Profil économique: Haïti Doing Business 2019

Economy Profile Haiti Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Economy Profile of Haiti 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 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 2 About Doing Business The project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. Doing Business The 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. also measures features of labor market regulation. Although 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. Doing Business Doing Business Doing Business By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, 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. Doing Business In addition, offers detailed , 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 has ranked. Doing Business subnational reports Doing Business The first 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 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. Doing Business Doing Business More about (PDF, 5MB) Doing Business Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 3 Ease of Doing Business in Haiti Region Latin America & Caribbean Income Category Low income Population 10,981,229 City Covered Port au Prince DB 2019 Rank 190 1 182 DB 2019 Ease of doing business score 0 100 38.52 DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score 0 100 69.46: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 64) 67.47: Jamaica (Rank: 75) 61.12: Dominican Republic (Rank: 102) 58.97: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 55.57: Guyana (Rank: 134) 38.52: Haiti (Rank: 182) 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 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. Doing Business Rankings on Doing Business topics - Haiti Starting a Business Dealing with Construction Permits Getting Electricity Registering Property Getting Credit Protecting Minority Investors Paying Taxes Trading across Borders Enforcing Contracts Resolving Insolvency 1 28 55 82 109 136 163 190 Rank 189 180 142 181 178 188 147 86 124 168 Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Haiti Starting a Business Dealing with Construction Permits Getting Electricity Registering Property Getting Credit Protecting Minority Investors Paying Taxes Trading across Borders Enforcing Contracts Resolving Insolvency 0 20 40 60 80 100 Score 33.80 44.15 56.26 32.34 10.00 21.67 57.58 76.90 52.49 0.00 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 4 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, 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. Doing Business 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 Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company (number) Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) • Registration in the economy’s largest business city • Postregistration (for example, social security registration, company seal) • Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave the home to register the company • Obtaining any gender specific document for company registration and operation or national identification card • Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information • Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot start on the same day) • Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received • No prior contact with officials • Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes • No professional fees unless services required by 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 Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. The business: - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical office. - Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - 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; has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. - 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 activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes. - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per capita. - 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 operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long. The owners: - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old. - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. - 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 man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 5 Starting a Business - Haiti Figure – Starting a Business in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Starting a Business Score 0 100 97.35: Jamaica (Rank: 6) 91.23: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 53) 85.61: Guyana (Rank: 97) 83.44: Dominican Republic (Rank: 117) 79.40: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 33.80: Haiti (Rank: 189) 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. Standardized Company Legal form Société Anonyme Paid-in minimum capital requirement HTG 6,250 City Covered Port au Prince Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Procedure – Men (number) 12 8.2 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Men (days) 97 28.5 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 200.3 37.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Procedure – Women (number) 12 8.2 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Women (days) 97 28.5 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 200.3 37.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 12.4 1.5 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies) Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 6 Figure – Starting a Business in Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost 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 website ( ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Doing Business http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology Procedures (number) 1 2 3 4 5 * 6 * 7 * 8 * 9 * 10 * 11 * 12 0 20 40 60 80 Time (days) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Cost (% of income per capita) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 7 Details – Starting a Business in Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Prepare the company's articles and memorandum of association : Lawyer Agency The lawyer charges approximately HTG 30,000 for the drafting of the company statutes in the case of a Société Anonyme. Prices can vary depending on the lawyer. 10 days HTG 30,000 2 Notarize the company deeds and articles of association : Notary Agency The notary public must hand-write and notarize the documents at a fee of between HTG 15,000 and HTG 25,000 depending on the complexity of the service. 7 days HTG 15,000 - HTG 25,000 3 Deposit the legally required initial capital in the National Bank and obtain deposit evidence : National Bank Agency The lawyer deposits the legally required initial capital in the National Bank (Banque Nationale de Credit) and obtains proof of deposit. A certified check need to be used to pay in the National Bank, where proof of payment is provided. 1 day no charge 4 Register the company with the Tax Authorities (Direction Générale des Impôts - DGI) : Tax Authorities (Direction Générale des Impôts - DGI) Agency The notary pays the registration fees at the Tax Office (DGI) and proof of payment is obtained. 1 day included in the notary fees 5 Registration with the Commercial Registry at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and obtain the authorization of operations (Droit de fonctionnement) : Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Le Moniteur (Journal Officiel) Agency Lawyer submits the dossier for registration at the Ministry of Commerce and a request for the ‘avis de fonctionnement’. When the Ministry of Commerce has processed the application and registered the company, it forwards the file to the Moniteur for publication. Firms can begin operations before the publication, as soon as they receive authorization from the Ministry of Commerce. Since May 2009, the company’s articles of incorporation do not need to be approved by the Prime Minister’s office and the Presidency before they can be published in the Official Journal. This process takes about 60 days. The cost depends on the number of pages of the act of constitution: 2 to 9 pages: HTG 5,000 10 to 25 pages: HTG 20,000 26 to x pages: HTG 35,000. 78 days on average HTG 225 (frais de dossier) + HTG 25 (vignette bleue) + HTG 30,000 for publication in Le Moniteur (10-24 pages) 6 Obtain the Tax ID number (Numéro d’identification fiscale - NIF) from the Tax authorities (DGI), pay fees, and obtain the business license (patente) : Tax Authorities (Direction Générale des Impôts - DGI) Agency The company must file a form at the Tax Bureau (DGI) and provide an opening balance sheet on which corporate taxes will be based. A 2% tax is levied on a corporation’s initial capital, payable annually. A company must pay the “tax on share” (taxe sur action) of 0.3% per share, which will be assessed each year, and a "right of operating" tax (droit de fonctionnement) of HTG 1500 payable annually, and HTG 1500 5 to obtain the professional identity card ("carte d’identite professionelle"). 15 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) HTG 50 (tax ID card) + 2% of initial capital + 0.3% per share + HTG 102 (droit de fonctionnement) + HTG 5 (taxe carte d’identite professionelle) 7 Obtain the Professional ID (Carte d’Identité Professionelle) from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry : Ministry of Commerce and Industry Agency According to Article 2 of the “Décret du 26 septembre 1960 réglementant l’exercice de la profession de commercant”, all commercial entities are required to hold a “carte d’identité professionnelle”. After the payment of fees at the DGI and obtaining the business permit ("certificat de patente"), the entrepreneur will obtain the “carte d’identité professionnelle” at the Ministry of Commerce. 17 days on average (simultaneous with previous procedure) cost included in procedure 5 8 Obtain special commercial books : Commercial Registry Agency The special commercial books are purchased and prepared by an accountant. 2 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) HTG 5,000 9 Notification of employee registration to the Labor Ministry : Labor Ministry Agency Companies must submit a declaration on the hiring of personnel to the Labor Direction within 8 days of opening. 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge 10 Legalize the commercial books : Court Agency Books are legalized by the Dean of the first instance court (Doyen du Tribunal). Each page must be sealed by the Dean of the civil court and the books must be sealed at the DGI (Direction Generale des Impots). 7 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) HTG 1,000 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 8 Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. 11 Register for social security (OFATMA) : Insurance Office (Office d'Assurance Accidents du Travail, Maladie et Maternité - OFATMA) Agency The company must register with the Insurance Office for Occupational Injury, Sickness, and Maternity (OFATMA) within 15 days of opening and provide the names of all its employees (up to 6% of monthly salary is contributed by the employer to social security). 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge 12 Register for Retirement Insurance Office (ONA) : Retirement Office (Office Nationale d'Assurance - ONA) Agency The company must register with the Retirement Insurance Office (ONA) within 15 days of opening and provide the name of all its employees. 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 9 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 Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates • Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections • Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage • Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion • Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information • Each procedure starts on a separate day— though procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received • No prior contact with officials • Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes • Building quality control index (0-15) Quality of building regulations (0-2) • Quality control before construction (0-1) • Quality control during construction (0-3) • Quality control after construction (0-3) • Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) • Professional certifications (0-4) • Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. The construction company (BuildCo): - 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 largest business city. - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its completion. The warehouse: - 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 approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory requirements). The water and sewerage connections: - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 10 Dealing with Construction Permits - Haiti Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score 0 100 70.71: Jamaica (Rank: 76) 70.42: Dominican Republic (Rank: 80) 63.48: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 59.38: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 141) 54.75: Guyana (Rank: 164) 44.15: Haiti (Rank: 180) 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 Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost 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 website ( ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Doing Business http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology Procedures (number) 1 * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 * 12 13 14 0 20 40 60 80 Time (days) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cost (% of warehouse value) Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value) Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse HTG 2,518,394.70 City Covered Port au Prince Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Procedures (number) 14 15.4 12.7 None in 2017/18 Time (days) 98 199.0 153.1 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of warehouse value) 20.9 3.2 1.5 None in 2017/18 Building quality control index (0-15) 5.0 8.9 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies) Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 11 Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.) Latin America & Caribbean 0 5 10 15 Index score 5.0 13.0 4.0 12.0 12.0 8.9 Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Request and obtain a Soil Test : Private Firm Agency The National Building Code of Haiti provides specifications for the strength of the foundation of buildings to resist seismic activities and shrinkage. Therefore, a soil test is needed to identity the type of soil so that the foundation is solid. 18 days USD 2,100 2 Obtain a topographical map : Private land surveyor Agency The National Building Code of Haiti provides information on the importance of having a topographic map of the land so that it can be preserved. 7 days USD 750 3 Request building permit : Municipality and the Ministry of Public Works Agency The Ministry of Public Works does not issue the building permit, but studies the file and provides technical advice/approval of the plans. The Engineering Department will merely give its advice on the feasibility of the project. The building permit is issued by the Municipality. According to the law, the building permit fee for a commercial warehouse is HTG 75.00 for the length of the building facing the road multiplied by the number of floors. If the building has 2 sides facing the road, then both sides are taken into account and charged accordingly. However, in practice, this is not followed. The Municipality generally charges between HTG 125.00 -- HTG 175.00 per sq. m. Thus, the fee for the Doing Business case study warehouse would be approximately HTG 150.00 x 1,300.6 sq. m. -- this is called “le droit d’alignement.” BuildCo must submit the following documents when requesting the permit: • Survey plan and title of ownership (3 copies) • Location plan (3 copies) • Facade plan (3 copies) • Construction (foundation, electricity, plumbing) (3 copies) • Specifications sheet • License of the engineers or Corporate Income Tax (1 copy) – proof that the engineer or the construction company has no outstanding taxes • Letter of Authorization Request (1 copy) 30 days HTG 195,090 4 Obtain site inspection by engineer from the Municipality : Municipality Agency A request is made for a site inspection. The owner or the engineer must be at the site for the inspection. After this inspection and within 15 days, the Municipality will issue a “Bordereau de paiement” to be paid at the tax authority (DGI). If the amount is over HTG 15,000.00, it must be paid by certified check. 1 day no charge 5 Pay fees to the Direction Generale des Impots : Direction Generale des Impots Agency Payment is made at the DGI and proof of payment is delivered back to the Municipality. The fees for the building permit are recorded in procedure 1. 15 days no charge 6 Obtain building permit : Municipality Agency Once the application has been reviewed by the Mayor, payment of the alignment rights is made and the proof of payment submitted to the Mayor, and if the file meets all the requirements, the City will issue the building permit. 1 day no charge 7 Receive inspection to verify the set-out and the foundation : Municipality Agency By law (art. 1.2.3 of the Building Code) the Municipality must verify the set-out and the foundation. However in reality, this inspection does not take place. 1 day no charge Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 12 Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. 8 Receive inspection for the walls and the quality of materials used : Municipality Agency By law (art. 1.2.3 of the Building Code) the Municipality must verify the raising of the walls and the quality of the material used for the construction. However in reality, this inspection does not take place. 1 day no charge 9 Receive inspection for the verification of the roof slabs : Municipality Agency By law (art. 1.2.3 of the Building Code) the Municipality must verify the roof slap. However in reality, this inspection does not take place. 1 day no charge 10 Receive final inspection : Municipality Agency By law (art. 1.2.6 of the Building Code) the Municipality must conduct a final inspection and then deliver a certificate of conformity. However, in practice this does not take place. 1 day no charge 11 Obtain the occupancy certificate : Municipality Agency The certificate of occupancy is issued after the final inspection; however in practice it is rarely done. Obtaining the certificate of conformity is the responsibility of the builder. 7 days no charge 12 Request water connection from the National Direction of Potable Water and Sewage (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement- DINEPA) : Offices Régionaux d’Eau Potable et d’Assainissement (OREPA) Agency The water connection is requested directly by the owner, as the contract must be made in the owner's name. 1 day no charge 13 Receive inspection for water connection and cost estimate : Offices Régionaux d’Eau Potable et d’Assainissement (OREPA) Agency The customer service center will process the application and forward it to the technical department, which will then inspect the construction site to prepare a cost estimate of the work for the water connection. 1 day no charge 14 Obtain water connection from the National Direction of Potable Water and Sewage (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement- DINEPA) : Offices Régionaux d’Eau Potable et d’Assainissement (OREPA) Agency The cost of connection to the water depends on the width of the pipe used. The size of the pipe in the Doing Business case study is assumed to be 1 inch. Therefore the cost is HTG 6,640 (USD 116). And since a septic tank must be installed, the cost of the installation is also included at USD 2,000. 21 days USD 2,166 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 13 Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Haiti – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 5.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; Free of charge. 1.0 Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) List of required documents. 0.0 Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0 Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) Licensed architect; Licensed engineer. 1.0 Quality control during construction index (0-3) 1.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? (0-2) Inspections at various phases. 1.0 Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory inspections are not always done in practice during construction. 0.0 Quality control after construction index (0-3) 2.0 Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) Yes, final inspection is done by government agency; Final inspection is not required by law. 2.0 Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection does not always occur in practice. 0.0 Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) No party is held liable under the law. 0.0 Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) No party is required by law to obtain insurance . 0.0 Professional certifications index (0-4) 0.0 What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) University degree in architecture or engineering. 0.0 What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction on the ground? (0-2) University degree in engineering, construction or construction management. 0.0 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 14 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 Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances and permits • Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections • Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing material for these works • Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final supply • Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Is at least 1 calendar day • Each procedure starts on a separate day • Does not include time spent gathering information • Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no prior contact with officials • Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes • Value added tax excluded • The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8) Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) • Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) • Tools to restore power supply (0–1) • Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1) • Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) • Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) • Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case study • *Note: 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. Doing Business Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used. The warehouse: - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. - 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 (10,000 square feet). The electricity connection: - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). - 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 common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road. - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base. The monthly consumption: - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier. - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used. Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 15 Getting Electricity - Haiti Figure – Getting Electricity in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score 0 100 73.43: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 88) 70.59: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 64.96: Jamaica (Rank: 115) 64.65: Dominican Republic (Rank: 116) 56.26: Haiti (Rank: 142) 45.91: Guyana (Rank: 165) 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. Standardized Connection Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 22.7 Name of utility Electricité d’Haiti (EdH) City Covered Port au Prince Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Procedures (number) 4 5.5 4.5 3 (25 Economies) Time (days) 60 65.5 77.2 18 (3 Economies) Cost (% of income per capita) 3242.8 946.3 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 4.3 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies) Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 16 Figure – Getting Electricity in Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost 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 website ( ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Doing Business http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology Procedures (number) 1 * 2 3 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Time (days) 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 Cost (% of income per capita) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Figure – Getting Electricity in Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.) Latin America & Caribbean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Index score 0 4 0 5 3 4.3 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 17 Details – Getting Electricity in Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Hire private contractor to apply for connection and await estimate of connection fees : Electricité d'Haïti Agency External works can be carried out by Electricité d'Haïti (EDH) or by a private contractor provided they have obtained the utility’s approval. The final connection however, is always done by the utility. The common approach is to hire a private contractor (a list of these is available at the utility) to save time and because the utility often lacks the necessary material. The client can also either submits the application for connection themselves or ask their contractor to do so on their behalf. • Request of connection can be done in two ways:By letter from the company head • In person at one of the centers or agencies offering the utility’s services 10 calendar days USD 400 2 Receive external site inspection by Electricité d'Haïti (EDH) : Electricité d'Haïti Agency The utility then inspects the site and prepares an estimate of the connection fees: • An estimate for the construction of the Low-Voltage of Medium-Voltage line and of the unit substation • An estimate for the construction of the metering system 1 calendar day HTG 859,792.84 3 Obtain external works from private contractor : Private firm Agency The private contractor discusses with the client about the technical details of the works (capacity, voltage, etc.) and submits the design to the utility for approval. The contractor also prepares an estimate of the fees for the construction of the lines and unit substation. The contractor will also need to write to the utility to obtain approval to work on the network. 30 calendar days USD 7,500 4 Request meter installation and final connection from EDH : Electricité d'Haïti Agency Once the works have been completed the client requests meter installation from Electricité d'Haïti (EDH). No inspection of the entire internal wiring is carried out during the process. For capacities below 300 kVA, the utility normally has the meters (and current transformers) in stock. 20 calendar days HTG 250,000 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 18 Details – Getting Electricity in Haiti – Measure of Quality 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. Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 0 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) .. System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) .. What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI N/A Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? No Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of supply? No Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages exceed a certain cap? No Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1 Are effective tariffs available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online http://www.edh.ht/tari f.php Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 19 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 Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property (number) Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) • Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city. • Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title with municipality) • Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information • Each procedure starts on a separate day - though procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received • No prior contact with officials • Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property value) Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties and taxes). • Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments are excluded • 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) • Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. The parties (buyer and seller): - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. - Perform general commercial activities. The property (fully owned by the seller): - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. - Is fully owned by the seller. - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. - 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 square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no 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 entirety. - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 20 Registering Property - Haiti Figure – Registering Property in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Registering Property Score 0 100 65.73: Dominican Republic (Rank: 77) 57.48: Guyana (Rank: 117) 55.25: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 53.61: Jamaica (Rank: 131) 46.14: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 159) 32.34: Haiti (Rank: 181) 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 Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost 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 website ( ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Doing Business http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology Procedures (number) 1 2 * 3 4 5 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Time (days) 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 Cost (% of property value) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Procedures (number) 5 7.2 4.7 1 (4 Economies) Time (days) 312 63.3 20.1 1 (New Zealand) Cost (% of property value) 6.8 5.8 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 2.5 11.9 23.0 None in 2017/18 Haiti Doing Business 2019 Page 21 Figure – Registering Property in Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.) Latin America & Caribbean 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Index score 2.5 14.5 7.0 14.0 13.5 11.9 Details – Registering Property in Haiti – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain authorization to conduct a property survey : Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Première Instance de la Commune) Agency For conducting the property survey required in Procedure 2, it is necessary to obtain an authorization fro