The following document has to be submitted: A copy of the property title Page 16   In case of Limited Company, the application must be signed by two or more after the nal inspection for the electrical, plumbing and re protection nal Business are Doing inspections 2018carried out. Bahamas, The 14 Request water and sewage connection 1 day no charge Agency : Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation The request for water and sewage connection is done online at http://www.wsc.com.bs/NewConnectionsForm.aspx The following document has to be submitted: A copy of the property title In case of Limited Company, the application must be signed by two or more directors of the Company accompanied by a copy of the resolution authorizing these directors to sign on behalf of the company. An article of association and certi cate of good standing must also be attached. 15 Receive water and sewage inspection 1 day no charge Agency : Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation Technician will visit the property to establish the work to be done and the cost as well. This is usually done within 5-7 working days. 16 Obtain water and sewage service 16 days BSD 2,784 Agency : Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation will conduct the works to connect the meter to the main. BuildCo must hire a licensed plumber to connect from the meter to the building. Cost includes labor, connection fee and meter. It will take about 15 working days for the work and connection to be completed. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 10.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0 Free of charge. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly speci ed in the building List of required 0.0 regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid. 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 Licensed 1.0 compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect; Licensed engineer. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during Inspections at 1.0 construction? (0-2) various phases. Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0 Page 17   inspections are Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 10.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0 Free of charge. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly speci ed in the building List of required 0.0 regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid. 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 Licensed 1.0 compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect; Licensed engineer. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during Inspections at 1.0 construction? (0-2) various phases. Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0 inspections are always done in practice. Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0 Is there a nal inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in Yes, nal 2.0 accordance with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is done by government agency. Do legally mandated nal inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0 always occurs in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural aws or problems in the No party is held 0.0 building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the law. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover No party is 0.0 possible structural aws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect required by law Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain insurance . Professional certi cations index (0-4) 3.0 What are the quali cation requirements for the professional responsible for verifying University 1.0 that the architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building degree in regulations? (0-2) architecture or Page 18   Professional Doing cations Bahamas, certi 2018 Business index (0-4) The 3.0 What are the quali cation requirements for the professional responsible for verifying University 1.0 that the architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building degree in regulations? (0-2) architecture or engineering; Being a registered architect or engineer. What are the quali cation requirements for the professional who supervises the Minimum 2.0 construction on the ground? (0-2) number of years of experience; University degree in engineering, construction or construction management; Being a registered architect or engineer. 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 tari s index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions are (number) used. Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse: all necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the receiving all necessary inspections data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is purchasing material for these works in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not Concluding any necessary supply contract and near a railway. obtaining final supply - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the rst time. Time required to complete each procedure - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square (calendar days) meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 Is at least 1 calendar day square meters (10,000 square feet). Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering The electricity connection: information - 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, Reflects the time spent in practice, with little when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). follow-up and no prior contact with officials - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or Cost required to complete each procedure (% of medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or income per capita) underground, whichever is more common in the area where the Page 19   warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10- Official costs only, no bribes architect or engineer. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 tari s index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions are (number) used. Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse: all necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the receiving all necessary inspections data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is purchasing material for these works in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not Concluding any necessary supply contract and near a railway. obtaining final supply - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the rst time. Time required to complete each procedure - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square (calendar days) meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 Is at least 1 calendar day square meters (10,000 square feet). Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering The electricity connection: information - 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, Reflects the time spent in practice, with little when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). follow-up and no prior contact with officials - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or Cost required to complete each procedure (% of medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or income per capita) underground, whichever is more common in the area where the Official costs only, no bribes 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 Value added tax excluded on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property The reliability of supply and transparency of because the warehouse has access to a road. tari s index (0-8) - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been completed up to and including the customer’s service Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) panel or switchboard and the meter base. Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) Tools to restore power supply (0–1) The monthly consumption: Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 (0–1) a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) on average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the Price based on monthly bill for commercial cheapest supplier. warehouse in case study - Tari s e ective in March of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although March has 31 days, for * N o t e : Doing Business m e a s u r e s t h e p r i c e o f calculation purposes only 30 days are used. electricity, but it is not included in the distance to frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 20   Standardized Connection frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Standardized Connection Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 27.7 Name of utility Bahamas Electricity Corporation City Covered Nassau Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Procedures (number) 5 5.5 4.7 2 (United Arab Emirates) Time (days) 67 66.0 79.1 10 (United Arab Emirates) Cost (% of income per capita) 124.1 927.4 63.0 0.00 (Japan) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 0 4.2 7.4 8.00 (28 Economies) index (0-8) Figure – Getting Electricity in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 93.29: United Kingdom (Rank: 9) 83.50: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 39) 82.14: United States (Rank: 49) 70.45: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 60.96: Bahamas, The (Rank: 117) 46.36: Barbados (Rank: 160) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 120 60 100 Cost (% of income per capita) 50 80 Time (days) 40 60 30 40 20 10 20 Page 21   getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 120 60 100 Cost (% of income per capita) 50 80 Time (days) 40 60 30 40 20 10 20 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 di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 9 8 8 7.2 7 6 Index score 5 5 4.2 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Receive site visit and estimate from Bahamas Electricity Corporation 33 calendar days USD 23,000 and pay connection costs Agency : Bahamas Power and Light The customer submits an application for a new electricity connection. The utility will then send out an engineer from the planning department to conduct a site visit and prepares an estimate. A letter will be sent to the customer along with an invoice stating the cost for the connection works. The payment can be made at the two o ces of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation by check, cash or credit card. The connection costs includes the cost of a distribution transformer and accessories. The external works will be scheduled by the utility - Bahamas Electricity Corporation after payment is Page 22   received. Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Receive site visit and estimate from Bahamas Electricity Corporation 33 calendar days USD 23,000 and pay connection costs Agency : Bahamas Power and Light The customer submits an application for a new electricity connection. The utility will then send out an engineer from the planning department to conduct a site visit and prepares an estimate. A letter will be sent to the customer along with an invoice stating the cost for the connection works. The payment can be made at the two o ces of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation by check, cash or credit card. The connection costs includes the cost of a distribution transformer and accessories. The external works will be scheduled by the utility - Bahamas Electricity Corporation after payment is received. 2 Request and receive nal inspection by Ministry of Works 21 calendar days BSD 0 Agency : Ministry of Public Works and Transport - Building Control Department The customer requests a nal inspection for the internal wiring from the Ministry of Works. The Inspector signs o on the certi cate after ascertaining that all internal wiring has been done satisfactorily. There are several rounds of internal wiring inspection conducted by the Ministry of Works during the construction of the warehouse. 3 Receive external works from Bahamas Electricity Corporation 28 calendar days USD 0 Agency : Bahamas Power and Light The Bahamas Electricity Corporation Receive will conduct the external works. This involves the construction of the mains extension, installation of the transformer and the installation of the service cable. 4 Open electricity account with Bahamas Electricity Corporation 1 calendar day BSD 3,229.37 Agency : Bahamas Power and Light In order to open an account with the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, the customer should bring the following into BEC's Business O ce on Blue Hill and Tucker Roads or at the Marathon Mall O ce: • The original Electrical Installation Approval, a copy of the Occupancy Certi cate (or occupancy exemption). These documents are issued by the Building Control Division of the Ministry of Works & Transport and can be obtained from the electrical or building contractor. • Two forms of personal identi cation, the National Insurance Card (a must), along with a valid Passport or Voters Card. In the case of non-working expatriates, a valid Passport (a must) along with a Social Security Card or Driver’s License. • Where the applicant is a Limited Company or Government Ministry, the following is required: A letter on the Company's or Ministry's letterhead with the name of two (2) signatories, positions held, along with the Company's seal or Ministry's stamp a xed; along with the requirements in point 1. • The letter should state that the company / government ministry applies for the supply of electricity to certain named premises and authorizes the persons (also to be named) to sign on the Company's or Ministry's behalf. There ought to be two signatories on the Company's or Ministry's Account with the Corporation. The security deposit is only returned upon the termination of the contract. Page 23   This involves the construction of the mains extension, installation of the Doing transformer Bahamas,of and the installation Business 2018 the service cable. The 4 Open electricity account with Bahamas Electricity Corporation 1 calendar day BSD 3,229.37 Agency : Bahamas Power and Light In order to open an account with the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, the customer should bring the following into BEC's Business O ce on Blue Hill and Tucker Roads or at the Marathon Mall O ce: • The original Electrical Installation Approval, a copy of the Occupancy Certi cate (or occupancy exemption). These documents are issued by the Building Control Division of the Ministry of Works & Transport and can be obtained from the electrical or building contractor. • Two forms of personal identi cation, the National Insurance Card (a must), along with a valid Passport or Voters Card. In the case of non-working expatriates, a valid Passport (a must) along with a Social Security Card or Driver’s License. • Where the applicant is a Limited Company or Government Ministry, the following is required: A letter on the Company's or Ministry's letterhead with the name of two (2) signatories, positions held, along with the Company's seal or Ministry's stamp a xed; along with the requirements in point 1. • The letter should state that the company / government ministry applies for the supply of electricity to certain named premises and authorizes the persons (also to be named) to sign on the Company's or Ministry's behalf. There ought to be two signatories on the Company's or Ministry's Account with the Corporation. The security deposit is only returned upon the termination of the contract. An interest payment on this deposit is reimbursed as a deduction against electricity bill every month. Interest rate is 3%. 5 Receive meter installation and electricity ow from Bahamas Electricity 5 calendar days BSD 0 Corporation Agency : Bahamas Power and Light The service extension (transformer, service cable, etc) has been completed prior to the account being opened, and meter is now installed and electricity turned on. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Details – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tari 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) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Page 24   Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Getting Electricity in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tari 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) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on Yes reliability of supply? Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face nes by the regulator (or both) if outages No exceed a certain cap? Communication of tari s and tari changes (0-1) 1 Are e ective tari s available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online www.bahamaselectri city.com Are customers noti ed of a change in tari 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 tari 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. 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 ve dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Page 25   If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 ve dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions property (number) about the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, The parties (buyer and seller): paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). Registration procedures in the economy's largest - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. business citya. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest Postregistration procedures (for example, filling business city. title with municipality) - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. Time required to complete each procedure - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities. Does not include time spent gathering information The property (fully owned by the seller): - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. Each procedure starts on a separate day - though - Is fully owned by the seller. procedures that can be fully completed online - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for are an exception to this rule the past 10 years. Procedure is considered completed once final - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title document is received disputes. No prior contact with officials - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters property value) (6,000 square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in Official costs only (such as administrative fees, good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety duties and taxes). standards, building codes and legal requirements. The property, Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its entirety. payments are excluded - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the Quality of land administration index (0-30) purchase. - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) monuments of any kind. Transparency of information index (0–6) - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for Geographic coverage index (0–8) residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. Land dispute resolution index (0–8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Standard Property Transfer Property value BSD 1,102,489.60 City Covered Nassau Page 26   Latin America & OECD high Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Standard Property Transfer Property value BSD 1,102,489.60 City Covered Nassau Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Procedures (number) 7 7.2 4.6 1.00 (4 Economies) Time (days) 122 63.3 22.3 1.00 (3 Economies) Cost (% of property value) 4.7 5.8 4.2 0.00 (5 Economies) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 3.0 12.0 22.7 29.00 (Singapore) Figure – Registering Property in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 76.80: United States (Rank: 37) 74.51: United Kingdom (Rank: 47) 56.61: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 118) 55.36: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 52.35: Barbados (Rank: 133) 42.71: Bahamas, The (Rank: 167) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Registering Property in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 120 3 100 2.5 Cost (% of property value) 80 2 Time (days) 60 1.5 40 1 20 0.5 0 0 1 2 *3 *4 *5 6 7 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Page 27   Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Registering Property in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 120 3 100 2.5 Cost (% of property value) 80 2 Time (days) 60 1.5 40 1 20 0.5 0 0 1 2 *3 *4 *5 6 7 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Figure – Registering Property in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 30 24.5 25 20 19.0 Index score 17.6 15 11.5 12.0 10 5 3.0 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Registering Property in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Drafting of contracts and exchange of contracts once agreed 1 day 2.5% of the value of Agency : Lawyer's o ce the property is payable on the first The contract stage, which can last 1-5 days, depending on the complexity of B$500,000 the transaction, would include the following steps: 2% of the value of (1) The Seller's lawyer prepares a draft Agreement for Sale and submits it to the property is the Buyer's lawyer for approval. payable for that part (2) The Seller's lawyer forwards the nal Agreement for Sale (in duplicate) to the Buyer's lawyer for execution. which is in excess of (3) The Buyer's lawyer returns a signed Agreement for Sale (and deposits B$500,000, but does part of the payment, usually 10% of the purchase price). not exceed B$1,000,000 Page 28   After the contract stage, the Buyer's lawyer would conduct the due diligence 1% of the value that Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Registering Property in Bahamas, The – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Drafting of contracts and exchange of contracts once agreed 1 day 2.5% of the value of Agency : Lawyer's o ce the property is payable on the first The contract stage, which can last 1-5 days, depending on the complexity of B$500,000 the transaction, would include the following steps: 2% of the value of (1) The Seller's lawyer prepares a draft Agreement for Sale and submits it to the property is the Buyer's lawyer for approval. payable for that part (2) The Seller's lawyer forwards the nal Agreement for Sale (in duplicate) to the Buyer's lawyer for execution. which is in excess of (3) The Buyer's lawyer returns a signed Agreement for Sale (and deposits B$500,000, but does part of the payment, usually 10% of the purchase price). not exceed B$1,000,000 After the contract stage, the Buyer's lawyer would conduct the due diligence 1% of the value that included in procedures 2, 3, and 4. As part of the due diligence, the Buyer’s is in excess of lawyer may forward requisitions. Once the due diligence is completed, the B$1,000,000, but buyer's lawyer forwards the draft Conveyance to the seller's lawyer for does not exceed approval. B$5,000,000. The Bahamas Bar Association has a sliding scale of fees for property transactions, which is based on the valued of the property: 2.5% of the value of the property is payable on the rst B$500,000 2% of the value of the property is payable for that part which is in excess of B$500,000, but does not exceed B$1,000,000 1% of the value that is in excess of B$1,000,000, but does not exceed B$5,000,000. 2 Lawyer or his clerk checks for encumbrances at the Registry of records 1 - 2 months Cost included in (regarding any mortgages on the property) (simultaneous with lawyer's fees Agency : Registry of Records Procedures 3, 4, (Procedure 1) and 5) Searches are conducted by search clerks or lawyers. Documents recorded at the Registry of Records are available on micro lm up to 2003. From 2003 onwards documents recorded have been scanned and may be accessed online. When the parties hire a large law rm, the rm usually does this Documents search, together with the Court Cause List search of Procedure 3 and the Company Search of Procedure 4, in house. The rm does not charge an extra fee for these searches, i.e. it is included in the conveyance fee. When an independent party is hired to conduct the searches, the fee is 300-350 USD per lot searched. 3 Lawyer checks for judgments against the property at the Supreme Court 1 day Cost included in Agency : Supreme Court (simultaneous with lawyer's fees Procedures 2, 4 and (Procedure 1) This search is conducted to check if there are any judgments a ecting the 5) property, since charges imposed by judicial decisions could be levied on the property, regardless of who the owner is. 4 Lawyer checks for other companies using the same property at the 1 day Cost included in Company Registrar (simultaneous with lawyer's fees Agency : Company Registry Procedures 1,2 and (Procedure 1) 5) Searches are done at the Companies Registry only if a company now owns or previously owned the land. Searches are done to ensure that the company Page 29   5) property, since charges imposed by judicial decisions could be levied on the Doing property, Business 2018 of regardless The is. who the owner Bahamas, 4 Lawyer checks for other companies using the same property at the 1 day Cost included in Company Registrar (simultaneous with lawyer's fees Agency : Company Registry Procedures 1,2 and (Procedure 1) 5) Searches are done at the Companies Registry only if a company now owns or previously owned the land. Searches are done to ensure that the company was existing and duly incorporated during the period of its ownership of the property and to ensure that any conveyance executed by it was executed in accordance with the Articles of Association. 5 Real property tax status enquiry with the Valuation o ce of the 1 day Cost included in Ministry of Finance. (simultaneous with lawyer's fees Agency : Department of Inland Revenue Procedure 2, 3, and (Procedure 1) 4) Starting January 2015 it is required to submit a certi cate of good standing in property taxes signed by the chief valuation o cer of the Inland Revenue Department. If the seller hasn’t paid the taxes in the past, the new owner will inherit them. In addition to this Procedure, the buyer's lawyer might also chose to make an inquiry with utility companies (water, electricity and phone/cable). Such inquiry could be conducted within two weeks. 6 Payment of Stamp Duty 1 day 2.5% of the value of Agency : Department of Inland Revenue the property (a VAT tax of 7.5% of the Stamp duty is payable as a percent of the value of the property. Paid at the property's value is Public Treasury. The rates for stamp duty are as follows: Stamp duty is applicable for payable as a percent of the value of the property. properties having a The rate of stamp duty applicable to deeds of conveyance, assignments or value above USD transfers of realty, as per the Stamp (Amendment) Act of 2015 e ective July 100,000) 1, 2015 is 2.5% of the property's value. 7 Lodge the conveyance for recording at registry of records 2-3 months BSD 4.50/page Agency : Registry of Records It generally takes three months for the Registry of Records to record a property transfer and return the supporting documentation after it has been led for recording. In order to le for registration, the a davits of the witnesses to the convayance have to be notarized. This Procedure is not necessary for the validity of the conveyance, but it is a requirement under the Registration of Records Act (Ch. 187 Statute Laws of The Bahamas, 2000 Edition) to record the transfer. Any licenced notary public can do it at a cost of BSD 30.00 to BSD 50.00, and in most cases lawyers have a notary public licence, in which case they may do it themselves. In this case, the fee is included in the lawyer's overall fees charged in Procedure 1. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Details – Registering Property in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 3.0 Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 0.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Registrar General’s Department of the Bahamas Page 30   Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Registering Property in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 3.0 Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 0.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Registrar General’s Department of the Bahamas Deeds & Documents Section In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city Paper 0.0 —in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there an 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: Department of Lands and Surveys In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city— Paper 0.0 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 No 0.0 cadastral information (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the Separate 0.0 cadastral or mapping agency kept in a single database, in di erent but linked databases databases or in separate databases? Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use No 0.0 the same identi cation number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 2.5 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of Freely accessible 1.0 immovable property registration in the largest business city? by anyone Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction Yes, online 0.5 made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.baha mas.gov.bs/wps/ portal/public/gov /government/ser vices/!ut/p/b1/vZ PJbqNAEIafJQ_g0 M3OsRsYb3SzNG DDBRkvGLOYxGz m6YfR5BQpmcv MVJ1K-qt- _Z9UXMztubg- 9Hl2aPN7fSh_zb Page 31   GcCGBJEBJVspSA DDBRkvGLOYxGz m6YfR5BQpmcv Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The MVJ1K-qt- _Z9UXMztubg- 9Hl2aPN7fSh_zb GcCGBJEBJVspSA DNaBYyFHWfEqh bMgmgXgi0Lg07 4fArCGAHkMusA WILfj9qtoGI0HyU zEErewN4gcx7Qn pBPrTMmxqVUm 46I- ggIYdW6F1HeFM SsHnAWLyS7Wm x7nxPSis3lcRRp_ LtaNBd6VZF426r 2L4XDHs0N- PRi8SVbbddPZ77 0mQ6qJNrW0Dc2 uAgnIXQi0wakKf8 praBRI9iNvKVcU 37ndRf1WTArliil5 ePzN-E- gOzHRd_j4X_EHy Dla7u1ZmLZpny1 R3VA5zP7YGYsN uzWU_F5N3AMLK bLTDDFWABngz UHg0K_qFhSg0X wCl4sqCx2EQJKQ aennznFHoBRrq4 - ZEGnw1t3tdmQx 3K20ACDEj_2nAp 2eoMU_EdJPEA6 MJ_NmR_H- mGi_O0eh2O1St 4FVSo8RoAsiTLU BNVLrSiERvZ- mqYu37In_Iqfec3 W5JmijsVBbbupB HPYjlqobZQG- WSOGET5guULW 1CfWG7fA9QnYc Wlkeqx7qOL22A7 8PbWFkL7e74CY qjk5UkFxWBdigd _VYpU8ef1o_EfTe Yzee3jbj3hNGcTp j9WC1LrexaoY5gt Zhaj8Bh_oimCnp L9lR6- d1kfpOfn_ewNw!! /dl4/d5/L2dBISEv Z0FBIS9nQSEh/ Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5 immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available– and if so, how? Page 32   Link for online access: http://www.baha /dl4/d5/L2dBISEv Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Z0FBIS9nQSEh/ Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5 immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available– and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.baha mas.gov.bs/wps/ portal/public/gov /government/ser vices/!ut/p/b1/vZ PJbqNAEIafJQ_g0 M3OsRsYb3SzNG DDBRkvGLOYxGz m6YfR5BQpmcv MVJ1K-qt- _Z9UXMztubg- 9Hl2aPN7fSh_zb GcCGBJEBJVspSA DNaBYyFHWfEqh bMgmgXgi0Lg07 4fArCGAHkMusA WILfj9qtoGI0HyU zEErewN4gcx7Qn pBPrTMmxqVUm 46I- ggIYdW6F1HeFM SsHnAWLyS7Wm x7nxPSis3lcRRp_ LtaNBd6VZF426r 2L4XDHs0N- PRi8SVbbddPZ77 0mQ6qJNrW0Dc2 uAgnIXQi0wakKf8 praBRI9iNvKVcU 37ndRf1WTArliil5 ePzN-E- gOzHRd_j4X_EHy Dla7u1ZmLZpny1 R3VA5zP7YGYsN uzWU_F5N3AMLK bLTDDFWABngz UHg0K_qFhSg0X wCl4sqCx2EQJKQ aennznFHoBRrq4 - ZEGnw1t3tdmQx 3K20ACDEj_2nAp 2eoMU_EdJPEA6 MJ_NmR_H- mGi_O0eh2O1St 4FVSo8RoAsiTLU BNVLrSiERvZ- mqYu37In_Iqfec3 W5JmijsVBbbupB HPYjlqobZQG- WSOGET5guULW 1CfWG7fA9QnYc Wlkeqx7qOL22A7 8PbWFkL7e74CY Page 33   HPYjlqobZQG- WSOGET5guULW Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 1CfWG7fA9QnYc Wlkeqx7qOL22A7 8PbWFkL7e74CY qjk5UkFxWBdigd _VYpU8ef1o_EfTe Yzee3jbj3hNGcTp j9WC1LrexaoY5gt Zhaj8Bh_oimCnp L9lR6- d1kfpOfn_ewNw!! /dl4/d5/L2dBISEv Z0FBIS9nQSEh/ Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a No 0.0 legally binding document that proves property ownership within a speci c time frame– and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a speci c and separate mechanism for ling complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration? Contact information: Are there publicly available o cial statistics tracking the number of transactions at the No 0.0 immovable property registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2015: Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who 0.5 pays the o cial fee Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available Yes, in person 0.0 —and if so, how? Link for online access: Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a No 0.0 speci c time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a speci c and separate mechanism for ling complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable No 0.0 property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the No 0.0 immovable property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 0.5 Page 34   Are all Doing privately held Business 2018 landBahamas, plots in the The largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 0.5 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable No 0.0 property registry to make them opposable to third parties? Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private No 0.0 guarantee? Is there a speci c 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 certi ed by the immovable property registry? Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a No 0.0 property transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? . Does the legal system require veri cation of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5 transaction? If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Lawyer. Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? No 0.0 For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a Supreme court property worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business city, what court would be in charge of the case in the rst instance? How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the rst-instance court for More than 3 0.0 such a case (without appeal)? years Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the rst instance? No 0.0 Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2015: Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions 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 Rights of borrowers and lenders through through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index collateral laws (0-10) measures rules and practices a ecting the coverage, scope and Protection of secured creditors’ rights through accessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or a bankruptcy laws (0-2) credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to Depth of credit information index (0–8) which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and Page 35   lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined Scope and accessibility of credit information Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions 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 Rights of borrowers and lenders through through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index collateral laws (0-10) measures rules and practices a ecting the coverage, scope and Protection of secured creditors’ rights through accessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or a bankruptcy laws (0-2) credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to Depth of credit information index (0–8) which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined Scope and accessibility of credit information whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case distributed by credit bureaus and credit scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory registries (0-8) security interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if Number of individuals and firms listed in largest registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a credit bureau as a percentage of adult population secured borrower, company ABC, and a secured lender, BizBank. Credit registry coverage (% of adults) In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow Number of individuals and firms listed in credit only case A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set registry as a percentage of adult population of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used: - 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. Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 5.3 6.0 12.00 (4 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 4.8 6.6 8.00 (34 Economies) Page 36   Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 14.0 18.3 100.00 (3 Economies) possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 5.3 6.0 12.00 (4 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 4.8 6.6 8.00 (34 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 14.0 18.3 100.00 (3 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0.0 43.1 63.7 100.00 (23 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 95.00: United States (Rank: 2) 75.00: United Kingdom (Rank: 29) 50.94: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 35.00: Barbados (Rank: 133) 30.00: Bahamas, The (Rank: 142) 25.00: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 159) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting credit. These scores are the distance to frontier score for the sum of the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Figure – Legal Rights in Bahamas, The and comparator economies 12 11 10 8 Index score 7 7 6 6 5 5.3 4 2 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Legal Rights in Bahamas, The Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Does an integrated or uni ed legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and No enforcement of functional equivalents 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 Yes requiring a speci c description of collateral? Page 37   Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Legal Rights in Bahamas, The Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Does an integrated or uni ed legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and No enforcement of functional equivalents 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 Yes requiring a speci c description of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring Yes a speci c description of collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds Yes or replacements of the original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and Yes obligations be secured between parties; 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 uni ed geographically No and by asset type, with an 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 No performed online by any interested third party? Are secured creditors paid rst (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency Yes procedure? Are secured creditors paid rst (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 No reorganization procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and/or 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 Yes allow the secured creditor to sell 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 Bahamas, The and comparator economies 10 8 8 8 Index score 6 4.8 4 2 0 0 0 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Credit Information in Bahamas, The Page 38   0 0 0 0 Bahamas, Doing Business 2018The Antigua andThe Bahamas, Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Credit Information in Bahamas, The Credit Credit Depth of credit information index (0-8) bureau 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 financial institutions - No No 0 distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries that distribute more No No 0 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 credit registry? No No 0 Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online (for example, No No 0 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 banks and financial No No 0 institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Score ("yes" to either public bureau or private registry) 0 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 0 0 Number of firms 0 0 Total 0 0 Percentage of adult population 0.0 0.0 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 June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several approval requirements for related-party assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related-party transactions The business (Buyer): Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important minority shareholders to sue and hold interested stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on that directors liable for prejudicial related-party exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple Page 39   transactions; Available legal remedies (damages, Percentage of adult population 0.0 0.0 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several approval requirements for related-party assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related-party transactions The business (Buyer): Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important minority shareholders to sue and hold interested stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on that directors liable for prejudicial related-party exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it transactions; Available legal remedies (damages, is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple disgorgement of profits, fines, imprisonment, shareholders. rescission of the transaction) - Has a board of directors and a chief executive o cer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not speci cally Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): Access to required by law. internal corporate documents; Evidence - Has a supervisory board (applicable to economies with a two-tier board obtainable during trial and allocation of legal system) on which 60% of the shareholder-elected members have been expenses appointed by Mr. James, who is Buyer’s controlling shareholder and a Extent of conflict of interest regulation index member of Buyer’s board of directors. (0–10): Simple average of the extent of disclosure, - Has not adopted any bylaws or articles of association that di er from extent of director liability and ease of default minimum standards and does not follow any nonmandatory codes, shareholder indices principles, recommendations or guidelines relating to corporate Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): governance. Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. decisions Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): The transaction involves the following details: Governance safeguards protecting shareholders - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer and elected two directors to Buyer’s ve- from undue board control and entrenchment member board. Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. compensation, audits and financial prospects - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused eet of trucks to expand Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer Extent of shareholder governance index (0–10): agrees. The price is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the Simple average of the extent of shareholders market value. rights, extent of ownership and control and - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s ordinary course of extent of corporate transparency indices business and is not outside the authority of the company. Strength of minority investor protection index - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, (0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of and all required disclosures made (that is, the transaction is not interest regulation and extent of shareholder fraudulent). governance indices - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the other parties that approved the transaction. Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0- 5 5.3 6.4 9.3 (New Zealand) 10) Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 4 4.1 6.4 Page 40   9.00 (Kazakhstan) and the other parties that approved the transaction. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0- 5 5.3 6.4 9.3 (New Zealand) 10) Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 4 4.1 6.4 9.00 (Kazakhstan) Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 75.00: United Kingdom (Rank: 10) 64.67: United States (Rank: 42) 51.67: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 96) 47.24: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 45.00: Bahamas, The (Rank: 129) 35.00: Barbados (Rank: 167) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for the extent of con ict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality the Bahamas 3 5 2 1 8 8 Antigua and Barbuda 3 8 4 4 4 8 United Kingdom 8 7 10 5 7 8 United States 5.4 8.6 7.4 4.4 4 9 Barbados 5 2 2 1 4 7 OECD high income 7.3 5.6 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4 Latin America & Caribbean 4.1 5.4 4.4 3.4 5.6 6.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0­10) Extent of director liability index (0­10) Extent of disclosure index (0­10) Extent of ownership and control index (0­10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0­10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0­10) Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Page 41   Extent of ownership and control index (0­10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0­10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0­10) Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of con ict of interest regulation index (0-10) 5 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2 Which corporate body is legally su cient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Shareholders or 1.0 board of directors including 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 con ict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Existence of a 1.0 con ict without any speci cs Must Buyer disclose the transaction in published periodic lings (annual reports)? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public and/or shareholders? (0- No disclosure 0.0 2) obligation Extent of director liability index (0-10) 5 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue directly or derivatively Yes 1.0 for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold the interested director liable for the damage the transaction Liable if negligent 1.0 caused to Buyer? (0-2) Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused Liable if negligent 1.0 to Buyer (0-2) Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by Yes 1.0 shareholders? (0-1) Must Mr. James repay pro ts made from the transaction upon a successful claim by Yes 1.0 shareholders? (0-1) Is Mr. James disquali ed or ned and imprisoned upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Only in case of 0.0 fraud or bad faith Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 8 Before suing can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0 transaction documents? (0-1) Can the plainti obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plainti request categories of documents from the defendant without Yes 1.0 Page 42   Before suing can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0 transaction Doing 2018 (0-1) documents? Business Bahamas, The Can the plainti obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plainti request categories of documents from the defendant without Yes 1.0 identifying speci c ones? (0-1) Can the plainti directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) Yes 2.0 Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Can shareholder plainti s recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) Yes if successful 1.0 Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 4 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 8 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? Yes 1.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of Yes 1.0 shareholders? Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? No 0.0 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new Yes 1.0 shares? Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the a ected Yes 1.0 shares approve? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require Yes 1.0 member approval? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 10% call for a Yes 1.0 meeting of members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must all members consent to add a new No 0.0 member? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member rst o er to sell their Yes 1.0 interest to the existing members before they can sell to non-members? Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 1 Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chair of the board of No 0.0 directors? 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 Yes 1.0 end of their term? Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising No 0.0 board members? Must a potential acquirer make a tender o er to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% No 0.0 of Buyer? Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? No 0.0 Page 43   Must a potential acquirer make a tender o er to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% No 0.0 of Buyer? Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? No 0.0 Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer have a mechanism to resolve No 0.0 disagreements among members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender No 0.0 o er to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute pro ts within a No 0.0 maximum period set by law? Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 3 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect bene cial ownership stakes representing 5%? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and No 0.0 directorships in other 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 No 0.0 meeting agenda? Must Buyer's annual nancial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must members meet at least once a year? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 5% put items on No 0.0 the meeting agenda? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual nancial statements be No 0.0 audited by an external auditor? 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 measures the administrative burden in paying taxes and contributions. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed on June 30, 2017 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2016 (January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016). Last year (Doing Business 2017) the scope of data collection was expanded to better understand the overall tax environment in an economy. The questionnaire was expanded to include new questions on post- ling processes: VAT refund and tax audit. The data shows where post ling processes and practices work e ciently and what drives the di erences in the overall tax compliance cost across economies. The new section covers both the legal framework and the administrative burden on businesses to comply with post ling processes. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory 2016 (number per year adjusted for electronic and contributions a medium size company must pay in a year, and measures joint ling and payment) the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with Page 44   post ling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of ling Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual nancial statements be No 0.0 audited by an external auditor? Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 measures the administrative burden in paying taxes and contributions. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed on June 30, 2017 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2016 (January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016). Last year (Doing Business 2017) the scope of data collection was expanded to better understand the overall tax environment in an economy. The questionnaire was expanded to include new questions on post- ling processes: VAT refund and tax audit. The data shows where post ling processes and practices work e ciently and what drives the di erences in the overall tax compliance cost across economies. The new section covers both the legal framework and the administrative burden on businesses to comply with post ling processes. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory 2016 (number per year adjusted for electronic and contributions a medium size company must pay in a year, and measures joint ling and payment) the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with post ling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of ling Total number of taxes and contributions paid, and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply including consumption taxes (value added tax, with the requirements of post ling processes and time waiting. sales tax or goods and service tax) Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: Time required to comply with 3 major taxes - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January (hours per year) 1, 2015. It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes Collecting information, computing tax payable and contributions recorded are paid in the second year of operation Completing tax return, filing with agencies (calendar year 2016). Taxes and mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. Arranging payment or withholding Preparing separate tax accounting books, if The VAT refund process: required - In June 2016, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the Total tax and contribution rate (% of pro t before machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally all taxes) 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 per Profit or corporate income tax capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess Social contributions, labor taxes paid by input VAT incurred in June will be fully recovered after four consecutive employer months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, sales and the machine and Property and property transfer taxes the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will exceed Output VAT Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions in June 2016. taxes The corporate income tax audit process: Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect Post ling Index tax depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income Time to comply with a VAT refund tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily Time to receive a VAT refund noti ed the tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is Time to comply with a corporate income tax audit 5% of the corporate income tax liability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax Time to complete a corporate income tax audit return, but within the tax assessment period. Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Payments (number per year) 31 28.0 10.9 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Page 45   return, but within the tax assessment period. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Payments (number per year) 31 28.0 10.9 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Time (hours per year) 233 332.1 160.7 55 (Luxembourg) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 31.5 46.6 40.1 18.47% (32 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 95.00 47.50 83.45 99.38 (Estonia) Figure – Paying Taxes in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 86.70: United Kingdom (Rank: 23) 84.13: United States (Rank: 36) 78.09: Bahamas, The (Rank: 55) 71.90: Barbados (Rank: 89) 60.16: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 58.69: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 144) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores on the ease of paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the four component indicators – number of tax payments. time, total tax rate and post ling index – with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax rate. The nonlinear distance to frontier for the total tax rate is equal to the distance to frontier for the total tax rate to the power of 0.8. The threshold is de ned as the total tax 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 rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Figure – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 100 95.00 94.04 90 80 71.00 74.08 69.40 70 Index score 60 47.50 50 40 30 20 10 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The Total tax and Tax or mandatory Payments Notes on Time contribution rate (% Notes contribution (number) Payments (hours) Statutory tax rate Tax base of profit) on TTR Page 46   Business license fee 1 10 1.25% turnover 22.02 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 100 95.00 94.04 90 80 71.00 74.08 69.40 70 Index score 60 47.50 50 40 30 20 10 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The Total tax and Tax or mandatory Payments Notes on Time contribution rate (% Notes contribution (number) Payments (hours) Statutory tax rate Tax base of profit) on TTR Business license fee 1 10 1.25% turnover 22.02 Employer paid - Social 12 66 5.9% gross 6.34 security contributions salaries Property tax 1 1% and 2% market 1.58 value of property Stamp duty 1 2.5% sale price 0.76 Land Tax 1 $100 or 1.5% if land market 0.76 value is higher than value of $7000 land Vehicle tax 1 $195-$745 variable 0.03 Tax on check 1 $.40 /check 0.01 transactions Fuel tax 1 included 0.00 small into fuel amount price Employee paid - Social 0 jointly 3.9% gross 0.00 withheld security contributions salaries Value Added Tax (VAT) 12 157 7.5% Value 0.00 Not Added included Totals 31 233 31.5 Details – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Page 47   Profit tax (% of profit) 0.0 Totals 31 233 31.5 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 0.0 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 6.3 Other taxes (% of profit) 25.2 Details – Paying Taxes in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Post ling index (0-100) 95.00 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? Yes Restrictions on VAT refund process New VAT/GST system established in 2015 Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) 0% - 24% Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) 5.0 90 Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) 2.2 100 Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? No Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) Not applicable Time to comply with a corporate income tax audit (hours) No corporate No corporate income tax income tax Time to complete a corporate income tax audit (weeks) No corporate No corporate income tax income tax Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, pro t 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 post ling 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 audit and time to complete a corporate income tax audit. N/A = Not applicable. Trading across Borders Page 48   Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business a corporate income tax audit and time to complete a corporate income tax audit. N/A = Not applicable. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 tari s) 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 June 2017. See the methodology for more information. Given the importance of trade digitalization, in Doing Business 2018, the Trading across Borders questionnaire included research questions on the availability and status of implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Single Window (SW) systems. With this information, Doing Business built a comprehensive dataset on the adoption and level of sophistication of electronic platforms in 190 economies. These data are not used to compute the distance to frontier score or ranking of the ease of doing business. The new dataset on EDI and SW systems is available here. 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 Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 or border handling in origin economy days are recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are required by destination economy and any transit submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and economies can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance Covers all documents required by law and in would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 practice, including electronic submissions of hours. information Border compliance Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Customs clearance and inspections Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. than 20% of shipments) Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and Handling and inspections that take place at the are informed about exchange rates. economy’s port or border Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Domestic transport Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in the largest Loading or unloading of the shipment at the business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the warehouse or port/border largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each Transport between warehouse and port/border economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) Traffic delays and road police checks while from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each shipment is en route economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (de ned by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product and 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, airport 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 49   of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The government authorities. Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 36 62.5 12.7 0 (17 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 512 526.5 149.9 0.00 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance 12 53.3 2.4 1.0 (25 Economies) (hours) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 550 110.4 35.4 0.00 (19 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 51 64.4 8.7 0.00 (21 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 1385 684.0 111.6 0.00 (27 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance 6 79.9 3.5 1.0 (30 Economies) (hours) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 550 119.5 25.6 0.00 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 93.76: United Kingdom (Rank: 28) 92.01: United States (Rank: 36) 68.73: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 101) 68.71: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 61.88: Barbados (Rank: 129) 53.07: Bahamas, The (Rank: 157) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import (domestic transport is not used for calculating the ranking). Figure – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The – Time and Cost Time Cost 60 1600 51 1385 1400 50 1200 40 36 Time (hours) Cost (USD) 1000 30 800 512 550 550 600 20 12 400 10 6 200 0 0 Export - Border Compliance Export - Documentary Compliance Import - Border Compliance Import - Documentary Compliance Page 50   Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The – Time and Cost Time Cost 60 1600 51 1385 1400 50 1200 40 36 Time (hours) Cost (USD) 1000 30 800 512 550 550 600 20 12 400 10 6 200 0 0 Export - Border Compliance Export - Documentary Compliance Import - Border Compliance Import - Documentary Compliance Details – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The Characteristics Export Import Product HS 39 : Plastics and articles thereof HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor vehicles Trade partner United States United States Border Arawak Cay port Arawak Cay port Distance (km) 10 10 Domestic transport time (hours) 2 2 Domestic transport cost (USD) 320 325 Details – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete Associated Costs (hours) (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 3.5 415.0 Export: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Export: Port or border handling 33.0 97.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 15.0 1075.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Import: Port or border handling 51.0 310.0 Details – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The – Trade Documents Export Import Bill of Lading Bill of Lading Commercial Invoice Commercial Invoice Page 51   Domestic transport cost (USD) 320 325 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete Associated Costs (hours) (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 3.5 415.0 Export: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Export: Port or border handling 33.0 97.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 15.0 1075.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Import: Port or border handling 51.0 310.0 Details – Trading across Borders in Bahamas, The – Trade Documents Export Import Bill of Lading Bill of Lading Commercial Invoice Commercial Invoice Certificate of origin Manifest from the Shipping Line Importer Security Filing (ISF) Customs Import Declaration - Home Consumption entry C- 13 Packing List Cargo release order Customs Export Declaration - C30 Re-Export Entry for Imported SOLAS certificate Goods SOLAS certificate Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local rst-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and e ciency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract courts (calendar days) between 2 domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes Time to file and serve the case the case from simple debt enforcement. Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses Time to enforce the judgment several assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller courts (% of claim) and Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 Page 52   economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. Attorney fees SOLAS certificate Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local rst-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and e ciency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract courts (calendar days) between 2 domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes Time to file and serve the case the case from simple debt enforcement. Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses Time to enforce the judgment several assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller courts (% of claim) and Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 Attorney fees economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay. Court fees - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the Enforcement fees equivalent in local currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) - The seller requests a pretrial attachment to secure the claim. Case management (0-6) - The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion. Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable assets. Standardized Case Claim value BSD 44,131.00 Court name Nassau Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas City Covered Nassau Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Time (days) 532 767.1 577.8 164.00 (Singapore) Cost (% of claim value) 28.9 31.4 21.5 9.00 (Iceland) Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.0 8.4 11.0 15.50 (Australia) Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 72.61: United States (Rank: 16) 68.69: United Kingdom (Rank: 31) 68.11: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 33) Page 53   of judicial processes Quality Business Doing index (0-18) The 2018 Bahamas, 8.0 8.4 11.0 15.50 (Australia) Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 72.61: United States (Rank: 16) 68.69: United Kingdom (Rank: 31) 68.11: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 33) 59.43: Bahamas, The (Rank: 74) 53.13: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 38.02: Barbados (Rank: 167) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas, The – Time and Cost Time Cost 1600 45.7 50 1400 1340 Cost (% of claim value) 40 1200 31.4 30.5 Time (days) 1000 28.9 27.1 30 767.1 800 21.5 19.7 577.8 600 532 20 476 437 420 400 10 200 0 0 Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas, The Barbados Latin America & OECD high income United Kingdom United States Caribbean Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality the Bahamas 2 1 0.5 4.5 Antigua and Barbuda 2.5 3 1.5 4.5 United Kingdom 2 5 3.5 4.5 United States 2.5 4.7 2.2 4.4 Barbados 2 1 0.5 3 OECD high income 2.5 2.9 2 3.6 Latin America & Caribbean 2.4 2 0.9 3.5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Page 54   16 Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas, The Barbados Latin America & OECD high income United Kingdom United States Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality the Bahamas 2 1 0.5 4.5 Antigua and Barbuda 2.5 3 1.5 4.5 United Kingdom 2 5 3.5 4.5 United States 2.5 4.7 2.2 4.4 Barbados 2 1 0.5 3 OECD high income 2.5 2.9 2 3.6 Latin America & Caribbean 2.4 2 0.9 3.5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0­3) Case management (0­6) Court automation (0­4) Court structure and proceedings (­1­5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas, The Indicator Time (days) 532 Filing and service 7 Trial and judgment 345 Enforcement of judgment 180 Cost (% of claim value) 28.9 Attorney fees 18 Court fees 2.9 Enforcement fees 8 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 Case management (0-6) 1.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.5 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 Details – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Page 55   Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Enforcing Contracts in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? Yes 1.5 2. Small claims court 1.5 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? Yes 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? Yes 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 0.0 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? No 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 No granted? 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) No 0.0 time to disposition report; (ii) 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 Yes 1.0 competent court? 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court No 0.0 for use by judges? 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court No 0.0 for use by lawyers? Court automation (0-4) 0.5 1. Can the initial complaint be led electronically through a dedicated platform within No 0.0 the competent court? 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims led before the No 0.0 competent court? Page 56   1. Can the initial complaint be led electronically through a dedicated platform within No 0.0 Businesscourt? the competent Doing 2018 Bahamas, The 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims led before the No 0.0 competent court? 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.5 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the No general public through publication in o cial gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme Yes court level made available to the general public through publication in o cial gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 1. Arbitration 1.5 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or Yes consolidated chapter or 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 No order or public policy—that cannot be submitted to arbitration? 1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes 2. Mediation/Conciliation 0.5 2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? Yes 2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or No consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects? 2.c. Are there nancial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation (i.e., No if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court ling fees, income tax credits or the like)? 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 for the project was completed in June 2017. 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 Measured in calendar years used: Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) suppliers. The hotel experiences nancial di culties. Page 57   Measured as percentage of estate value - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court ling fees, income tax credits or the like)? Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The 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 for the project was completed in June 2017. 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 Measured in calendar years used: Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) suppliers. The hotel experiences nancial di culties. Measured as percentage of estate value - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent Court fees in local currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over Fees of insolvency administrators the hotel’s real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes Lawyers’ fees enough money to operate otherwise. Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees In addition, Doing Business evaluates the adequacy and integrity of the Other related fees existing legal framework applicable to liquidation and reorganization Outcome proceedings through the strength of insolvency framework index. The index tests whether economies adopted internationally accepted good Whether business continues operating as a going practices in four areas: commencement of proceedings, management of concern or business assets are sold piecemeal debtor’s assets, reorganization proceedings and creditor participation. 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) Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 63.5 30.8 71.2 93.1 (Norway) Time (years) 3.0 2.9 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Page 58   Cost (% of estate) 12.0 16.8 9.1 1.00 (Norway) Creditor participation index (0-4) Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Latin America & OECD high Indicator Bahamas, The Caribbean income Overall Best Performer Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 63.5 30.8 71.2 93.1 (Norway) Time (years) 3.0 2.9 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) 12.0 16.8 9.1 1.00 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 1 .. .. .. concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 6.0 7.2 12.1 15.00 (6 Economies) Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 91.07: United States (Rank: 3) 80.24: United Kingdom (Rank: 14) 69.79: Barbados (Rank: 34) 52.93: Bahamas, The (Rank: 64) 38.95: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 35.26: Antigua and Barbuda (Rank: 128) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The – Time and Cost Time Cost 3.5 16.8 18 3.0 3.0 15.0 2.9 16 3 14 2.5 12.0 Cost (% of estate) Time (years) 12 10.0 2 1.8 1.7 9.1 10 1.5 7.0 8 6.0 1.0 1.0 6 1 4 0.5 2 0 0 Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas, The Barbados Latin America & OECD high income United Kingdom United States Caribbean Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality the Bahamas 3 2 1 0 Page 59   Antigua and Barbuda 2 2 1 0 Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas, The Barbados Latin America & OECD high income United Kingdom United States Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Measure of Quality the Bahamas 3 2 1 0 Antigua and Barbuda 2 2 1 0 United Kingdom 5 3 2 1 United States 6 3 3 3 Barbados 4.5 2.5 3 1 OECD high income 5.4 2.8 2.3 1.9 Latin America & Caribbean 3.7 2.4 1.9 0.8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0­6) Commencement of proceedings index (0­3) Creditor participation index (0­4) Reorganization proceedings index (0­3) Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery Rate (cents on the dollar) 90 85.2 82.1 80 70 63.5 65.8 60 50 40 36.5 30.8 30 20 10 0 Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Details – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The Indicator Answer Explanation Proceeding receivership According to Section 139 of the Companies Act - Chapter 308, BizBank, as a debenture holder, is entitled to realize its security interest and appoint a receiver of any assets of a company pursuant to the instrument creating the debenture. After Mirage's default on payment, BizBank would initiate receivership by appointing a receiver to take charge of Mirage's business, receive the income deriving from the hotel property, pay the liabilities Page 60   Bahamas, The Antigua and Barbuda United Kingdom United States Barbados Latin America & Caribbean Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The Indicator Answer Explanation Proceeding receivership According to Section 139 of the Companies Act - Chapter 308, BizBank, as a debenture holder, is entitled to realize its security interest and appoint a receiver of any assets of a company pursuant to the instrument creating the debenture. After Mirage's default on payment, BizBank would initiate receivership by appointing a receiver to take charge of Mirage's business, receive the income deriving from the hotel property, pay the liabilities connected with the property and attempt sell Mirage as a going concern to maximize the return. Outcome going concern Yes, the hotel will continue operating as a going concern after the receiver will sell Mirage as a going concern to a third party. Time (in years) 3.0 A receivership procedure would take approximately 3 years in total. The delay is largely due to the time it takes to find a potential buyer in the market. The main procedural steps are as follows:- 1) Debenture holder realizes the security interest and appoints a receiver; 2) Holder gives notice within ten (10) days to the Registrar, causing the same to be filed at the Registry; 3) Receiver then sends notice to the company of its appointment; 4) Within fourteen (14) days after receipt of notice, a statement is prepared by the company and submitted to the receiver. Such statement pertains to the affairs of the company, pursuant to Section 151 of the Companies Act; 5) Receiver shall within two (2) months after receipt of statement, send a copy of the same to the Registrar, debenture holders etc.; 6) Within two (2) months after the expiration of twelve (12) months from the date of his appointment, the receiver will send to the Registrar, debenture holders etc. an abstract in the form approved by the Registrar. The said abstract will show the receiver's receipts and payments during the period of twelve months, as well as the aggregate amounts of his receipts and his payments during all preceding periods since his appointment. Cost (% of 12.0 The costs associated with the case would amount to approximately 12% of the value of the estate) debtor's estate. The main components of this total cost would be the attorney's fees (BSD 400-700/h, approximate 4% based on 3 year estimation), receiver fees (BSD 400-700/h, approximate 4% based on 3 year estimation), and fees for accountants, assessors, inspectors and other professionals (BSD 400-700/h, approximate 4% based on 3 year estimation). Recovery rate (cents on the 63.5 dollar) Details – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 6.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency (b) Debtor may 0.5 proceedings? le for liquidation only Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to le for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5 creditor may le for liquidation only Page 61   dollar) Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Resolving Insolvency in Bahamas, The – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 6.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency (b) Debtor may 0.5 proceedings? le for liquidation only Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to le for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5 creditor may le for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (c) Both (a) and 1.0 insolvency framework? (b) options are available, but only one of them needs to be complied with Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 3.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential No 0.0 goods and services to the debtor? Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome No 0.0 contracts? 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 Yes 1.0 after commencement of insolvency proceedings? Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (c) No priority is 0.0 assigned to post- commencement creditors Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 0.0 Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? N/A 0.0 Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization No 0.0 receive at least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors devided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization No 0.0 plan, does each class vote 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 No 0.0 appointment of the insolvency representative? Page 62   Creditor Doing participation Business 2018 index (0-4) Bahamas, The 1.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or No 0.0 appointment of the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial No 0.0 assets of the debtor? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request No 0.0 information from the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to Yes 1.0 decisions accepting or rejecting 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”. Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents the data for the labor market regulation indicators in an annex. The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business. Detailed data collected on labor market regulation are available on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/labor-market-regulation). The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions (i) whether xed-term contracts are prohibited for about the worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of xed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker: probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. Working hours - Is a full-time employee. (i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business: restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). day and for overtime work; (iv) whether nonpregnant - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest and nonnursing women can work same night hours business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second as men; (v) length of paid annual leave. largest business city. - Has 60 employees. Redundancy rules - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to rms that workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify are not party to them. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant bene ts than those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to bargaining agreements. 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 due when terminating a redundant worker. Job quality (i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for Page 63   work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice”. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents the data for the labor market regulation indicators in an annex. The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business. Detailed data collected on labor market regulation are available on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/labor-market-regulation). The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions (i) whether xed-term contracts are prohibited for about the worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of xed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker: probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. Working hours - Is a full-time employee. (i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business: restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). day and for overtime work; (iv) whether nonpregnant - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest and nonnursing women can work same night hours business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second as men; (v) length of paid annual leave. largest business city. - Has 60 employees. Redundancy rules - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to rms that workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify are not party to them. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant bene ts than those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to bargaining agreements. 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 due when terminating a redundant worker. Job quality (i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring; (ii) whether law mandates paid or unpaid maternity leave; (iii) length of paid maternity leave; (iv) whether employees on maternity leave receive 100% of wages; (v) availability of ve fully paid days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Details – Labor Market Regulation in Bahamas, The Answer Hiring Page 64   Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Details – Labor Market Regulation in Bahamas, The Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Maximum length of a single xed-term contract (months) No limit Maximum length of xed-term contracts, including renewals (months) No limit Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 867.5 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.3 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 0.0 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 5.0 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) 50.0 Restrictions on night work? No Whether nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work the same night hours as men Yes Restrictions on weekly holiday? No Restrictions on overtime work? No Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 10.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 10.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 15.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 11.7 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party noti cation if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party noti cation if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? No Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Page 65   Third-party Doing approval Business 2018 if nine workers are Bahamas, Thedismissed? No Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 2.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 2.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 2.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 2.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 2.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 10.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 20.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 10.7 Job quality Equal remuneration for work of equal value? No Gender nondiscrimination in hiring? Yes Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law? Yes Minimum length of maternity leave (calendar days)? 91.0 Receive 100% of wages on maternity leave? Yes Five fully paid days of sick leave a year? Yes Unemployment protection after one year of employment? Yes Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? 12.0 Business Reforms in Bahamas In the year ending June 1, 2017, 119 economies implemented 264 total reforms across the di erent areas measured by Doing Business. Doing Business has recorded more than 2,900 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are the reforms for Bahamas implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more di cult to do business. DB2018 Starting a Business: The Bahamas made starting a business easier by merging the processes of registering for a business license and registering for value added tax. Paying Taxes: The Bahamas made paying taxes less costly by decreasing the stamp duty on the sale of land. Labor Market Regulation: The Bahamas amended its legislation to introduce priority rules that apply to reemployment. DB2017 Page 66   Starting a Business: The Bahamas made starting a business easier by allowing local limited liability companies to register online. Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? 12.0 Doing Business 2018 Bahamas, The Business Reforms in Bahamas In the year ending June 1, 2017, 119 economies implemented 264 total reforms across the di erent areas measured by Doing Business. Doing Business has recorded more than 2,900 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are the reforms for Bahamas implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more di cult to do business. DB2018 Starting a Business: The Bahamas made starting a business easier by merging the processes of registering for a business license and registering for value added tax. Paying Taxes: The Bahamas made paying taxes less costly by decreasing the stamp duty on the sale of land. Labor Market Regulation: The Bahamas amended its legislation to introduce priority rules that apply to reemployment. DB2017 Starting a Business: The Bahamas made starting a business easier by allowing local limited liability companies to register online. On the other hand, The Bahamas made starting a business more costly by increasing the fees for registering a company name and incorporation. Registering Property: The Bahamas made registering property easier by reducing the cost of transferring a property. Paying Taxes: The Bahamas made paying taxes more complicated by introducing a value added tax. DB2016 Starting a Business: The Bahamas made starting a business more di cult by adding a requirement for value added tax (VAT) registration. Paying Taxes: The Bahamas made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the business license tax—though it also raised the wage ceiling used in calculating social security contributions. Trading across Borders: The Bahamas made trading across borders easier by fully implementing an electronic data interchange system, which reduced the time for preparation and submission of trade documents for both exporting and importing. DB2015 Dealing with Construction Permits: The Bahamas made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. Enforcing Contracts: The Bahamas made enforcing contracts easier by introducing new rules of civil procedure focused on streamlining and simplifying court proceedings and ensuring less costly resolution of disputes. DB2014 Registering Property: The Bahamas made transferring property easier by reducing the stamp duty. Resolving Insolvency: The Bahamas enhanced its insolvency process by implementing rules for the remuneration of liquidators, allowing voluntary liquidations and outlining clawback provisions for suspect transactions. DB2012 Registering Property: The Bahamas made transferring property more costly by increasing the applicable stamp duty fees. DB2009 Registering Property: The Bahamas reduced the time required for transferring property by introducing a computerized system at the Registry of Records. Page 67   Registering Property: The Bahamas reduced the time required for transferring property by introducing a computerized system at the Registry Doing of Records. Business 2018 Bahamas, The Page 68