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| Superb
time-saver gets thumbs up |
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Time is of the essence, especially to business
owners. So when Mr Shee Tek Lic, general
manager of a fast food restaurant, had less
than two weeks to get two import licences, he
thought he would not be able to commence
business as scheduled.
Fortunately, he was referred to the Online
Business Licensing Service (OBLS). To his great
relief, he got both licences within a day, and as a
result, was able to go ahead with his plans.
For budding entrepreneurs, enduring convoluted
licence application processes used to be a
necessary evil before they could jumpstart their
businesses. As more than one licence is usually
required for a particular business activity and the
approval of one licence is sometimes contingent
on the approval of another, it is little wonder that
in some cases, the final approval might materialise
only after several months.
The worst case scenario for an applicant would
be, after months of waiting and lots of paperwork,
he is still unable to start his business because a
critical licence has not been approved.
That was the grim reality facing potential
business start-ups in the past.
The turning point came in August 2001, when in the
spirit to foster a pro-enterprise environment in
Singapore, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI),
with support from Infocomm Development Authority
of Singapore (IDA), developed OBLS together with
30 public agencies.
OBLS enables all public agencies’ licensing
services to be accommodated at one URL.
What’s more, licensing processes were
reviewed with the aim to simplify procedures and
shorten processing time for users. For instance, it
used to take two months for an applicant to obtain
a pet shop licence from the Agri-Food and
Veterinary Authority. Now with OBLS, approval
can be secured in just three days!
Furthermore, an applicant needs to complete
only one online form to apply for several licences.
A consolidated payment mechanism also makes
it possible for one payment to be made for multiple
licence fees, eliminating the need for applicants to
make separate payments to various parties.
Since the various applications are processed
concurrently, applicants can also expect a much
shorter waiting time.
Currently, the portal offers 69 different
licences and registrations required by various
sectors such as the media, entertainment, food
and beverage, import and export, and
telecommunications industries.
About 80% of start-ups or close to 30,000
businesses each year are able to fulfil their
licensing needs through OBLS, without having to
go offline.
With so many benefits, it is no wonder that users
are very pleased with the online service.
Said Ms Heng Siok Hong, who got approval for
her employer registration within a day: “Keep up
the good work. I am really impressed and amazed
by the quick response.”
Another user, Mr Ang Ying Thye, was glad that
OBLS helped to significantly cut down waiting
time, especially since he could apply for licences
after office hours. He said: “You’re doing a great
job by simplifying the processes and putting them
online. The procedures are easier for the average
person to understand.”
In future, business owners can look forward to
renewing, updating and terminating their licences
online. This way, they can experience the
convenience of going to one place for all their
business licensing needs. |
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| By IDA
Singapore |
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The time taken to get a fish culture farm
licence from AVA has been reduced from
three months to three days.
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The portal offers 69 different
licences and registrations required
by various sectors such as the
media, food and beverage, import
and export, telecommu-nications
and entertainment industries.
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Each year, 80% of start-ups or close to
30,000 businesses are able to fulfil their
licensing needs without having to go online. |
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