The Uganda Registration Service Bureau is the body responsible for registration of all business-related activities. Established by an Act of parliament, the Uganda Registration Service Bureau Act Cap 210 of the Laws of Uganda, it is a body corporate which can sue and be sued, own property and have a corporate seal.
What are the recent developments at the Company Registry?
- Lean Memorandum and Articles of association
Early in the year of 2019, it was announced by the Registrar General’s office that Uganda Registration Services Bureau had launched a simplified and brief version of the memorandum of association and articles of association.
In a basic one page format, the document allows a company to state that it carries out general business and trading though this can still be amended to suit the unique differences of any company in question.
The purpose of this was and still is to simplify the procedure of company registration. This in turn eases the opening and carrying out of business in Uganda hence encouraging competitiveness on the economic sector. - Registration of Single member companies
It is now possible to open a company with one individual. By virtue of The Companies (Single Members) Regulations of 2016, any on interested in opening a company as an individual can now do so.
A single member company like any other has its own corporate personality meaning that it can be sued and can sue. It can also own property among many other rights. It is important to note though that the single member has to nominate another person as a company secretary and an alternate director apart from him or herself.
A single member company upon registration must contain the words “Single Member Company” or the acronym “SMC” at the end of it name. The membership of a single member company can be changed by amendment of the articles of association by special resolution and notification of the Registrar. - Increased powers of the registrar
The Companies (Powers of the Registrars) Regulations, 2016 , a register has the powers to rectify and update the register in stances where the information is misleading, inaccurate , with error, an illegal endorsement and so on. - The use of intellectual property as collateral
The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 guarantees that a person in Uganda can own and use property in exclusion to all other persons or jointly.
Intellectual property, simply defined as the creations of the mind, falls under property upon which a person can own in exclusion of all other persons. Because of this such property can now be used to acquire loans and financial relief from financial institutions thanks to the Security Interests in Moveable Properties Act of 2019. The National intellectual Property policy enables registration of various rights. This is why people should continuously register their creations of the mind with the Uganda Registration Bureau of Standards. Registration enables various rights owner many benefits which include;- Conclusive proof of ownership of the particular rights in the product
- Power to enforce the rights in the property
- And most recently, the authority to use your intellectual property as collateral.
- Trademark (Amendment) Regulations of 2021.
This amendment is aimed at promoting increased accessibility to the trademark system for nationals by reducing the impediments to trademark registration. The key amendments include;- The provision of alternative publication media alongside the Uganda Gazette as the registrar may direct. The Regulations 10-20 and 25 of the amended regulations provide that trademark applications and other matters under the Trademark Act 2010 may be published in the Gazette and any other media that is an alternative as directed by the Registrar.
- Introduction of the registration of a trademark agent. The definition of a trademark agent has been amended to mean an advocate of the High Court registered by the registrar as required by regulation 11. This implies that in order for an advocate of the High Court to be a trademark agent he or she must be registered with URSB as an agent.
- Reference to the current version of the International Classification of goods and services under the Nice Agreements of 15 June 1957 (as revised) including explanatory notes and lists of goods and services published therein. These classifications are used during application processes.
- Registration of Non-Governmental Organizations
The non-government organizations commonly known as NGO’s have to be registered with the Uganda registration service bureau in accordance to the Non-Governmental Organizations Act,2016 and the Regulations of 2017 respectively.
Once the organization is registered it will receive certificate of registration and remains registered unless it is cancelled by URSB as stated by the law or upon election of the organization itself.
In conclusion Uganda Company registry continuously makes developments to ease the pursuit of businesses in carrying out their work and to increase efficiency through increased competition.
OCA Corporate Team
