Doing Business 2019 Fiji Economy Profile Fiji Page 1 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Economy Profile of Fiji Doing Business 2019 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality Page 2 Doing Business 2019 Fiji About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB) Page 3 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Ease of Doing Business in DB 2019 Rank Region East Asia & Pacific 190 1 Fiji Income Category Upper middle income 101 DB 2019 Ease of doing business score Population 905,502 0 100 City Covered Suva 61.15 DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score 0 100 85.24: Singapore (Rank: 2) 67.96: Indonesia (Rank: 73) 63.41: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 61.15: Fiji (Rank: 101) 60.12: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 108) 51.62: Marshall Islands (Rank: 150) Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100 represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. Rankings on Doing Business topics - Fiji 1 28 57 55 79 82 93 Rank 99 98 97 96 102 109 136 161 161 163 190 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 Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Fiji 100 80 77.57 73.39 72.45 71.86 71.02 67.72 Score 60 57.05 51.67 43.77 40 25.00 20 0 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Page 4 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Starting a Business This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. • Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) The business: • Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type city of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms • Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office. - Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are • Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave the home to register the also collected for the second largest business city. company - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). - Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity; • Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita. identification card - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade Time required to complete each procedure activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, (calendar days) liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes. • Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per capita. • Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot start on the same day) - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of • Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received The owners: • No prior contact with officials - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or • Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the • No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. law or commonly used in practice Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) • Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration or up to 3 months after incorporation Page 5 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Starting a Business - Fiji Standardized Company Legal form Private Limited Liability Company Paid-in minimum capital requirement FJD 0 City Covered Suva Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Procedure – Men (number) 11 6.8 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Men (days) 40 25.9 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 15.9 17.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Procedure – Women (number) 11 6.9 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Women (days) 40 26.0 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 15.9 17.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 4.0 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Starting a Business Score 0 100 98.23: Singapore (Rank: 3) 88.64: Marshall Islands (Rank: 75) 83.29: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 81.22: Indonesia (Rank: 134) 79.91: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 143) 73.39: Fiji (Rank: 161) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 6 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Figure – Starting a Business in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 40 12 35 Cost (% of income per capita) 10 30 8 Time (days) 25 20 6 15 4 10 2 5 0 0 1 2 3 *4 *5 6 7 *8 9 10 * 11 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 7 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Starting a Business in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Check the uniqueness of the proposed company name and reserve name 4 days FJD 50 for name Agency : Companies Registrar reservation + FJD 10 Company founders must first conduct a search of the Companies, Business for company name Names, and Trade Marks Register to ensure that the name applied for is not search + VAT confusingly similar (1–2 days). Computerized and manual search systems are both available. The Government of Fiji has introduced a website (www.egov.gov.fj) for all applications for name reservation to be made online in 2010. Hard copy applications are no longer accepted by the Registrar of Companies unless an online application is made first. Application fees for name reservation can be paid in person at the Registrar of Companies' Office or via the online portal at www.egov.gov.fj. Only MasterCards and VISA cards are accepted. Once the payment is completed online, hard copies of the payment confirmation and the name reservation approval are required to be submitted to the Companies Registry. If approved, the company name will be reserved for 30 days (with a one-time extension). Company incorporation documents must be lodged with the Registrar within this time. 2 Hire services of a lawyer to draft company documents 3 days FJD 1200 Agency : Lawyer Fees may vary from FJD 1,000 to FJD 2,000. In most cases lawyers and/or accountants still prepare most of the documents necessary to register a company. 3 Register the company with the Companies Registrar 7 days FJD 45 Agency : Companies Registrar Under the Companies Act 2015. The company is required to complete and lodge a Form A2 (under section 20 of the Act) together with the required fee which is FJD49.05 for private companies. Form A2 requires the company to provide details of the company, governance of the company, registered office, principal place of business, officeholders details, details of ultimate holding company, share structure details, details of its members. There is no longer a need for the company to have a Memorandum of Association under the 2015 Companies Act. A company is only required to have Articles of Association. It may adopt the standard articles from the Act or vary the standard articles provided in the Act. The company is still required to have a local tax identification number which can be obtained from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority in 1 day. 4 Register for Tax Identification Number (TIN) with FRCA 1 day (simultaneous no charge Agency : Fiji Revenue & Customs Service (FRCS) with previous To finish the registration process of a new business with the Registrar of procedure) Companies entrepreneurs must obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN) from FRCS. The procedure is as follows: 1 - The person must visit the Companies Office and fill the necessary form. The Companies office will stamp such form and will request the person to visit FRCS to obtain TIN. 2 - At FRCS, the person must fill in the TIN registration Form. A copy of the preliminary documents submitted to the Companies Office must be attached to the TIN Registration Form. The preliminary document refers to forms lodged at Companies Office and the Articles of Association. 3 - The FRCS will issue a standard letter confirming the TIN. 4 - The TIN must be supplied to the Companies Office that will facilitate the issue of the Certificate of Registration. 5 - The Registrar of Companies will send a copy of the Certificate of Registration to FRCS for updating of taxpayer records. 5 Receive inspection by FRCA 1 day (simultaneous no charge Agency : Fiji Revenue & Customs Service (FRCS) with previous By law, since December 2004, if VAT registration is required, the Fiji Revenue procedure) and Customs Service (FRCS) requires the inspection of the business premises. Since 2007, the inspection has been the practice as FRCS inspects that there is a physical office during business hours. Page 8 Doing Business 2019 Fiji 6 Submit the TIN number to the Companies Registry to obtain the final 1 day no charge Certificate of Registration Agency : Companies Registry New businesses must submit their TIN number to Companies Registry to obtain their final incorporation certificate. 7 Obtain the National Fire Authority Certificate (NFA) after inspection 10 days FJD 50-150 (VAT Agency : National Fire Authority excluded) depending The entrepreneur must request the NFA for an inspection of the business on the size of the premises. Once the request has been made, the NFA officials will inspect the business premises during opening hours of the business. If the NFA is satisfied with the results of the inspection, it will then issue a compliance certificate to the entrepreneur. Upon receipt of the compliance certificate from the NFA, the entrepreneur must conduct a fire safety training for its staff. The training takes 3 days. NFA officers can, for a fee, teach fire safety preventative and protection measures. The employees are trained to respond to a fire incident and how to use the fire safety equipment installed in the workplace. 8 Register for statutory training tax 3 days no charge Agency : Fiji National University (FNU) (simultaneous with Statutory training tax is 1% of payroll. The submission of these documents is previous procedure) done by mail. The Training and Productivity Authority at Fiji National University (FNU) will send the form by mail to the office of the new business. Once completed, the form will be mailed back to FNU. 9 Obtain the compliance letter from the Minister of Labour after inspection 3 days FJD 70-150 (FJD 50 Agency : Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment for inspection and Since November 2011, the OHS issues a letter of compliance to all type of FJD 2 per employee) businesses after an inspection of workers and non-workers in the workplace. In order to obtain this letter, the entrepreneur needs to submit: - NFA certificate - business registration certificate - TIN letter Three days after submitting the documents, the OHS inspects the business and if all the compliance requirements are met, the compliance letter is issued. The compliance letter then needs to be submitted to the Suva City Council in order to obtain the business license. 10 Apply for a business license from the relevant licensing authority (Suva 11 days FJD 300 City Council) Agency : Suva City Council The company must obtain a business license from the relevant licensing authority for each location it conducts business. This license is renewable annually. Depending on the activity, the fees range from FJD 100 to FJD 500. Register as an employer with the Fiji National Provident Fund 11 days no charge 11 Agency : Fiji National Provident Fund (simultaneous with New businesses must register as an employer with the Fiji National Provident previous procedure) Fund. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 9 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo): all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second • Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city. all necessary inspections - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a • Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or • Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion. (calendar days) The warehouse: • Does not include time spent gathering information - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of • Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 though procedures that can be fully completed meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately online are an exception to this rule 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the • Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further • No prior contact with officials documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted Cost required to complete each procedure (% of as procedures. income per capita) - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory requirements). • Official costs only, no bribes The water and sewerage connections: Building quality control index (0-15) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there • Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is • Quality control before construction (0-1) no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. • Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average • Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow 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 flow of 1,136 liters (300 • Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day. • Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Page 10 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Dealing with Construction Permits - Fiji Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse FJD 549,704.90 City Covered Suva Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Procedures (number) 15 15.1 12.7 None in 2017/18 Time (days) 141 133.5 153.1 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.5 1.9 1.5 None in 2017/18 Building quality control index (0-15) 7.0 9.1 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score 0 100 84.73: Singapore (Rank: 8) 71.23: Marshall Islands (Rank: 73) 70.71: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 67.72: Fiji (Rank: 102) 66.57: Indonesia (Rank: 112) 64.41: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 124) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value) 140 0.25 120 Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.2 100 Time (days) 0.15 80 60 0.1 40 0.05 20 0 0 1 2 *3 *4 5 6 *7 8 9 10 11 12 * 13 * 14 15 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 11 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 15 13.0 12.0 Index score 10.0 10 9.1 7.0 5 1.0 0 Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain a set of design requirements and conditions of development 1 day no charge Agency : Suva City Council The design requirements include lodging the engineer certified structural drawings to the City or Town Council, to the National Fire Authority and to the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA). The approval must be in writing. 2 Obtain project pre-approval from the National Fire Authority 21 days FJD 850 Agency : National Fire Authority (NAF) 4 copies of the building structural and architectural plans must be submitted. A form is completed by the architect (download from Internet) to request the approval of the safety structure of the building. Payment is made by check, cash or direct deposit. Once the inspection is done, the architect will collect 3 copies, all duly stamped by the NFA. 1 copy will be kept by NFA for their record. 3 Obtain project pre-approval from the Department of Occupational Health 7 days FJD 110 and Safety (OHS) Agency : Department of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) The cost is FJD 110.00 per hour of work. For the Doing Business case study, the agency would require 1 hour of work. 4 Obtain project pre-approval from the Water Authority of Fiji 7 days no charge Agency : Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) 5 Request and obtain development permission from the Suva City Council 20 days FJD 18 Agency : Suva City Council This application, also known as the town planning form, must be accompanied by general building plans (three copies), specifications and detailed structural drawings (two copies), and the locality plan (three copies). 6 Request and obtain building permit with the Suva City Council and pay 60 days FJD 1,253 building permit fee Agency : Suva City Council The application should be accompanied by the development permission (three copies), the locality plan (one copy), building plans (three copies), specifications (two copies), and copy of title plan. The plans are reviewed by the following Suva City Council staff: a structural engineer, civil engineer, health department, and city planner. The fee is paid at the time of permit application and is calculated on the project value: FJD 88.00 for construction projects of up to FJD 20,000.00 plus FJD 2.20 for every FJD 1,000.00, or part of thereof, in excess of FJD 20,000. In theory, Suva City Council carries out Procedures 3 -- 5, but in most cases, to expedite the process, the applicant visits the relevant authorities in person. 7 Submit the EIA screening application to the Department of Environment 7 days FJD 250 Agency : Department of Environment The form must have attached to it a locality plan sufficient to identify the land or premises to which the proposal relates and any other information, plans or drawings needed to describe the proposed development. 8 Notify the Engineering Department of Suva City Council about completion 1 day no charge of foundation work and receive inspection Agency : Suva City Council (Engineering Department) The inspection needs to be requested 1 day in advance and the inspectors come to inspect on the following day. It does not delay the construction process. Page 12 Doing Business 2019 Fiji 9 Notify the Engineering Department about setup of the structure and receive 1 day no charge inspection Agency : Suva City Council (Engineering Department) The inspection needs to be requested 1 day in advance and the inspectors come to inspect on the following day. It does not delay the construction process. 10 Notify the Engineering Department about completion of the roof and 1 day no charge receive inspection Agency : Suva City Council (Engineering Department) The inspection needs to be requested 1 day in advance and the inspectors come to inspect on the following day. It does not delay the construction process. 11 Notify the Engineering Department about completion of the project and 1 day no charge receive inspection Agency : Suva City Council (Engineering Department) 12 Receive final inspection from National Fire Authority 5 days no charge Agency : National Fire Authority (NAF) The NFA is notified by the architect one day before the final inspection is required. Inspections are carried out on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. The NFA will issue a report that must be submitted when requesting the final inspection by the City Council. There is no cost for the final inspection. NFA will inspect the building on an annual basis. Receive final inspection from local authority and obtain occupancy permit 3 days no charge 13 Agency : Local Authority Both the Engineering and Health Department will inspect the warehouse after construction. The request is done by phone 24 hours prior to the visit. This inspection is required for the certificate of completion. Several documents must be provided in order to receive the inspection report: 1. A letter from the plumber certifying that the plumbing is done in accordance with the law 2. Final report from the NFA 3. Letter from the architect 4. Letter from the electrician 5. Letter from the engineer who designed the structural plans Receive plumbing and sanitary inspection from Water Authority of Fiji 1 day no charge 14 (WAF) Agency : Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) This inspection is carried out during construction. The plumber and electrician must be present on the construction site, so that they can address any issues, if any. 15 Obtain water and sewage connection from Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) 30 days FJD 446 Agency : Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) The cost cited here is for commercial real estate. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 13 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Fiji – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 7.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 0.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) They must be 0.0 purchased; Not easily accessible. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 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) 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 construction? Inspections by in- 1.0 (0-2) house engineer; Inspections at 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 final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0 with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is done by government agency; Yes, in- house engineer submits report for final inspection. Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0 always occurs in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 1.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building No party is held 0.0 once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the law. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 1.0 structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain insurance ; Insurance is commonly taken in practice. Professional certifications index (0-4) 0.0 What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the Being a 0.0 architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) registered architect or engineer. What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction Being a 0.0 on the ground? (0-2) registered architect or engineer. Page 14 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are 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 data are receiving all necessary inspections 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 in an purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. • Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final supply - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet). (calendar days) The electricity connection: • Is at least 1 calendar day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed • Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 • Does not include time spent gathering kilowatt (kW). information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more • Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve follow-up and no prior contact with officials the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all Cost required to complete each procedure (% of carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property income per capita) because the warehouse has access to a road. - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has • Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or • Value added tax excluded switchboard and the meter base. The reliability of supply and transparency of The monthly consumption: tariffs index (0-8) - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 • Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that • Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. • Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest • Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance supplier. (0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation • Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used. • Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* • Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case study *Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing business score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 15 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Getting Electricity - Fiji Standardized Connection Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 20.3 Name of utility Energy Fiji Limited City Covered Suva Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Procedures (number) 4 4.3 4.5 3 (25 Economies) Time (days) 81 65.0 77.2 18 (3 Economies) Cost (% of income per capita) 1307.7 625.1 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 4 4.0 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies) index (0-8) Figure – Getting Electricity in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score 0 100 91.33: Singapore (Rank: 16) 86.38: Indonesia (Rank: 33) 78.03: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 72) 75.06: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 72.45: Fiji (Rank: 93) 59.47: Marshall Islands (Rank: 132) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity. Page 16 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Figure – Getting Electricity in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 80 1400 70 1200 Cost (% of income per capita) 60 1000 Time (days) 50 800 40 600 30 400 20 10 200 0 0 1 2 3 4 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 8 7 7 6 5.8 Index score 5 4 4 4.0 4 3 2 1 0 0 Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Page 17 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Getting Electricity in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Submit application to Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) and await site visit 7 calendar days FJD 0 Agency : Energy Fiji Limited An application for Permanent Permit & Power Supply form completed with all installation details is lodged in by an Electrical Contractor. Documents needed are: Title copy, application letter; Electrical Permit; ID of owner. The electrical contractor or consultant will submit a permit for electrical wiring (this permit is obtained during the Building permit process, and is a part of the Building Permit) and a cover letter detailing the electrical installation's maximum power demand. 2 Receive site visit from EFL and await estimate 46 calendar days FJD 0 Agency : Energy Fiji Limited A site visit is required to determine the shortest route for the network extension works and to do the load flow study to check the impact of the load growth to the end of line. Upon check that the voltage is within the limits stipulated by the EFL (Energy Fiji Limited) Grid Code, a copy of the result is forwarded to the Systems Protection & Control team. The latter team can then carry out the protection co- ordination and advise the switching team. A quotation for the capital works is sent to the potential customer. 3 Pay estimate and receive external works from EFL 21 calendar days FJD 138,378.65 Agency : Energy Fiji Limited EFL opens a job file which is then sent to the Finance department and supply team to check if all materials are available. The utility conducts all external connection works, including the installation of the pad mounted transformer and service cables. Upon payment receipt, an acknowledgement is made to the customer who is reminded of the progress in the construction. The EFL's team will prepare a project execution file which will comprise of all copies of the correspondences, the payment details, the project drawing with the single line drawing, the flood-flow detail and the project estimate with the bill of materials, and the project cost. The job file once approved & bill of material confirmed is sent to the Distribution Projects Manager to co-ordinate the necessary switching co-ordination and then implementing the actual work and commissioning of the power supply to the extended grid. A formal request is then sent back to the Design team of the commissioning of supply to the new grid. The design team will then process the "Application for Permit & Power Supply form" (which was kept in the scheme file until capital works is completed). The connection fees and two months' security deposit is mentioned on the approved form for the client to pay. This form is then sent to the Regulatory team to co- ordinate electrical wiring works inspection & connections for supply from the grid to installation. 4 Receive internal wiring inspection, meter installation and turn-on of 7 calendar days FJD 5,387.66 electricity Agency : Energy Fiji Limited EFL installs the meter, does all the final connections to the utility mains, and turns on electricity. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 18 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Getting Electricity in Fiji – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 4 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 1 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 7.5 System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 6.0 What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 5.0 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of No supply? Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages No exceed a certain cap? Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1 Are effective tariffs available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online http://www.fea.com.fj /your- business/electricity- tariffs-and- rates/maximum- demand-tariffs/ Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes Note: If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index. If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Page 19 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. • Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller): checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 • Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. business city. - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. • Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities. Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller): (calendar days) - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. • Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller. information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past • Each procedure starts on a separate day - 10 years. though procedures that can be fully completed - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 • Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is document is received located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no • No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety. property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. • Official costs only (such as administrative fees, - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of duties and taxes). any kind. - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for • Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural payments are excluded activities, are required. - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Quality of land administration index (0-30) • Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) • Transparency of information index (0–6) • Geographic coverage index (0–8) • Land dispute resolution index (0–8) • Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Page 20 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Registering Property - Fiji Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Procedures (number) 4 5.4 4.7 1 (4 Economies) Time (days) 69 72.6 20.1 1 (New Zealand) Cost (% of property value) 3.0 4.5 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 19.5 16.3 23.0 None in 2017/18 Figure – Registering Property in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Registering Property Score 0 100 83.14: Singapore (Rank: 21) 71.86: Fiji (Rank: 57) 61.67: Indonesia (Rank: 100) 57.56: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 56.21: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 121) 0.00: Marshall Islands (Rank: 187) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Registering Property in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 3.5 60 3 Cost (% of property value) 50 2.5 Time (days) 40 2 30 1.5 20 1 10 0.5 0 0 1 2 *3 4 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 21 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Figure – Registering Property in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 30 28.5 25 Index score 19.5 20 16.3 14.5 15 10 5.5 5 0 No Practice Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Details – Registering Property in Fiji – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Carry out titles searches at the Titles Office 1 day FJD 5.5; (50-60 cents Agency : Office of the Registrar of Titles per copy (10 copies The title search is carried out in the Office of the Registrar of Titles manually. required)) Counter clerks perform search of needed information through volumes of data. The originals are never given, the counter clerks photocopy the originals and charge only for making copies (around 50-60 cents). The Procedure takes between a couple of hours and up to several days if the necessary document got lost or replaced in the archives. 2 Present transfer documents for stamping at the Stamp Duties Office and 7 days FJD 16,491.15; (3.0% pay stamp duty of property value Agency : Stamp Duties Office (stamp duty) for Fiji The transfer documents are submitted together with copies of the title for nationals, 10% for stamping and payment of 3.0% tax at the Stamp Duties Office which is based foreigners) within the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority (FRCA) office. 3 The seller submits documents to FRCA to obtain the Capital Gains Tax 7 days no charge Clearance Certificate Agency : Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority (FRCA) The seller needs to register and obtain a Capital Gains Tax Clearance Certificate from FRCA confirming either that CGT has been paid, or satisfactory arrangement for payment of the tax has been made, or no tax is payable. The seller needs to submit the following documents: a) CGT Declaration form (which is available at the following link from the FRCA website: http://www.frca.org.fj/docs/forms/2011/IRS228%20CGT%20Statutory%20Declara tion.pdf) (b) CGT Return form (which is available at the following link from the FRCA website: http://www.frca.org.fj/docs/forms/2011/IRS230-CGT%20Return.pdf) (c) copy of the certificate of title (d) copy of the last registered transfer of the subject property in favour of the seller (e) copy of the stamped transfer of the property from the seller to the buyer It would be advisable to attach documentary evidence of all claims in respect of the ‘cost of the property’ so that there is timely processing of the application for CGT Clearance Certificate by FRCA. Where documentary evidence is not available, letters could be written or statutory declarations could be provided to FRCA to explain the reasons for non-availability of the required documents. This would assist FRCA to process and issue of the CGT Clearance Certificate. Where CGT is payable and the seller does not have the funds to pay the CGT, arrangements could be made with FRCA for issue of the CGT Clearance Certificate based on an undertaking from the seller’s lawyer to FRCA to the effect that the lawyer will hold the sale proceeds in the trust account and will pay the CGT to FRCA before paying the balance sale proceeds to the seller. Page 22 Doing Business 2019 Fiji 4 Settlement takes place at the Registrar of Titles Office 60 days FJD 11.5 Agency : Office of the Registrar of Titles (ROT) Parties meet at the Registrar of Titles Office for settlement. They first double check encumbrances on the property and then exchange the titles for the payment. When this formality is accomplished, they submit the transfer documents for registration. The registration fee (FDJ 11.5 for properties over FDJ 100,000 + VAT of 9.0%) is paid. The Registrar of Titles must not register an instrument for the transfer of a capital asset unless the seller or the purchaser furnishes the Registrar with a CGT Clearance Certificate confirming that CGT has been paid or satisfactory arrangement for payment of the tax has been made or no tax is payable. It is possible that some new mortgages might still be in "the pipeline" and are not yet recorded on the property at the settlement (the mortgage has been submitted in the registry, but it has not been inscribed yet). To avoid finding later about a mortgage on the property, it is possible to request a "guaranteed search" (under section 30, 31 and 32 of the Land Transfer act) where the registry checks and certifies that there are no other mortgages registered. Under the Land Transfer Act Amendment Decree No. 34 of 2011, the Registrar of Titles now requires certified copies of any one of the following Identifications of both parties to be lodged with the Transfer: (a) letter from FRCA confirming the Tax Identification Number (for individuals and companies) or (b) certified true copy of the Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Name Change (for companies only) or (c) Passport bio data page (for individuals only) or (d) Driving licence (for individuals only). Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 23 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Registering Property in Fiji – Measure of Quality Answer Score Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 4.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Registrar of Titles In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a Paper 0.0 paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions No 0.0 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—in a Computer/Fully 2.0 paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? digital Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing Yes 1.0 cadastral information (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral Separate 0.0 or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases databases? Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the Yes 1.0 same identification number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 1.5 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable Anyone who 1.0 property registration in the largest business city? pays the official fee Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made No 0.0 publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of No 0.0 immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally No 0.0 binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration? Contact information: Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the No 0.0 immovable property registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2017: Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who 0.5 pays the official fee Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— Yes, 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 specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Page 24 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 8.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property Yes 2.0 registry? Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the Yes 2.0 immovable property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? Yes 2.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? Yes 2.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 6.0 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable Yes 1.5 property registry to make them opposable to third parties? Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5 Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0 engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by the immovable property registry? Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property Yes 0.5 transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Lawyer; Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5 transaction? If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar; Lawyer; Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? Yes 1.0 For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property High Court worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance? How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a Between 1 and 2 2.0 case (without appeal)? years Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance? No 0.0 Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2017: Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Page 25 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of • Rights of borrowers and lenders through indicators. The depth of credit information index measures rules and practices collateral laws (0-10) affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available • Protection of secured creditors’ rights through through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index bankruptcy laws (0-2) measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first Depth of credit information index (0–8) determined whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case • Scope and accessibility of credit information scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory security distributed by credit bureaus and credit registries interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Special emphasis (0-8) is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) secured lender, BizBank. • Number of individuals and firms listed in largest In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case credit bureau as a percentage of adult population A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions Credit registry coverage (% of adults) relating to the use of movable collateral. • Number of individuals and firms listed in credit Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) registry as a percentage of adult population 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. Page 26 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Getting Credit - Fiji Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 5 7.1 6.1 12 (5 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 4.2 6.7 8 (42 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0 16.9 21.8 100.0 (4 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0 23.0 65.3 100.0 (25 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Credit Score 0 100 75.00: Singapore (Rank: 32) 70.00: Indonesia (Rank: 44) 70.00: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 44) 56.40: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 50.00: Marshall Islands (Rank: 99) 25.00: Fiji (Rank: 161) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their scores for getting credit. These scores are the sum of the scores for the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Figure – Legal Rights in Fiji and comparator economies 10 9 8 8 7.1 7 6 6 Index Score 5 5 4 3 2 1 0 Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Page 27 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Legal Rights in Fiji Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 5 Does an integrated or unified 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 specific description of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a Yes specific description of collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and Yes replacements of the original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be Yes 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 unified geographically and by No 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 performed No online by any interested third party? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency No procedure? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization No procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time limit for it? Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow Yes 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 Fiji and comparator economies 8 8 7 7 6 Index Score 5 5 4.2 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Page 28 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Credit Information in Fiji Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit Credit Score bureau registry Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? No No 0 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? No No 0 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and No No 0 financial institutions - distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries No No 0 that distribute more than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.) Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? No No 0 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or No No 0 credit registry? Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online No No 0 (for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help No No 0 banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Total 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 Page 29 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. 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 - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock of minority shareholders to sue and hold exchange. If there are fewer than ten listed companies or if there is no stock interested directors liable for prejudicial related- exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with party transactions; Available legal remedies multiple shareholders. (damages, disgorgement of profits, fines, - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on imprisonment, rescission of the transaction) behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. • Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. Access to internal corporate documents; James appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members. Evidence obtainable during trial and allocation of - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum legal expenses requirements. Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory. • Extent of conflict of interest regulation index - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. (0–10): Simple average of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of The transaction involves the following details: shareholder indices - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two • Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): directors to Buyer’s five-member board. Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail decisions hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. • Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Governance safeguards protecting shareholders Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price from undue board control and entrenchment is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not • Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): outside the authority of the company. Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all compensation, audits and financial prospects required disclosures made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently. • Extent of shareholder governance index (0– - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the 10): Simple average of the extent of shareholders executives and directors that approved the transaction. rights, extent of ownership and control and extent of corporate transparency indices • Strength of minority investor protection index (0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent of shareholder governance indices Page 30 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Protecting Minority Investors - Fiji Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0 5.6 6.5 10 (13 Economies) Extent of director liability index (0-10) 8.0 4.9 5.3 10 (Cambodia) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7.0 6.7 7.3 10 (Djibouti) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 5.0 5.6 6.4 10 (Kazakhstan) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 4.0 4.0 5.4 None in 2017/18 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 5.0 5.3 7.6 10 (6 Economies) Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Protecting Minority Investors Score 0 100 80.00: Singapore (Rank: 7) 63.33: Indonesia (Rank: 51) 55.00: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 89) 53.33: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 51.67: Fiji (Rank: 99) 26.67: Marshall Islands (Rank: 180) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Fiji 5 8 2 4 5 7 Indonesia 7 5 10 7 7 2 Marshall Islands 2 0 2 1 3 8 Papua New Guinea 4 5 5 2 8 9 Singapore 8 9 10 5 7 9 OECD high income 7.4 5.5 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4 East Asia & Pacific 5.7 4.6 6.2 4.2 5.8 6.2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) Extent of director liability index (0-10) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) Page 31 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Fiji – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-10) 5.7 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0 Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) CEO alone 0.0 Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James disclose his conflict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Full disclosure of 2.0 all material facts Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Extent of director liability index (0-10) 8.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the Yes 1.0 transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0- Liable if unfair or 2.0 2) prejudicial Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Liable if unfair or 2.0 Buyer (0-2) prejudicial 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 profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by Yes 1.0 shareholders? (0-1) Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Voidable if 1.0 negligently concluded Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7.0 Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0 transaction documents? (0-1) Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying Yes 1.0 specific ones? (0-1) Can the plaintiff 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 plaintiffs recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) At the discretion 0.0 of the court Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 4.7 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 5.0 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of Yes 1.0 shareholders? Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? Yes 1.0 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new No 0.0 shares? Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Page 32 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected Yes 1.0 shares approve? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require No 0.0 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 or almost all members consent to add a No 0.0 new member? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member first offer to sell their interest to No 0.0 the existing members before they can sell to non-members? Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 4.0 Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson 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 end Yes 1.0 of their term? Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board Yes 1.0 members? Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of No 0.0 Buyer? 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? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer have a mechanism to resolve Yes 1.0 disagreements among members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to No 0.0 all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute profits within a maximum No 0.0 period set by law? Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 5.0 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%? No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and 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 meeting Yes 1.0 agenda? Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? Yes 1.0 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 the No 0.0 meeting agenda? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual financial statements be Yes 1.0 audited by an external auditor? Page 33 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2017 (January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017). 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 contributions a 2017 (number per year adjusted for electronic medium size company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden and joint filing and payment) of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax • Total number of taxes and contributions paid or laws, time taken to comply with the requirements of postfiling processes and time withheld, including consumption taxes (value waiting. added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax) • Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2016. Time required to comply with 3 major taxes It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes and contributions (hours per year) recorded are paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2017). Taxes and • Collecting information, computing tax payable mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. • Preparing separate tax accounting books, if The VAT refund process: required - In June 2017, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the • Completing tax return, filing with agencies machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are • Arranging payment or withholding equally expensed per month (875 times income per capita divided by 12). The Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurred in June will be fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, profits) sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will • Profit or corporate income tax exceed Output VAT in June 2017. • Social contributions, labor taxes paid by The corporate income tax audit process: employer - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax • Property and property transfer taxes depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an • Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. taxes discovered the error and voluntarily notified the tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax liability • Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. Postfiling Index • Time to comply with a VAT refund (hours) • Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) • Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) • Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) Page 34 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Paying Taxes - Fiji Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Payments (number per year) 38 21.2 11.2 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Time (hours per year) 247 180.9 159.4 49 (Singapore) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 32.2 33.5 39.8 26.1% (32 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 81.62 56.42 84.41 None in 2017/18 Figure – Paying Taxes in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Paying Taxes Score 0 100 91.58: Singapore (Rank: 8) 76.21: Marshall Islands (Rank: 70) 72.98: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 71.02: Fiji (Rank: 98) 68.70: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 111) 68.03: Indonesia (Rank: 112) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their scores for paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators, with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax and contribution rate. The threshold is defined as the total tax and contribution rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a total tax and contribution rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Figure – Paying Taxes in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 100 81.62 80 77.35 68.82 71.97 Index score 60 56.42 40 20 0 Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Page 35 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Paying Taxes in Fiji Tax or Payments Notes on Time Statutory Tax base Total tax Notes on mandatory (number) Payments (hours) tax rate and TTCR contribution contribution rate (% of profit) Corporate 4.0 49.0 20% taxable profit 19.10 income tax Employer 12.0 101.0 10% gross salaries 11.28 paid - Superannuati on fund (Social security contributions) Employer 2.0 1% gross salaries 1.13 paid - Training levy Capital gains 1.0 10% capital gains 0.51 tax tax on interest 0.0 10% interest 0.26 included in income income other taxes Fringe Benefit 4.0 25% fringe benefit 0.17 Tax Property tax 1.0 2% assessed 0.06 property value Employee 0.0 jointly 8% gross salaries 0.00 withheld paid - Superannuati on fund (Social security contributions) Municipal 1.0 fixed fee 0.00 small amount business license Value added 12.0 97.0 15% value added 0.00 not included tax (VAT) Vehicle tax 1.0 type and use 0.00 small amount of vehicle Totals 38 247 32.2 Page 36 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Paying Taxes in Fiji – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 19.6 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 12.6 Other taxes (% of profit) 0.1 Page 37 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Paying Taxes in Fiji – Measure of Quality Answer Score Postfiling index (0-100) 81.62 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? Yes Restrictions on VAT refund process None Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) 50% - 74% Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) 12.0 76 Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) 18.9 69.73 Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? Yes Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) 0% - 24% Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) 12.0 80.73 Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) No tax audit per 100 case study scenario Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, profit tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate income tax in this table. The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable. The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general. The postfiling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction. N/A = Not applicable. Page 38 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are or border handling in origin economy recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency required by destination economy and any transit at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. economies The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours. • Covers all documents required by law and in practice, including electronic submissions of Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are information excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors Border compliance are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector • Customs clearance and inspections experts in international trade logistics and are informed about exchange rates. • Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% of shipments) Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a • Handling and inspections that take place at the warehouse in the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a economy’s port or border warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS Domestic transport 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest • Loading or unloading of the shipment at the value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the warehouse or port/border product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its • Transport between warehouse and port/border natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. • Traffic delays and road police checks while - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import shipment is en route 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 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 39 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Trading across Borders - Fiji Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 56 54.7 12.5 1 (19 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 317 382.2 139.1 0 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) 56 57.6 2.4 1 (26 Economies) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 76 109.4 35.2 0 (20 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 42 69.2 8.5 0 (25 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 320 415.8 100.2 0 (28 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) 34 57.0 3.4 1 (30 Economies) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 58 109.5 24.9 0 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Trading Across Borders Score 0 100 89.57: Singapore (Rank: 45) 78.86: Marshall Islands (Rank: 75) 77.57: Fiji (Rank: 79) 71.55: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 67.27: Indonesia (Rank: 116) 60.47: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 140) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import. Figure – Trading across Borders in Fiji – Time and Cost Time (hours) Cost (USD) 60 56 317 56 320 350 50 300 42 Time (hours) 250 Cost (USD) 40 34 200 30 150 20 76 100 58 10 50 0 0 Export Export Import Import - - - - Border Documentary Border Documentary Compliance Compliance Compliance Compliance Page 40 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Trading across Borders in Fiji Characteristics Export Import Product HS 17 : Sugars and sugar confectionery HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor vehicles Trade partner United Kingdom Australia Border Suva port Suva port Distance (km) 10 10 Domestic transport time (hours) 2 2 Domestic transport cost (USD) 179 179 Details – Trading across Borders in Fiji – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required 12.5 78.3 by customs authorities Export: Clearance and inspections required 11.5 0.0 by agencies other than customs Export: Port or border handling 32.0 238.3 Import: Clearance and inspections required 31.3 78.3 by customs authorities Import: Clearance and inspections required 0.0 0.0 by agencies other than customs Import: Port or border handling 24.0 241.5 Page 41 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Trading across Borders in Fiji – Trade Documents Export Import Bill of lading Bill of lading Commercial invoice Cargo release order Customs Export Declaration Commercial invoice Inspection report and health certificate Customs import declaration Packing list Foreign exchange authorization Terminal handling receipt Packing list Phytosanitary certificate Technical standard/health certificate SOLAS certificate Terminal handling receipts Customs release note SOLAS certificate Page 42 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. 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 between 2 courts (calendar days) domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt • Time to file and serve the case enforcement. • Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses several • Time to enforce the judgment assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and courts (% of claim) Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. • Attorney fees - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are • Court fees not of adequate quality. - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local • Enforcement fees currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. • Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) - The seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets 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. Page 43 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Enforcing Contracts - Fiji Standardized Case Claim value FJD 20,657 Court name Suva Magistrates Court City Covered Suva Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Time (days) 397 581.1 582.4 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of claim value) 42.6 47.2 21.2 None in 2017/18 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.5 7.9 11.5 None in 2017/18 Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Enforcing Contracts Score 0 100 84.53: Singapore (Rank: 1) 57.05: Fiji (Rank: 97) 55.93: Marshall Islands (Rank: 103) 52.75: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 47.23: Indonesia (Rank: 146) 36.21: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 173) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Fiji – Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of claim value) 700 110.3 120 Cost (% of claim value) 616 591 581.1 582.4 600 100 Time (days) 500 397 403 70.3 80 400 60 300 47.2 42.6 32.1 164 25.8 40 200 21.2 100 20 0 0 East Fiji Indonesia Marshall OECD Papua Singapore Asia Islands high New & income Guinea Pacific Page 44 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Fiji 2 2 0.5 3 Indonesia 2.5 1.8 0.6 3 Marshall Islands 2.5 2 0.5 3 Papua New Guinea 2 1.5 1 4 Singapore 2.5 4.5 4 4.5 OECD high income 2.5 3.1 2.3 3.6 East Asia & Pacific 2.2 1.9 1.3 3 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Case management (0-6) Court automation (0-4) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Fiji Indicator Time (days) 397 Filing and service 36 Trial and judgment 206 Enforcement of judgment 155 Cost (% of claim value) 42.6 Attorney fees 28.6 Court fees 4 Enforcement fees 10 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 3.0 Case management (0-6) 2.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.5 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 Page 45 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Enforcing Contracts in Fiji – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 3.0 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? No 0.0 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) 2.0 1. Time standards 1.0 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil Yes case? 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? Yes 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? Yes 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be 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) time to No 0.0 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 No 0.0 competent court? 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for Yes 1.0 use by judges? 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for No 0.0 use by lawyers? Court automation (0-4) 0.5 1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the no 0.0 competent court? 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed 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 official 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 official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 1. Arbitration 1.5 Page 46 Doing Business 2019 Fiji 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 financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation No (i.e., if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income tax credits or the like)? Page 47 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used: • Measured in calendar years • Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotel experiences financial difficulties. Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local estate) currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s • Measured as percentage of estate value real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to • Court fees operate otherwise. • Fees of insolvency administrators In addition, Doing Business evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to • Lawyers’ fees judicial liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best • Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees insolvency practices have been implemented in each economy covered. • Other related fees Outcome • Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal Recovery rate for creditors • Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors • Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered • Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted • Depreciation of furniture is taken into account • Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) • Sum of the scores of four component indices: • Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) • Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) • Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) • Creditor participation index (0-4) Page 48 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Resolving Insolvency - Fiji Indicator Fiji East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory Pacific income Performance Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 46.5 35.5 70.5 None in 2017/18 Time (years) 1.8 2.6 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) 10.0 20.6 9.3 1.0 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0 .. .. .. concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 6.0 6.8 11.9 None in 2017/18 Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Fiji and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Resolving Insolvency Score 0 100 9.19: Marshall Islands (Rank: 167) 74.33: Singapore (Rank: 27) 67.89: Indonesia (Rank: 36) 43.77: Fiji (Rank: 96) 40.40: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific) 32.28: Papua New Guinea (Rank: 142) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Fiji – Time and Cost Time (years) Cost (% of estate) 3.5 38.0 40 3.0 35 Cost (% of estate) 3 2.6 30 Time (years) 2.5 21.6 2.0 23.0 25 2 20.6 1.8 1.7 20 1.5 1.1 15 1 10.0 9.3 0.8 10 0.5 4.0 5 0 0 East Fiji Indonesia Marshall OECD Papua Singapore Asia Islands high New & income Guinea Pacific Page 49 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Fiji and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Fiji 2 2 2 0 Indonesia 5 3 2 0.5 Marshall Islands 0 Papua New Guinea 3 2 1 0 Singapore 4 3 1 0.5 OECD high income 5.3 2.8 2.2 1.9 East Asia & Pacific 3.6 2.3 1.2 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Fiji and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery rate(cents on the dollar) 100 88.8 80 65.2 60 46.5 40 35.5 25.1 20 17.1 0 Fiji Indonesia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Singapore East Asia & Pacific Page 50 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Resolving Insolvency in Fiji Indicator Answer Score Proceeding receivership After Mirage's default, BizBank will file an application to appoint a receiver as the debenture holder. The court would then appoint an official receiver, who would collect statement of affairs, finalize creditors' claims, and try to sell Mirage's business as a going concern. Sale proceeds will be paid to Mirage then. This is the most likely in-court procedure in Fiji. Outcome piecemeal sale No, the hotel will stop operating and Mirage assets will be sold piecemeal as a result of the receivership proceeding. In Fiji, businesses do not generally continue to operate as a going concern at the end of the proceedings. Time (in years) 1.8 It takes 1.8 years from Mirage's default until BizBank is repaid some of the money owed to it through the receivership proceeding. The delay in the completion of receivership is resulted from the advertisement of the sale and execution of the sale. Cost (% of 10.0 The costs associated with the receivership case would amount to approximately 10% of the value estate) of the debtor's estate (FJD 754,782). Costs incurred mainly include court or government agency fees (FJD 400), attorney fees (FJD 2,500), costs of notification and publication (FJD 200), variable receiver fees, variable fees of accountants, assessors, inspectors and other professionals, and variable fees of auctioneers. Recovery rate 46.5 (cents on the dollar) Page 51 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Details – Resolving Insolvency in Fiji – 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 proceedings? (b) Debtor may 0.5 file for liquidation only Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5 creditor may file for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (a) Debtor is 1.0 insolvency framework? generally unable to pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 2.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods No 0.0 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 after No 0.0 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 receive at No 0.0 least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, No 0.0 does each class vote separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? Creditor participation index (0-4) 2.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or Yes 1.0 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 information No 0.0 from the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions Yes 1.0 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.” Page 52 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents detailed data for the labor market regulation indicators on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-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 - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. same night hours as men; (v) length of paid annual - Has 60 employees. leave. - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them. Redundancy rules - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify agreements. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments 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 five fully paid days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Page 53 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Labor Market Regulation - Fiji Details – Labor Market Regulation in Fiji Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) No limit Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) No limit Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 293.4 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.5 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 3.0 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 6.0 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 4.3 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) 10.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 10.0 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? No Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Priority rules for reemployment? No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 4.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 1.0 Page 54 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 5.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 10.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 5.3 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)? 84.0 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? No Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? n.a. Page 55 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Business Reforms in Fiji In the past year, Doing Business observed a peaking of reform activity worldwide. From June 2, 2017, to May 1, 2018, 128 economies implemented a record 314 regulatory reforms improving the business climate. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business. DB2017 Starting a Business: Fiji made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to start a business. Fiji also made starting a business less costly by reducing fees at the business registrar. Getting Credit: The credit bureau in Fiji suspended operations making it more difficult to gain access to credit information. Protecting Minority Investors: Fiji strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater disclosure requirements for related- party transactions. DB2014 Paying Taxes: Fiji made paying taxes more complicated for companies by transferring the fringe benefit tax liability from employees to employers and by limiting the deductibility of mandatory contributions. DB2013 Starting a Business: Fiji made starting a business more difficult by requiring new companies applying for a business license to obtain a certificate from the national fire authority and a letter of compliance from the Ministry of Labor. Dealing with Construction Permits: Fiji made obtaining a construction permit more expensive by implementing a fee for the fire department clearance. Registering Property: Fiji made transferring property more difficult by requiring parties to a property transaction to obtain a capital gains tax clearance certificate from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority. Paying Taxes: Fiji made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the profit tax rate. At the same time, Fiji introduced capital gains tax. DB2012 Starting a Business: Fiji made starting a business more difficult by adding a requirement to obtain a tax identification number when registering a new company. DB2011 Trading across Borders: Fiji made trading easier by opening customer care service centers and improving customs operations. DB2010 Paying Taxes: Fiji made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate—though it also imposed a road user levy on all vehicles. DB2009 Dealing with Construction Permits: Fiji made dealing with construction permits more difficult through new regulations that added new procedures related to health, fire safety, and water and sewerage connections. Labor Market Regulation: Fiji introduced a requirement to notify third parties in cases of redundancy dismissals and implemented a severance payment obligation. DB2008 Enforcing Contracts: Fiji made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a new case management system that has improved court operations. Page 56 Doing Business 2019 Fiji Page 57