Press Release

Afghanistan Central Business Registry Opens in Mazari Sharif

Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan  | Thursday, October 01, 2009

Photo: U.S. Embassy/Kabul

From left to right, Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne, Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul; Khan Jan Alekozay, Deputy Chairman of ACCI; Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industry Wahidullah Shahrani; William M. Frej, Mission Director for USAID Afghanistan; and Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor cut the ribbon on the new Mazari Sharif branch of the Afghanistan Central Business Registry.

Today, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry opened the second provincial Central Business Registry Office in Mazar City of Balkh Province. The new office provides businesses with the opportunity to complete all steps of the registration process in one location. 

“MoCI is working as a policy maker, regulator and facilitator. These are clearly the areas where we demonstrated our commitment and have produced positive and significant results.  One of these areas is the development of an Afghanistan Central Business Registry (ACBR).  We established an efficient ACBR in Kabul and Jalalabad, and now Mazar, and an effective and practical relationship with our private sector customers,” said His Excellency Wahidullah Shahrani, Minister of Commerce and Industry. “This service is provided for entrepreneurs forming a business. This process that used to take several days has been reduced to few hours and has resulted in greater transparency, reduced corruption, and increased efficiency.”

Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor welcomed the new office and added, “The establishment of the Central Business Registry in the city of Mazari Sharif will make it easier for those businesses that had to wait more than two weeks or travel to Kabul to register.”

The U.S. Embassy’s Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs, Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne also attended the event and offered remarks.  “Small and medium businesses are the backbone of economic growth in many developing economies, and I am glad that Afghanistan is creating institutions that allow such businesses to legally register and thrive,” said  Ambassador Wayne. “The United States is proud to support the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in removing obstacles to doing business and creating a healthy business environment in Afghanistan.”

All Afghan investors and traders are required by law to be registered, to obtain a tax identification number (TIN), and to be published in the official gazette.  They can now complete most of these steps at the Central Business Registry in Mazari Sharif. The new computerized registry system helps to bring Afghanistan’s business registration practices up to international standards.  It is one more step that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is taking to expand and support Afghan businesses in the country’s provinces.

The registration fee is now 500 AFN ($10), replacing the previous fee of 2.5% of initial capital, which could be subject to varying interpretation.  The publishing of the business details and information in the Gazette is 1000 AFN ($20) per publication.  The Central Business Registry is required by the Corporation and Limited Liability Companies Law promulgated in 2007. 

The new Central Registry was renovated and furnished in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and with the financial assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).