The Malta Business Registry launched its new online platform which introduces new digital features aimed at better assisting companies and corporate service providers. Following months of preparations and constant testing, both internal as well as external, particularly with practitioners and stakeholders, the re-engineering of processes ensured a smooth transition from the previous system to the new portal.
The system is based on blockchain technology and this proved beneficial to ensure transparency when sharing data and that there is a digital audit trail so that the portal’s integrity is maintained.
Addressing the official launch, Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri said the new online system seeks to bolster efficiency and promotes business automation in a way that aids practitioners in their work whilst meeting clients’ needs. He explained that this digital platform empowers the professionals who are in control of the client companies they represent to submit documents from Corporate Accounts, see if there are any pending penalties or to update the information in a shorter time such as a change of office address or directors. Adding to this is the use of a qualified digital signature according to a European directive that is being given so that professionals can continue to sign with the same force of normal ink and with the same responsibility.
All this will pave the way for this entity to become paperless in a few years’ time. So much so that the impact of this new system is already being noticed in the digital process of incorporation of companies where if a client enters all the necessary information the company can be incorporated within 24 hours. Since November the system was open for submission of documents and until now 662 companies have been incorporated online and more than 80,000 documents.”
The digital platform complements another initiative that is being led by the MBR and that will be crucial to strengthen the competitiveness of our country, the Central Data Repository Solution through which the entities will have shared information of documents requested to the investory. Regarding this, the process is well underway to issue the tender for this system in the coming months.
“As you can see, the digital aspect is increasingly entering in our day-to-day operations. Accordingly, I can announce that work is underway by a committee also led by the MBR in order to carry out an exercise to analyse the legislation of the Companies Act and make amendments to reflect the times and needs of today, including adaptation to digitalisation,” said Minister Schembri.
MBR CEO and Registrar Dr Geraldine Spiteri Lucas gave an in-depth walk through on the re-engineering of process, migration of data up to the very implementation of the new online system. “The re-engineering of processes was a crucial step that paved way to have a better understanding of how previous services can be improved in the best interests of MBR’s clientele. This brought with it an analysis of the legal aspect to reflect such change whilst putting into consideration GDPR constraints throughout. Having the stakeholders as part of this journey was crucial in order for practitioners to be participants in providing their feedback and be part of the testing throughout. The internal and external testing was followed by a delicate process that is the migration of data to which MBR’s employees played a crucial part in ensuring a smooth transition. Arriving to where we are today, that is the launch of the Business Automation Registry Online System (BAROS) which introduces several features that strongly consolidate MBR’s vision towards digitalization as well as in becoming a paperless entity, something to which instilling a change in culture throughout is key,” said Dr Spiteri Lucas.
Photo: DOI/MEEP
