Amendment to Business Name Act

REGISTRATION OF BUSINESS NAMES ACT AMENDED

The amendments to the Registration of Business Names Act have become a part of our legislation. It is expected that these amendments will provide for

a) Recognition of electronic registration
b) Registration of business names by Companies
c) Increases in penalties for contravening the Act
d) Proper use of names for firm, traders and individuals
e) Disposal of records and closed files
f) Disclosure of information to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue
g) Obligation to register as a precondition of advertising
h) Sales threshold for registration

The main amendments can be summarized as follows:

1. Definition of firm expanded to include body corporate carrying on business outside its given name
This means that Limited Companies may now register as the sole proprietor of a Business without having to register as a partnership as was the case under the previous Business Names Act.

2. Penalty for non-registration is now included as an offence punishable by fine of up to Fifteen Thousand dollars or imprisonment of up to 3 months.
Although the Act prior to amendment indicated who should register, it did not clearly specify penalties for non-registration

3. The methods of application are now expanded to include sending application by electronic means as well as post or delivery.
This provision clears the way for accepting wholly electronic applications via fax, e-mail etc. N.B This provision cannot be implemented until the passing of the Electronic Transaction Act.

4. The information required for registration now includes corporate name if a corporation is to be the registered owner
This is part of the provisions allowing Limited Companies to own a Business and to trade outside their own registered name

5. The requirements for registration now include certification by the appropriate body as necessary.

6. Every applicant is now required to furnish his/her TRN
Every person or company applying for registration under the Business Names Act is now required to furnish a TRN as part of the requirements for registration.

7. No photographs are necessary for registration
Whether a business is offering goods or services, no pictures of the Proprietor are necessary. Under the Act before amendment, persons offering goods would be required to furnish three photographs signed by an attorney-at- law, J.P. etc.

8. Notice of changes to the Business may now be sent via electronic means
Before the amendment of the Act, a proprietor would have been required to deliver information regarding changes in his / her business in person or via post. Customers will now be able to deliver information regarding changes by way of fax, or email in addition to personal visits or post. (Owners still have to pay the requisite fee so we need to make that clear).

9. The Registrar is now required to keep files for up to ten years after closure, N.B. The Registrar may do so in electronic form after the 10 year period is up
The Act before amendment did not set any period for retention of closed business names

10. The circumstances under which the Registrar can legally refuse to register a name now encompasses names which contain a word/symbol which is undesirable, profane, indecent or obscene
Before amendment, the Act only prohibited registration of names implying a connection with British ownership or control, which could not be substantiated. This entire section has been repealed and replaced with the restriction on names which would be undesirable for the reasons given above

11. Very importantly the Registrar will not register a name if the name is the same a s that of a business already registered or which is the same as that of a Company already registered under the Companies Act
The Business names act now offers protection of Business Names, a provision that has been eagerly awaited by the public. The amendments also enhance the protection offered to Companies by preventing Businesses from registering with the names of registered companies

12. Another very important revision is that an Unregistered Business is now prohibited from advertising
This is another very important step in ensuring compliance as a Business can now be prosecuted for advertising, for example in the Yellow pages if it is not registered.

13. The Registrar may now apply to a Judge in Chambers for an order to close a business
Under the amendments to the Act, if a business is not registered or renewed within a year of being served with at least three (3) notices to do so, the Registrar may apply to a judge in Chambers for an order to close the business. This has serious implications for persons carrying on businesses without registering or without renewing their business registration as necessary.

For more information on these amendments and how they affect you, please call 908-4419-24 or e-mail us at custsupport@orcjamaica.com