(2019) Economy Profile: Haiti Doing Business 2019

Economy Profile Haiti HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Economy Profile ofHaiti 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 permitsProcedures, 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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. HaitiDoing Business2019 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) HaitiDoing Business2019 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) HaitiDoing Business2019 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 : LawyerAgency 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 : NotaryAgency 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 BankAgency 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 averageHTG 225 (frais de dossier) + HTG 25 (vignette bleue) + HTG 30,000 for publication in Le Moniteur (10-24 pages) 6Obtain 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) 7Obtain the Professional ID (Carte d’Identité Professionelle) from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry : Ministry of Commerce and IndustryAgency 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 8Obtain special commercial books : Commercial RegistryAgency The special commercial books are purchased and prepared by an accountant. 2 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) HTG 5,000 9Notification of employee registration to the Labor Ministry : Labor MinistryAgency 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 : CourtAgency 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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. HaitiDoing Business2019 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) HaitiDoing Business2019 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 FirmAgency 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 2Obtain a topographical map : Private land surveyorAgency 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 WorksAgency 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 : MunicipalityAgency 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 ImpotsAgency 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 : MunicipalityAgency 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 : MunicipalityAgency 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 12 Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. 8 Receive inspection for the walls and the quality of materials used : MunicipalityAgency 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 : MunicipalityAgency 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 : MunicipalityAgency 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 : MunicipalityAgency 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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. HaitiDoing Business2019 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) HaitiDoing Business2019 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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'HaïtiAgency 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 2Receive external site inspection by Electricité d'Haïti (EDH) : Electricité d'HaïtiAgency 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 firmAgency 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'HaïtiAgency 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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/SAIFIN/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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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. HaitiDoing Business2019 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 HaitiDoing Business2019 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 from the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de première instance de la commune) where the property is located, and the authorization of the “Commissaire du government”. For obtaining the approval, it is necessary to present a complete file that will include the bill of sale of the property as well as the previous survey. Legal basis: Art 22 Decree of February 26, 1975 about the land survey. 60 days no charge 2 Survey of property : Land surveyor (arpenteur-géomètre)Agency A survey of the property is required every 10 years, but In practice due to land insecurity, the notaries request a survey that dates no more than 3 years. A public surveyor does the survey in question for a specific commune. Because of the issues related to possession and ownership of real estate in Haiti, most buyers choose to have a survey of the property they are purchasing. All persons whose property shares a common border with the property will be invited to witness the survey. Any person present can request a procedure before a judge of peace of the civil tribunal which decides on whether the transaction can proceed or not. His decision is subject to appeal. 26 days HTG 15,000; (The cost of the survey of the property depends on the area: HTG 10,000.00: 0 to 500 m2 HTG 15,000.00: 500 to 1000 m2 HTG 25,000.00: 1/2 tile HTG 50,000.00: 1 tile) 3Notary public prepares the sale agreement : NotaryAgency The titles are deposited with the notary public, who will prepare the bill of sale. By law, notary fees are set to 1%. However, the ASNOP (Notary Association of Port-au- Prince) charges typically 2% of sale price. The notary collects the fees and taxes and directly pays the different State Agencies. The seller pays the added value tax (VAT), but it is held by the notary public until the notary decides to transfer the amount to the “Direction Générale des Impôts” (DGI). In no event shall the notary remain in his possession the VAT for more than thirty ( 30) days after the operation (Art 105 Decree of 29 September 2005 amending that of 29 September 1986 relating to income tax). VAT is according to the following categories: (i) For the sale of property by a limited liability corporation (Societe Anonyme), the rate is 15% of the sale price (ii) For the sale of land without building or house, the rate is 10%, after applying a discount of 25 % on sale price. (iii) For the sale of any property were construction was built after the land was bought the rate is 2.5% of the sale price. (iv) For the sale of land from an allotment the rate is 4 %. (v) For the sale of any property including land and building were improvements or transformations have been made, the rate is 10% after applying a discount of 50 % on the sale price. (vi) For the sale of building or house built on state land when sailing according to the laws, the rates are 2.5% of the sale price. 18 days HTG 50,367.89; (Notary fees: 2% of the property value) HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 22 Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. 4 Obtain avis de cotisation and pay for registration : Commercial bankAgency In order to submit the sale agreement for registration, an “avis de cotisation” is prepared by the DGI, calculating and writing manually on the side of the sale Act the amount to be paid. The sale act should be handwritten, but the DGI accepts copies written with a PC with the “handwritten” style (for transfers between individuals or firms). The avis de cotisation is typed with a typewriter on an official form (3 copies). The notary keeps the top of the form, and the bottom is left to the DGI. The fees are the following: (i) Montant principal: Droit fixe: HTG 2 ; droit d’enregistrement: 3% of sale price; droit de transcription: 1% of sale price; droit d’ecriture: HTG 6 per each group of 25 lines (or fraction) (ii) droit de certificat: HTG 2.5 (iii) taxe suplementaire: 1% of the amount paid in droit d’enregistrement and droit de transcription + 1 gourde (iv) droit special ad-valorem: 0.2% of the fees and taxes paid to the Tax Authority (DGI) (v) droit proportionnel du timbre: 0.2% of the property value + HTG 1 Once the avis is prepared, the notary pays the amount at the BRH (Banque de la Republique d’Haiti) in the DGI, and the bank signs the Avis de cotisation. 1 day HTG 106,993.93; (Fixed fee (droit fixe) of HTG 2; 3% of property value (enregistrement); 1% of property value (transcription); certificate fee (droit de certificat) HTG 2.5; deed fee (droit d'ecriture) HTG 6; supplementary tax: HTG 1 + 1% of the cost of enregistrement and transcription (Taxe supplementaire); 0.2% of the fees and taxes paid to the Tax Authority (DGI) (droit special ad-valorem); 0.2% of the property value + HTG 1 (droit proportionnel du timbre)) 5 The sale agreement is recorded and transcribed at the Tax Authority (DGI) : Tax Authority (Direction Générale des impôts)Agency Transfer tax is set in article 142 of the « loi du 28 septembre 1977 sur l'enregistrement et la conservation fonciere ». The notary has received the funds for the procedure before and realizes the follow-up. A one-month frame is established by law for the notary to transfer said funds collected on behalf of the state to the Direction Generale des Impots. With the avis de cotisation signed by the bank, the notary can submit the dossier to be recorded at the records office of the Direction Generale des Impots. The registrar will write with a pen on the Acte de vente: the Number of the avis de cotisation and the date of payment. The notary keeps the original of the avis de cotisation. The transfer is then registered by hand in a book (“Repertoire d’entrée”). The sale act is later sent to the Bureau de Transciption, where employees copy by hand the sale act into books. Once the sale act has been copied, it is returned to the notary. Local branches of the DGI in the country (“bureaux deconcentres”) send the information to the central office for registration. 225 days Fee: 3% + 1% of the property value, already paid in procedure 4 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 23 Details – Registering Property in Haiti – Measure of Quality Answer Score Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 0.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Tax Authority (Direction Générale des Impôts) In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Paper 0.0 Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions and the like)? No 0.0 Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city:National Cadastre Office (Office National du Cadastre) In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Paper 0.0 Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing cadastral information (geographic information system)? No 0.0 Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases? Separate databases 0.0 Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the same identification number for properties? No 0.0 Transparency of information index (0–6) 0.0 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable property registration in the largest business city? Only intermediaries and interested parties 0.0 Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made publicly available–and if so, how? Yes, in person 0.0 Link for online access: Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how? Yes, in person 0.0 Link for online access: Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? No 0.0 Link for online access: Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration? No 0.0 Contact information: Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the immovable property registration agency? No 0.0 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? Only intermediaries and interested parties 0.0 Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— and if so, how? Yes, in person 0.0 Link for online access: HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 24 Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? No 0.0 Link for online access: Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency? No 0.0 Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property registry? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the immovable property registry? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 3.5 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable property registry to make them opposable to third parties? Yes 1.5 Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee?No 0.0 Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by the immovable property registry? No 0.0 Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? Yes 0.5 If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Notary; Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property transaction? Yes 0.5 If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Notary; Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? No 0.0 For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance? The Civil Court (Tribunal de 1ère instance de la commune ) How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a case (without appeal)? Between 2 and 3 years 1.0 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) -1.0 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? No -1.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 25 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 Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral laws (0-10) • Protection of secured creditors’ rights through bankruptcy laws (0-2) • Depth of credit information index (0–8) Scope and accessibility of credit information distributed by credit bureaus and credit registries (0-8) • Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) Number of individuals and firms listed in largest credit bureau as a percentage of adult population • Credit registry coverage (% of adults) Number of individuals and firms listed in credit registry as a percentage of adult population • Case study assumptions assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory security interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a secured lender, BizBank. Doing Business In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used: - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 26 Getting Credit - Haiti Figure – Getting Credit in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Credit Score 0 100 95.00: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 3) 85.00: Jamaica (Rank: 12) 55.00: Guyana (Rank: 85) 51.56: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 45.00: Dominican Republic (Rank: 112) 10.00: Haiti (Rank: 178) 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 Haiti and comparator economies Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.)Latin America & Caribbean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Index Score 2 1 3 9 12 5.4 Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 5.4 6.1 12 (5 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 4.9 6.7 8 (42 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 3.5 14.6 21.8 100.0 (4 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0 44.5 65.3 100.0 (25 Economies) HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 27 Details – Legal Rights in Haiti Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 Does an integrated or unified legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and enforcement of functional equivalents to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? No Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without requiring a specific description of collateral? No Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a specific description of collateral? Yes May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and replacements of the original assets? Yes Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be secured between parties; and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered? No Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is unified geographically and by asset type, with an electronic database indexed by debtor's name? No Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? No Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be performed online by any interested third party? No Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency procedure? No Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time limit for it? No Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow the secured creditor to sell the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep the asset in satisfaction of the debt? No Figure – Credit Information in Haiti and comparator economies Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.)Latin America & Caribbean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Index Score 0 8 8 8 7 4.9 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 28 Details – Credit Information in Haiti 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. Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit bureau Credit registry Score Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? No No 0 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? No No 0 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and financial institutions - distributed? No No 0 Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries 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.) No No 0 Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? No No 0 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or credit registry? No No 0 Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online (for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? No No 0 Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? No No 0 Total Score ("yes" to either public bureau or private registry) 0 Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry Number of individuals 0 238,180 Number of firms 0 3,069 Total 0 241,249 Percentage of adult population 0 3.5 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 29 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 : Review and approval requirements for related-party transactions; Disclosure requirements for related- party transactions •Extent of disclosure index (0–10) : Ability of minority shareholders to sue and hold interested directors liable for prejudicial related- party transactions; Available legal remedies (damages, disgorgement of profits, fines, imprisonment, rescission of the transaction) •Extent of director liability index (0–10) : Access to internal corporate documents; Evidence obtainable during trial and allocation of legal expenses •Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) : Simple average of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of shareholder indices •Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0–10) : Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate decisions •Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) : Governance safeguards protecting shareholders from undue board control and entrenchment •Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) : Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, compensation, audits and financial prospects •Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) : Simple average of the extent of shareholders rights, extent of ownership and control and extent of corporate transparency indices •Extent of shareholder governance index (0– 10) : Simple average of the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent of shareholder governance indices •Strength of minority investor protection index (0–10) Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several assumptions about the business and the transaction. - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock exchange. If there are fewer than ten listed companies or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple shareholders. - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. James appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members. - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum requirements. Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory. - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. The business (Buyer): - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two directors to Buyer’s five-member board. - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price 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 outside the authority of the company. - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all required disclosures made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently. - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the executives and directors that approved the transaction. The transaction involves the following details: HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 30 Protecting Minority Investors - Haiti Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Protecting Minority Investors Score 0 100 56.67: Dominican Republic (Rank: 83) 55.00: Jamaica (Rank: 89) 51.67: Guyana (Rank: 99) 50.00: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 110) 47.50: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 21.67: Haiti (Rank: 188) 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 Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.) OECD high income Latin America & Caribbean 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Sub-Indicator Score 0 3 2 1 3 4 5 4 5 5 7 8 5 5 5 2 6 8 6 8 4 4 6 5 6 6 7 2 1 8 7.4 5.5 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4 4.2 5.4 4.4 3.5 5.6 6.5 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) Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0 4.1 6.5 10 (13 Economies) Extent of director liability index (0-10) 3.0 5.2 5.3 10 (Cambodia) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 4.0 6.7 7.3 10 (Djibouti) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 3.0 5.4 6.4 10 (Kazakhstan) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10)1.0 3.2 5.4 None in 2017/18 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10)0.0 3.9 7.6 10 (6 Economies) HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 31 Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Haiti – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-10) 3 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0 Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Shareholders or board of directors including interested parties 1.0 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) Existence of a conflict without any specifics 1.0 Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2)No disclosure obligation 0.0 Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) No disclosure obligation 0.0 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 3.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0- 2) Not liable 0.0 Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer (0-2) Not liable 0.0 Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Must Mr. James repay profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Only in case of fraud or bad faith 0.0 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 4.0 Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the transaction documents? (0-1) No 0.0 Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3)Documents that directly prove specific facts in the plaintiff’s claim 2.0 Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying specific ones? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Can the plaintiff directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) No 0.0 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 of the court 0.0 Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 1.3 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 3.0 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of shareholders? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? No 0.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 32 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new shares? No 0.0 Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected shares approve? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require member approval? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 10% call for a meeting of members? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must all or almost all members consent to add a new member? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member first offer to sell their interest to the existing members before they can sell to non-members? No 0.0 Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 1.0 Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson of the board of directors? No 0.0 Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? No 0.0 Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the end of their term? No 0.0 Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board members? No 0.0 Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? No 0.0 Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? 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 disagreements among members? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute profits within a maximum period set by law? No 0.0 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 0.0 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%?No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and directorships in other companies? No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? No 0.0 Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general meeting agenda? No 0.0 Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must members meet at least once a year? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 5% put items on the meeting agenda? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? No 0.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 33 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).Seethemethodologyformoreinformation. What the indicators measure Tax payments for a manufacturing company in 2017 (number per year adjusted for electronic and joint filing and payment) Total number of taxes and contributions paid or withheld, including consumption taxes (value added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax) • Method and frequency of filing and payment• Time required to comply with 3 major taxes (hours per year) Collecting information, computing tax payable• Preparing separate tax accounting books, if required • Completing tax return, filing with agencies• Arranging payment or withholding• Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial profits) Profit or corporate income tax• Social contributions, labor taxes paid by employer • Property and property transfer taxes• Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions taxes • Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes• 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) • Case study assumptions Using a case scenario, records taxes and mandatory contributions a medium size company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply with the requirements of postfiling processes and time waiting. Doing Business To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2016. It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. Taxes and mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. - In June 2017, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the 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 equally expensed per month (875 times income per capita divided by 12). The 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, sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will exceed Output VAT in June 2017. All taxes and contributions recorded are paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2017). The VAT refund process: - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily notified the tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax liability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. The corporate income tax audit process: HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 34 Paying Taxes - Haiti Figure – Paying Taxes in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Paying Taxes Score 0 100 65.67: Guyana (Rank: 119) 64.79: Jamaica (Rank: 123) 60.49: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 57.58: Haiti (Rank: 147) 57.44: Dominican Republic (Rank: 148) 52.42: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 162) 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 Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.)Latin America & Caribbean 0 20 40 60 80 100 Index score 48.17 10.71 54.24 19.68 13.76 47.04 Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Payments (number per year) 47 27.1 11.2 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Time (hours per year) 184 330.0 159.4 49 (Singapore) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit)42.7 46.7 39.8 26.1% (32 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 48.17 47.04 84.41 None in 2017/18 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 35 Details – Paying Taxes in Haiti Tax or mandatory contribution Payments (number) Notes on Payments Time (hours) Statutory tax rate Tax base Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) Notes on TTCR Corporate income tax 4.0 40.0 30% taxable profits21.32 Business license 1.0 0.4% turnover 7.07 Employee social security contribution 0.0 jointly 6% gross salaries6.77 not included Social security contributions 12.0 72.0 6% gross salaries6.77 Payroll tax 12.0 2% gross salaries3.38 Health insurance contributions 1.0 3% gross salaries2.26 Capital gains tax 1.0 15% capital gain0.76 Local tax: Fonds de Gestion et de Developpeme nt des Collectivites Territoriales 1.0 1% taxable profits0.71 Property tax1.0 10% annual rental value 0.33 Vehicle tax 1.0 varies between HTG 1000 and HTG 5000 size of engine0.08 Value added tax (VAT) 12.0 72.0 10% value added 0.00 not included Fuel tax 1.0 included in the fuel price 0.00 small amount Totals 47 184 42.7 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 36 Details – Paying Taxes in Haiti – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 22.8 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 12.4 Other taxes (% of profit) 7.5 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 37 Details – Paying Taxes in Haiti – Measure of Quality 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. Notes: Answer Score Postfiling index (0-100) 48.17 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? No Restrictions on VAT refund process Input tax on capital purchase is irrecoverable Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT refund per case study scenario 0 Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) No VAT refund per case study scenario 0 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) 5.5 92.66 Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) No tax audit per case study scenario 100 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 38 Trading across Borders recordsthetimeandcostassociatedwiththelogisticalprocessofexportingandimportinggoods. measures thetimeandcost(excludingtariffs)associatedwiththreesetsofprocedures—documentarycompliance,bordercomplianceanddomestic transport—withintheoverallprocessofexportingorimportingashipmentofgoods.Themostrecentroundofdatacollectionfortheproject wascompletedinMay2018. . DoingBusiness DoingBusiness Seethemethodologyformoreinformation What the indicators measure Documentary compliance Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port or border handling in origin economy • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents required by destination economy and any transit economies • Covers all documents required by law and in practice, including electronic submissions of information • Border compliance Customs clearance and inspections• Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% of shipments) • Handling and inspections that take place at the economy’s port or border • Domestic transport Loading or unloading of the shipment at the warehouse or port/border • Transport between warehouse and port/border• Traffic delays and road police checks while shipment is en route • Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours. Time: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and are informed about exchange rates. Cost: - For all 190 economies covered by , it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product and the trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport 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. Assumptions of the case study: Doing Business HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 39 Trading across Borders - Haiti Figure – Trading across Borders in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Trading Across Borders Score 0 100 83.51: Dominican Republic (Rank: 63) 81.86: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 67) 76.90: Haiti (Rank: 86) 69.15: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 61.54: Jamaica (Rank: 134) 59.33: Guyana (Rank: 146) 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 Haiti – Time and Cost Export - Border Compliance Export - Documentary Compliance Import - Border Compliance Import - Documentary Compliance 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Time (hours) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Cost (USD) 28 368 22 48 83 563 28 150 Time (hours)Cost (USD) Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 28 61.9 12.5 1 (19 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 368 529.8 139.1 0 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours)22 52.5 2.4 1 (26 Economies) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD)48 110.4 35.2 0 (20 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 83 62.6 8.5 0 (25 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 563 647.2 100.2 0 (28 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours)28 79.1 3.4 1 (30 Economies) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD)150 116.3 24.9 0 (30 Economies) HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 40 Details – Trading across Borders in Haiti Characteristics Export Import Product HS 61 : Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor vehicles Trade partner United States United States Border Port-au-Prince port Port-au-Prince port Distance (km) 8 8 Domestic transport time (hours) 1 1 Domestic transport cost (USD) 300 300 Details – Trading across Borders in Haiti – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 3.8 100.0 Export: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Export: Port or border handling 24.0 267.5 Import: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 36.0 245.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 30.0 0.0 Import: Port or border handling 52.0 317.5 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 41 Details – Trading across Borders in Haiti – Trade Documents Export Import Export declaration Bill of lading Bill of lading Certificate of origin Commercial invoice Commercial invoice Export authorization Import declaration Packing list Packing list Quitus Quitus Certificate of origin SGS Attestation of Verification SOLAS certificate SGS Pre-Import Declaration SOLAS certificate HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 42 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 Time required to enforce a contract through the courts (calendar days) Time to file and serve the case• Time for trial and to obtain the judgment• Time to enforce the judgment• Cost required to enforce a contract through the courts (% of claim) Attorney fees• Court fees• Enforcement fees• Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5)• Case management (0-6)• Court automation (0-4)• Alternative dispute resolution (0-3)• Case study assumptions The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between 2 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 enforcement. To make the data comparable across economies, uses several assumptions about the case: - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are not of adequate quality. - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. - The seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to secure the claim. - The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion. - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable assets. Doing Business HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 43 Enforcing Contracts - Haiti Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Enforcing Contracts Score 0 100 61.82: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 63) 57.87: Guyana (Rank: 93) 53.39: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 52.49: Haiti (Rank: 124) 51.87: Jamaica (Rank: 127) 46.86: Dominican Republic (Rank: 149) 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 Haiti – Time and Cost Dominican Republic Guyana Haiti Jamaica Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Puerto Rico (U.S.) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 Time (days) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Cost (% of claim value) 590 40.9 581 27.0 530 42.6 550 50.2 768.5 31.4 582.4 21.2 630 30.2 Time (days)Cost (% of claim value) Standardized Case Claim value HTG 286,838 Court name Port-au-Prince District Court, Commercial Section City Covered Port au Prince Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Time (days) 530 768.5 582.4 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of claim value) 42.6 31.4 21.2 None in 2017/18 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.0 8.5 11.5 None in 2017/18 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 44 Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.) OECD high income Latin America & Caribbean 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score 2 0.50 4.5 2 0.50 2 2 1.5 0 4 2.5 1 0.5 4.5 2 3.5 2.5 3 2.5 3.1 2.3 3.6 2.4 2.1 0.9 3.5 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3)Case management (0-6)Court automation (0-4)Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Haiti Indicator Time (days) 530 Filing and service 30 Trial and judgment 320 Enforcement of judgment 180 Cost (% of claim value) 42.6 Attorney fees 20 Court fees 12.6 Enforcement fees 10 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 Case management (0-6) 0.5 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 45 Details – Enforcing Contracts in Haiti – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases?Yes 1.5 2. Small claims court 1.5 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims?Yes 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? Yes 3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0 4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? Yes, but manual0.5 5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's?Yes 0.0 Case management (0-6) 0.5 1. Time standards 0.5 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil case? Yes 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? Yes 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? No 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be granted? No 2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances?No 2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases?n.a. 3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) time to disposition report; (ii) clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single case progress report? No 0.0 4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the competent court? No 0.0 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for use by judges? No 0.0 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for use by lawyers? No 0.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the competent court? no 0.0 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed before the competent court? No 0.0 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.0 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? No 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme court level made available to the general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? No Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 1. Arbitration 1.5 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 46 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all its aspects? Yes 1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public order or public policy—that cannot be submitted to arbitration? No 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 consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects? No 2.c. Are there financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation (i.e., if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income tax credits or the like)? No HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 47 Resolving Insolvency 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, 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. . Doing Business Doing Business See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Time required to recover debt (years) Measured in calendar years• Appeals and requests for extension are included• Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) Measured as percentage of estate value• Court fees• Fees of insolvency administrators• Lawyers’ fees• Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees• Other related fees• Outcome Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal • Recovery rate for creditors Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors • Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered • Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted • Depreciation of furniture is taken into account• Present value of debt recovered• Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) Sum of the scores of four component indices:• Commencement of proceedings index (0-3)• Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6)• Reorganization proceedings index (0-3)• Creditor participation index (0-4)• Case study assumptions To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used: - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotel experiences financial difficulties. - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to operate otherwise. In addition, evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to judicial liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best insolvency practices have been implemented in each economy covered. Doing Business HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 48 Resolving Insolvency - Haiti Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Haiti and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Resolving Insolvency Score 0 100 83.32: Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Rank: 10) 69.83: Jamaica (Rank: 33) 38.91: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 37.54: Dominican Republic (Rank: 124) 22.38: Guyana (Rank: 162) 0.00: Haiti (Rank: 168) 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 Haiti – Time and Cost Dominican Republic Guyana No Practice Haiti Jamaica Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Puerto Rico (U.S.) 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 Time (years) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Cost (% of estate) 3.5 38.0 3.0 28.5 1.1 18.0 2.9 16.8 1.7 9.3 2.5 11.0 Time (years)Cost (% of estate) Indicator Haiti Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0.0 30.9 70.5 None in 2017/18 Time (years) No Practice 2.9 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) No Practice 16.8 9.3 1.0 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going concern) 0 .. .. .. Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16)0.0 7.1 11.9 None in 2017/18 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 49 Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Haiti and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 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.” Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.) OECD high income Latin America & Caribbean 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Sub-Indicator Score 0 2 10 5.5 2.5 2 0.5 2 2 00 4.5 2.5 3 1 6 3 3 3 5.3 2.8 2.2 1.9 3.7 2.4 1.9 0.8 Management of debtor's assets index (0-6)Commencement of proceedings index (0-3)Creditor participation index (0-4)Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Haiti and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Haiti Dominican Republic Guyana Jamaica Puerto Rico (U.S.)Latin America & Caribbean 0 20 40 60 80 100 Recovery rate(cents on the dollar) 0.0 8.8 18.4 65.9 67.7 30.9 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 50 Details – Resolving Insolvency in Haiti Indicator Answer Score Proceeding No Practice According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Outcome piecemeal saleAccording to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Time (in years)No Practice According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Cost (% of estate) No Practice According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 51 Details – Resolving Insolvency in Haiti – Measure of Quality 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.” Note: Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 0.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency proceedings? (b) Debtor may file for liquidation only 0.5 Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor?(b) Yes, but a creditor may file for liquidation only 0.5 What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the insolvency framework? (a) Debtor is generally unable to pay its debts as they mature 1.0 Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 0.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods and services to the debtor? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome contracts? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit after commencement of insolvency proceedings? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (c) No priority is assigned to post- commencement creditors 0.0 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 least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation? No 0.0 Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, does each class vote separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? No 0.0 Creditor participation index (0-4) 1.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or appointment of the insolvency representative? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial assets of the debtor? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request information from the insolvency representative? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions accepting or rejecting creditors' claims? Yes 1.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 52 Labor Market Regulation presents detailed data for the labor market regulation indicators on the website ( ). 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. Doing Business Doing Business http://www.doingbusiness.org The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. .See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; (iii) length of the probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. Hiring (i) maximum number of working days allowed per week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest day and for overtime work; (iv) whether nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work same night hours as men; (v) length of paid annual leave. Working hours (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify 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 rules (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments due when terminating a redundant worker. Redundancy cost (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. Job quality Case study assumptions To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the worker and the business are used. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. - Is a full-time employee. - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. The worker: - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Has 60 employees. - 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. - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining agreements. The business: HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 53 Labor Market Regulation - Haiti Details – Labor Market Regulation in Haiti 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) 156.9 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 1.5 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 0.0 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 6.0 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 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) 13.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 13.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 13.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 13.0 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? No 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 8.7 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 17.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 10.1 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 0.0 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 54 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 0.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 0.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 0.0 Job quality Equal remuneration for work of equal value? No Gender nondiscrimination in hiring? No Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law? Yes Minimum length of maternity leave (calendar days)? 42.0 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. HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 55 Business Reforms inHaiti In the past year, 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 have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since 2008. Doing Business Doing Business Doing Business = reform making it easier to do business.= Change making it more difficult to do business.Doing Business DB2019 Getting Credit:Haiti improved access to credit information by launching a new credit registry. Labor Market Regulation:Haiti amended its legislation pertaining to the 24-hour weekly rest period, weekly holiday and night work premiums, other work-related distribution of hours, services and minimum working age requirements. DB2018 Paying Taxes:Haiti made paying taxes costlier by increasing the rate for the business license tax. DB2017 Trading across Borders:Haiti made trading across borders easier by improving port infrastructure and improving the SYDONIA electronic data interchange system by allowing the submission of supporting documents online. DB2012 Dealing with Construction Permits:Haiti made dealing with construction permits costlier by increasing the fees to obtain a building permit. DB2011 Starting a Business:Haiti eased business start-up by eliminating the review by the president’s or the prime minister’s office of the incorporation act submitted for publication. DB2010 Getting Credit:Haiti strengthened its secured transactions system through a new law broadening the range of assets that can be used as collateral, allowing future and after-acquired property to be used as collateral and automatically extending security interests to the products, proceeds and replacements of the original asset. Trading across Borders:Haiti speeded up the clearance of goods through customs by implementing the ASYCUDA system and introducing 24-hour operations at the port. DB2009 Trading across Borders:Haiti reduced the time for exporting by implementing a risk-based inspection system. DB2008 Registering Property:Haiti made registering property simpler by streamlining the process at the tax authority. HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 56 HaitiDoing Business2019 Page 57