Summary
·
Authority
seeks to monitor local firms as well as their international associates to
ensure they adhere to laws and regulations
Arusha. Brela is setting up a special national register to document the identified owners of all business operations in order to
deal with issues of companies operating like smokescreens that conceal dubious activitiesThe Business Registrations and
Licensing Agency (Brela) has convened a meeting with relevant authorities in
Arusha to create a seamless network of official information portal to help keep
the local firms as well as their international associates closely monitored to
ensure they adhere to laws and regulations.
“While most companies are genuine,
we cannot ignore the fact that a few firms could be operating behind a façade
yet being busy with illegal rackets such as human trafficking, money
laundering, narcotics or even smuggling,” said the head of companies department
of Brela, Mr Isidori Mkindi.
Being a worldwide problem, Tanzania
is simply complying with other international communities to address the issue
of some scrupulous firms hoarding illegal dealings in the backrooms of their
otherwise legal looking front offices.
“But this is also beneficial to
registered companies, once their partners or potential investors want to deal
with local firms they normally ask for information about them and once they
find them clean, it gets easy to hatch business dealings with them,” Mr Mkindi
explained.
And in order to accomplish the
mission Brela is working with other state organs to ensure that all firms
operate as per their officially listed mandates.
The legal officer from the state
attorney’s chamber, Mr Eliaimenyi Njiro, said the Brela workshop on beneficiary
ownership is an important platform where all state organs get to learn how to
deal with any situation related to firms that go against their registered
activities.
“The State Attorney office is
responsible for conducting investigations whenever such situations arise, it is
thus important for us to learn more about company registrations, trademarks,
partnership their tax returns and if they have international links,” she
explained.
One her part, Ms Beatrice Gideon
from the Regional Immigration Office who was also present, said her office
relies on information from Brela when processing residential or working permits
of foreigners coming to work or do business in Tanzania thus having a national
register with all relevant information comes in handy.
It also came up during the workshop
that some who are always seen at the forefront in a number of business
operations their names hardly appear in the firms’ memorandums of association
which means they could either be stooges or used faked identities to register
their companies.
The authorities who attended the
Brela workshop include Police Officers, representatives from the Tanzania
Revenue Authority (TRA), the State Attorney Office and personnel from the
Prevention and Combating Corruption Bureau.
Brela will next meet with practising
lawyers through the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) Arusha Chapter, and business
owners through their Tanzania Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
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