In a recent post I mentioned an email service that was offered by the Investment Promotion Authority to help its clients to electronically file their PNG Company forms from the comfort of their homes or office. This is was a prepaid account email service introduced in 2009 referred to as EFF or electronic filing facility that was unfortunately phased away when the IPA launched its online lodgment system (OLS) in November last year. This post is in response to the fact that after the IPA went live with its online lodgment system, online filing of new PNG company registration and business name applications through its online portal was disabled pending certification of passed amendments and folks had to continue filing with paper instead either in person or through the postal system.
If you were a former user of the IPA EFF service under the old company registration (CORE) system this post reveals how you can still email your applications with evidence of payment for processing at IPA even though the EFF service has been done away with and online filing of a new PNG company application through the IPA website is yet to be available for public use; which should save you time in posting through the postal system or lodging over the counter at the ground of IPA Haus at Konedobu in the nation’s capital.
EMAIL FILING YOUR COMPANY REGISTRATION APPLICATION
So here are the steps to begin filing your PNG company application to IPA through email:
- You will first need to download and complete company forms 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 from here. Refer to this guide on completing a PNG company registration application.
- Next sign and scan your application form into PDF format.
- Then make internet banking payment of the company registration fee of PGK500 into the IPA ANZ Bank account number 1150909, Port Moresby branch. The BSB number for the ANZ Port Moresby branch is 018-900.
- Finally email your application to the Registrar of Companies attaching evidence of your internet banking transaction in your email to online[earth]ipa[dot]gov[dot]pg. Your email subject line should clearly point out that this is a new PNG company registration application. Once your application is received, confirmation of the internet banking transaction will be requested from the finance unit of the IPA before receipting and processing is done.
WHATS NEXT?
As soon your application is approved you will receive a system generated email from IPA containing a cover letter, the original company certificate issued upon approval of your application and a company extract of your company including an official IPA receipt of your payment. Your company is now registered and you can do business. One thing you will note under this online lodgment system is that company certificates are now electronic under the IPA OLS and are not printed on the blue hard copy certificates like in the past under the old registry system. Company certificates and extracts can also now be easily retrieved from the IPA website.
The next thing you should consider doing is creating an external user account on the IPA website so you can claim authority over your company to maintain and update your company records directly online. Although online filing of new PNG company and business names is yet to be enabled under the IPA OLS you are able to do online filing of other business forms instead such as change of directorship, change of shareholding, issuance of new shares, change of registered office and address for service including email; etc.
There are certain business forms filed through the IPA OLS that do not require internal review by the IPA and the information inputted by you on the IPA OLS for your entity is updated as soon as you make the prescribed payments with your credit or debit card. For example the following business forms do not require internal review by IPA:
- Change of directors and particulars of directors;
- Change of secretaries and particulars of secretaries;
- Change of postal address;
- Change of registered office;
- Change of address for service;
- Change of email address;
- Change in certain particulars of a business name.
Some of the main business forms that do require internal review by the IPA include:
- Update of local and overseas company name;
- Reservation of a local company name and overseas company name;
- Registration of a new PNG and overseas company;
- Registration of a new business name;
- Registration of company charge;
- Registration of an amalgamation proposal;
- Transfer and issuance of shares; and
- Company annual returns.
Now that you know how to email your PNG company applications to the IPA for processing you can click here to register your external IPA OLS user account. If you have already registered your PNG company through paper but have yet to claim authority over your company you should consider doing that now. Claiming authority over your company ensures that you are the authorized person doing online maintenance and updating of your registered company records.