South Asia...Sri Lanka (Rank 99) Pakistan (Rank 108) Maldives (Rank 147) Bangladesh (Rank 168)...

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Region Profile South Asia South Asia Doing Business 2020 Page 1

Transcript of South Asia...Sri Lanka (Rank 99) Pakistan (Rank 108) Maldives (Rank 147) Bangladesh (Rank 168)...

Page 1: South Asia...Sri Lanka (Rank 99) Pakistan (Rank 108) Maldives (Rank 147) Bangladesh (Rank 168) Afghanistan (Rank 173) Regional Average (Rank 118) 0 20 40 60 80 100 Ease of Doing Business

Region Profile

South Asia

South AsiaDoing Business 2020

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Region Profile of South Asia

Doing Business 2020 Indicators(in order of appearance in the document)

Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company

Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safetymechanisms in the construction permitting system

Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply andthe transparency of tariffs

Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system

Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems

Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance

Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as postfilingprocesses

Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts

Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes

Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework forinsolvency

Employing workers Flexibility in employment regulation and redundancy cost

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About Doing Business

The project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational andregional level.

Doing Business

The project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their lifecycle.

Doing Business

captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation forstarting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading acrossborders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. also measures features of employing workers. Although does not present rankingsof economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it doespresent the data for these indicators.

Doing Business

Doing Business Doing Business

By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, encourageseconomies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sectorresearchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.

Doing Business

In addition, offers detailed , which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation.These studies provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selectedcities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that has ranked.

Doing Business subnational studies

Doing Business

The first study, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s study covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Mostindicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013(Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where also collected datafor the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited fromfeedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving theregulatory environment for business around the world.

Doing Business

Doing Business

To learn more about please visit .Doing Business doingbusiness.org

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The Business Environment

For policy makers, knowing where their economy stands in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business is useful. It is also helpful to know how it ranks comparedwith other economies in the region and compared with the regional average. Another perspective is provided by the regional average rankings on the topics included inthe ease of doing business ranking and the ease of doing business score.

How economies in rank on the ease of doing businessSouth Asia

India (Rank 63)

Bhutan (Rank 89)

Nepal (Rank 94)

Sri Lanka (Rank 99)

Pakistan (Rank 108)

Maldives (Rank 147)

Bangladesh (Rank 168)

Afghanistan (Rank 173)

Regional Average (Rank 118)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Ease of Doing Business score

71.0

66.0

63.2

61.8

61.0

53.3

45.0

44.1

58.2

Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across alleconomies in the sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowestand 100 represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.Source: database

Doing Business

Doing Business

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Rankings on Doing Business topics - South Asia

0

38

76

114

152

190

Starting a Business (99)

Dealing with Construction Permits (98)

Getting Electricity (118)

Registering Property (142)

Getting Credit (97)

Protecting Minority Investors (77)

Paying Taxes (132)

Trading across Borders (109)

Enforcing Contracts (145)

Resolving Insolvency (104)

Regional average ranking (Scale: Rank 190 center, Rank 1 outer edge)Source: database.Doing Business

Ease of Doing Business scores on Doing Business topics - South Asia

0

20

40

60

80

100

Starting a Business (86.3)

Dealing with Construction Permits (65.3)

Getting Electricity (62.6)

Registering Property (47.6)

Getting Credit (53.1)

Protecting Minority Investors (57.0)

Paying Taxes (60.2)

Trading across Borders (65.3)

Enforcing Contracts (43.5)

Resolving Insolvency (40.8)

(Scale: Score 0 center, Score 100 outer edge)

Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across alleconomies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowestand 100 represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. Source: Doing Business database

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Starting a Business

This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up andformally operate in each economy’s largest business city.

To make the data comparable across 190 economies, uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement ofoperations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that onecompany is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting theirscores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.

Doing Business

The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. .See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company(number)

Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation,notarization)

Registration in the economy’s largest business city•Postregistration (for example, social security registration,company seal)

Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leavethe home to register the company

Obtaining any gender specific document for companyregistration and operation or national identification card

Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days)

Does not include time spent gathering information•Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannotstart on the same day)

Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day•Procedure is considered completed once final document isreceived

No prior contact with officials•Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income percapita)

Official costs only, no bribes•No professional fees unless services required by law orcommonly used in practice

Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita)

• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registrationor up to 3 months after incorporation

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and theprocedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that theentrepreneur will pay no bribes.

The business:

-Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limitedliability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms ischosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or thestatistical office.-Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected forthe second largest business city.-Performs general industrial or commercial activities such as the production or sale to the public ofgoods or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handleproducts subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavilypolluting production processes.-Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.-Is 100% domestically owned.-Has five business owners, none of whom is a legal entity. One business owner holds 30% of thecompany shares, two owners have 20% of shares each, and two owners have 15% of shareseach.-Is managed by one local director.-Has between 10 and 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of themdomestic nationals.-Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita.-Has an estimated turnover of at least 100 times income per capita.-Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate.-Has an annual lease for the office space equivalent to one income per capita.-Is in an office space of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).-Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.

The owners:

-Have reached the legal age of majority and are capable of making decisions as an adult. If thereis no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old.-Are in good health and have no criminal record.-Are married, the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.-Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man inquestion (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will bethe one that applies to the majority of the population.

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Starting a Business

How easy is it for entrepreneurs in economies in South Asia to start a business? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of starting a business suggest ananswer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of starting a business

Source: Doing Business database.

Afghanistan (Rank 52)

Pakistan (Rank 72)

Maldives (Rank 74)

Sri Lanka (Rank 85)

Bhutan (Rank 103)

Bangladesh (Rank 131)

Nepal (Rank 135)

India (Rank 136)

Regional Average (Rank 99)

76 81 86 91 96 101 106

Starting a Business score

92.0

89.3

89.2

88.2

86.4

82.4

81.7

81.6

86.3

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Starting a Business

The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to start a business in each economy in the region:the number of procedures, the time, the cost and the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for theregion and for comparator regions can provide useful insights.

What it takes to start a business in economies in South Asia

Procedure – Men (number)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

India

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Pakistan

Afghanistan

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

8.1

7.1

6.5

6.5

5.2

4.9

10.0

9.0

8.0

8.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

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Starting a Business

Time – Men (days)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Regional Average

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Nepal

Bangladesh

India

Pakistan

Bhutan

Maldives

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

28.8

25.6

19.7

14.5

11.9

9.2

22.5

19.5

18.0

16.5

12.0

12.0

8.0

8.0

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Starting a Business

Cost – Men (% of income per capita)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Regional Average

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Nepal

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

India

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Maldives

Bhutan

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

31.4

17.4

16.7

8.3

4.0

3.0

20.2

8.7

8.7

7.2

6.8

6.7

4.1

3.7

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Starting a Business

Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita)

Source: Doing Business database.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

OECD High Income

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Maldives

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

0 2 4 6 8 10

8.9

7.6

3.5

0.7

0.4

0.2

1.4

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

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Dealing with Construction Permits

This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications,requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the buildingquality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professionalcertification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number)

Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessaryclearances, licenses, permits and certificates

Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessaryinspections

Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage•Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion•

Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days)

Does not include time spent gathering information•Each procedure starts on a separate day—though proceduresthat can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule

Procedure is considered completed once final document isreceived

No prior contact with officials•Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income percapita)

Official costs only, no bribes•Building quality control index (0-15)

Quality of building regulations (0-2)•Quality control before construction (0-1)•Quality control during construction (0-3)•Quality control after construction (0-3)•Liability and insurance regimes (0-2)•Professional certifications (0-4)•

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the constructioncompany, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.

The construction company (BuildCo):

- Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largestbusiness city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has alicensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architectsor engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensedexperts, such as geological or topographical experts.- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon itscompletion.

The warehouse:

- Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.- Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will belocated on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100%owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. Ifpreparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting priorapprovals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures.- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatoryrequirements).

The water and sewerage connections:

- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no waterdelivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerageinfrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built.- Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flowof 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day anda peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day.- Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.

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Dealing with Construction Permits

How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in South Asia to legally build a warehouse? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of dealing withconstruction permits suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of dealing with construction permits

Source: Doing Business database.

India (Rank 27)

Maldives (Rank 63)

Sri Lanka (Rank 66)

Bhutan (Rank 91)

Nepal (Rank 107)

Pakistan (Rank 112)

Bangladesh (Rank 135)

Afghanistan (Rank 183)

Regional Average (Rank 98)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Dealing with Construction Permits score

78.7

73.0

72.3

68.9

67.3

66.5

61.1

34.5

65.3

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Dealing with Construction Permits

The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse ineach economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and forcomparator regions can provide useful insights.

What it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in economies in South Asia

Procedures (number)

Source: Doing Business database.

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Regional Average

OECD High Income

Bhutan

Pakistan

Bangladesh

India

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

Nepal

Maldives

0 5 10 15 20 25

16.2

15.7

15.5

14.8

14.6

12.7

21.0

17.0

16.0

15.0

13.0

13.0

12.0

10.0

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Dealing with Construction Permits

Time (days)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Bhutan

Maldives

Pakistan

Nepal

India

Sri Lanka

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

191.2

170.1

152.3

149.7

132.3

123.6

274.0

199.0

150.0

140.0

125.0

118.0

106.0

86.0

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Dealing with Construction Permits

Cost (% of warehouse value)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Nepal

India

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Maldives

Sri Lanka

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

12.5

4.4

4.0

3.6

3.2

1.5

75.6

8.8

8.6

4.0

1.6

0.9

0.4

0.3

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Dealing with Construction Permits

Building quality control index (0-15)

Source: Doing Business database.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Regional Average

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

India

Pakistan

Bhutan

Bangladesh

Nepal

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan

0 3 6 9 12 15

12.5

12.1

11.6

9.4

9.4

9.0

14.5

13.0

12.0

10.0

10.0

7.0

6.0

3.0

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Getting Electricity

This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally,the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of datacollection for the project was completed in May 2019. .See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number)

Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessaryclearances and permits

Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessaryinspections

Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasingmaterial for these works

Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining finalsupply

Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days)

Is at least 1 calendar day•Each procedure starts on a separate day•Does not include time spent gathering information•Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and noprior contact with officials

Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income percapita)

Official costs only, no bribes•Value added tax excluded•

The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8)

Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3)•Tools to monitor power outages (0–1)•Tools to restore power supply (0–1)•Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1)•Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1)•Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)•

Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*

Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in casestudy

*Note: measures the price of electricity, but it isnot included in the ease of doing business score nor in the rankingon the ease of getting electricity.

Doing Business

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, theelectricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.

The warehouse:

- Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.- Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected forthe second largest business city.- Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with nophysical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.- Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 squarefeet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).

The electricity connection:

- Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW).- Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distributionnetwork and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where thewarehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as byexcavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of otherowners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road.- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already beencompleted up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base.

The monthly consumption:

- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hoursa day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts(assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours(kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.- If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier.- Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity forthe warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used.

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Getting Electricity

How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in South Asia to connect a warehouse to electricity? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of gettingelectricity suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of getting electricity

Source: Doing Business database.

India (Rank 22)

Bhutan (Rank 78)

Sri Lanka (Rank 89)

Pakistan (Rank 123)

Nepal (Rank 135)

Maldives (Rank 149)

Afghanistan (Rank 173)

Bangladesh (Rank 176)

Regional Average (Rank 118)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Getting Electricity score

89.4

77.5

74.5

64.0

60.9

55.6

44.2

34.9

62.6

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Getting Electricity

The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to get a new electricity connection in each economyin the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparatorregions can provide useful insights.

What it takes to get an electricity connection in economies in South Asia

Procedures (number)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

OECD High Income

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Maldives

Pakistan

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Bhutan

India

0 2 4 6 8 10

5.5

5.5

5.1

4.4

4.4

4.2

9.0

6.0

6.0

6.0

5.0

5.0

4.0

4.0

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Getting Electricity

Time (days)

Source: Doing Business database.

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Regional Average

OECD High Income

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Bhutan

India

Nepal

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

99.6

86.1

74.8

66.8

63.5

63.2

125.0

114.0

113.0

100.0

75.0

61.0

53.0

49.0

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Getting Electricity

Cost (% of income per capita)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Bhutan

Maldives

India

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

952.6

594.6

419.6

407.2

271.9

61.0

2546.4

1745.8

1234.5

785.8

663.5

381.6

234.6

28.6

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Getting Electricity

Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8)

Source: Doing Business database.

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Regional Average

India

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Bhutan

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Maldives

Nepal

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

7.4

6.2

4.4

4.4

4.0

2.7

6.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

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Registering Property

This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and abuilding that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The qualityof land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal accessto property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. .See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property(number)

Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens,notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes)

Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city.•Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title withmunicipality)

Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days)

Does not include time spent gathering information•Each procedure starts on a separate day - though proceduresthat can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule

Procedure is considered completed once final document isreceived

No prior contact with officials•Cost required to complete each procedure (% of propertyvalue)

Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties andtaxes).

Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments areexcluded

Quality of land administration index (0-30)

Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)•Transparency of information index (0–6)•Geographic coverage index (0–8)•Land dispute resolution index (0–8)•Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)•

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to thetransaction, the property and the procedures are used.

The parties (buyer and seller):

- Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).- Are located in the periurban (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits)area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for thesecond largest business city.- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.- Perform general commercial activities.

The property (fully owned by the seller):

- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.- Is fully owned by the seller.- Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years.- Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.- Is located in a periurban commercial zone (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within itsofficial limits), and no rezoning is required.- Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouseis 10 years old, is in good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety standards,building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will betransferred in its entirety.- Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.- Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind.- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use,industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required.- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.

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Registering Property

How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in South Asia to transfer property? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of registering property suggest ananswer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of registering property

Source: Doing Business database.

Bhutan (Rank 53)

Nepal (Rank 97)

Sri Lanka (Rank 138)

Pakistan (Rank 151)

India (Rank 154)

Maldives (Rank 176)

Bangladesh (Rank 184)

Afghanistan (Rank 186)

Regional Average (Rank 142)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Registering Property score

72.6

63.6

51.9

48.6

47.6

40.0

29.0

27.5

47.6

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Registering Property

The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show the average recovery rate and the average strength of insolvencyframework index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights.

What is takes to register property in economies in South Asia.

Procedures (number)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

India

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Nepal

Bhutan

0 2 4 6 8 10

7.4

6.9

5.5

5.5

5.4

4.7

9.0

9.0

8.0

8.0

8.0

6.0

4.0

3.0

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Registering Property

Time (days)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Bhutan

India

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Nepal

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

107.8

71.9

63.7

26.6

23.6

20.8

271.0

250.0

105.0

77.0

58.0

57.0

39.0

6.0

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Registering Property

Cost (% of property value)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Maldives

India

Bangladesh

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan

Bhutan

Pakistan

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

7.0

5.9

5.6

4.5

4.2

2.7

15.7

7.8

7.1

5.8

5.1

5.0

5.0

4.2

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Registering Property

Quality of the land administration index (0-30)

Source: Doing Business database.

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Bhutan

India

Pakistan

Maldives

Bangladesh

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

23.2

20.4

16.2

14.6

12.0

9.1

23.0

10.8

9.8

8.5

6.5

6.0

5.5

3.0

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Getting Credit

This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The mostrecent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. .See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Strength of legal rights index (0–12)

Rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral laws (0-10)•Protection of secured creditors’ rights through bankruptcy laws(0-2)

Depth of credit information index (0–8)

Scope and accessibility of credit information distributed bycredit bureaus and credit registries (0-8)

Credit bureau coverage (% of adults)

Number of individuals and firms listed in largest credit bureauas a percentage of adult population

Credit registry coverage (% of adults)

Number of individuals and firms listed in credit registry as apercentage of adult population

Case study assumptions

assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers andlenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of creditinformation index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility ofcredit information available through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rightsindex measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowersand lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined whether a unitarysecured transactions system exists. Then two case scenarios, case A and case B, are used todetermine how a nonpossessory security interest is created, publicized and enforced according tothe law. Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of securityinterests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and asecured lender, BizBank.

Doing Business

In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case A or case B(not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use ofmovable collateral.

Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used:

- ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent).- ABC has up to 50 employees.- ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.- Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned.

The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grantsBizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, itsmachinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. Ineconomies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property,ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute fornonpossessory security interests).

In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or anycharge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much ofABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets.

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Getting Credit

How well do the credit information systems and collateral and bankruptcy laws in economies in South Asia facilitate access to credit? The global rankings of theseeconomies on the ease of getting credit suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of getting credit

Source: Doing Business database.

India (Rank 25)

Nepal (Rank 37)

Bhutan (Rank 94)

Afghanistan (Rank 104)

Bangladesh (Rank 119)

Pakistan (Rank 119)

Sri Lanka (Rank 132)

Maldives (Rank 144)

Regional Average (Rank 97)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Getting Credit score

80.0

75.0

55.0

50.0

45.0

45.0

40.0

35.0

53.1

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Getting Credit

Another way to assess how well regulations and institutions support lending and borrowing in the region is to see where the region stands in the distribution of scoresacross regions. The first figure highlights the score on the strength of legal rights index in South Asia and comparator regions. The second figure shows the same thingfor the depth of credit information index.

How strong are legal rights for borrowers and lenders

Strength of legal rights index (0-12)

Source: Doing Business database.

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

OECD High Income

Regional Average

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Afghanistan

Nepal

India

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Maldives

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

7.8

7.1

6.1

5.5

5.3

3.1

10.0

10.0

9.0

5.0

4.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

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Getting Credit

Depth of credit information index (0-8)

Source: Doing Business database.

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Bhutan

India

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Nepal

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

6.8

6.7

5.3

5.1

5.1

4.5

7.0

7.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

5.0

4.0

0.0

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Protecting Minority Investors

This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights,governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completedin May 2019. .See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

: Disclosure, review, andapproval requirements for related-party transactions

• Extent of disclosure index (0–10)

: Ability of minorityshareholders to sue and hold interested directors liable forprejudicial related-party transactions; Available legalremedies (damages, disgorgement of profits, disqualificationfrom managerial position(s) for one year or more, rescission ofthe transaction)

• Extent of director liability index (0–10)

: Access to internalcorporate documents; Evidence obtainable during trial andallocation of legal expenses

• Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10)

Sum ofthe extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease ofshareholder suits indices

• Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-30):

: Shareholders’ rightsand role in major corporate decisions

• Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6)

: Governancesafeguards protecting shareholders from undue board controland entrenchment

• Extent of ownership and control index (0-7)

: Corporatetransparency on ownership stakes, compensation, audits andfinancial prospects

• Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7)

: Sum of theextent of shareholders rights, extent of ownership and controland extent of corporate transparency indices

• Extent of shareholder governance index (0–20)

: Sumof the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent ofshareholder governance indices

• Strength of minority investor protection index (0–50)

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several assumptions aboutthe business and the transaction.

- Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock exchange.- Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf ofBuyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law.- Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. Jamesappointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members.- Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum requirements.Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory.- Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network.

The business (Buyer):

- Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two directors toBuyer’s five-member board.- Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail hardware stores.Seller recently closed a large number of its stores.- Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Buyer’sdistribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price is equal to 10% ofBuyer’s assets and is higher than the market value.- The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not outside theauthority of the company.- Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all required disclosuresmade—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently.- The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the executives anddirectors that approved the transaction.

The transaction involves the following details:

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Protecting Minority Investors

How strong are investor protections against self-dealing in economies in South Asia? The global rankings of these economies on the strength of investor protection indexsuggest an answer. While the indicator does not measure all aspects related to the protection of minority investors, a higher ranking does indicate that an economy'sregulations offer stronger investor protections against self-dealing in the areas measured.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of protecting minority investors

Source: Doing Business database.

India (Rank 13)

Sri Lanka (Rank 28)

Pakistan (Rank 28)

Bangladesh (Rank 72)

Nepal (Rank 79)

Bhutan (Rank 111)

Afghanistan (Rank 140)

Maldives (Rank 147)

Regional Average (Rank 77)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Protecting Minority Investors score

80.0

72.0

72.0

60.0

58.0

46.0

36.0

32.0

57.0

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Paying Taxes

This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the administrative burden ofpaying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent round of data collection for the project wascompleted in May 2019 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2018 (January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018). See the methodology for more information.

What the indicators measure

Tax payments for a manufacturing company in 2018 (numberper year adjusted for electronic and joint filing and payment)

Total number of taxes and contributions paid or withheld,including consumption taxes (value added tax, sales tax orgoods and service tax)

Method and frequency of filing and payment•Time required to comply with 3 major taxes (hours per year)

Collecting information, computing tax payable•Preparing separate tax accounting books, if required•Completing tax return, filing with agencies•Arranging payment or withholding•

Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial profits)

Profit or corporate income tax•Social contributions, labor taxes paid by employer•Property and property transfer taxes•Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions taxes•Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes•

Postfiling Index

Time to comply with VAT refund (hours)•Time to obtain VAT refund (weeks)•Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours)•Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks)•

Case study assumptions

Using a case scenario, records taxes and mandatory contributions a medium sizecompany must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden of paying taxes,contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency offiling and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply with therequirements of postfiling processes and time waiting.

Doing Business

To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used:- TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2017. It producesceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail.

Taxes and mandatory contributions are measuredat all levels of government.

- In June 2018, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the machine is 65 timesincome per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income percapita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are equally expensed per month (875 times incomeper capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurredin June will be fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs,sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will exceed OutputVAT in June 2018.

All taxes and contributions recorded are paid in thesecond year of operation (calendar year 2018).

The VAT refund process:

- An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax depreciation rates,or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and acorporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily notified thetax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income taxliability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annualtax return, but within the tax assessment period.

The corporate income tax audit process:

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Paying Taxes

What is the administrative burden of complying with taxes in economies in South Asia —and how much do firms pay in taxes? The global rankings of these economies onthe ease of paying taxes offer useful information for assessing the tax compliance burden for businesses. The average ranking of the region provides a usefulbenchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of paying taxes

Source: Doing Business database.

Bhutan (Rank 15)

India (Rank 115)

Maldives (Rank 119)

Sri Lanka (Rank 142)

Bangladesh (Rank 151)

Pakistan (Rank 161)

Nepal (Rank 175)

Afghanistan (Rank 178)

Regional Average (Rank 132)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Paying Taxes score

89.2

67.6

66.4

59.8

56.1

52.9

47.1

42.2

60.2

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Paying Taxes

The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to comply with tax regulations in each economy inthe region—the number of payments per year, the time required to prepare, and file and pay the 3 major taxes (corporate income tax, VAT or sales tax and labor taxesand mandatory contributions), the total tax and contribution rate—as well as a postfiling index that measures the compliance with completing two processes: VAT cashrefund and tax audit. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights.

How easy is it to pay taxes in economies in South Asia - and what are the total tax and contribution rates

Payments (number per year)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Bhutan

Maldives

India

0 10 20 30 40 50

28.2

26.7

20.6

16.5

14.4

10.3

46.0

36.0

34.0

33.0

19.0

18.0

17.0

11.0

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Paying Taxes

Time (hours per year)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

OECD High Income

Bangladesh

Maldives

Nepal

Pakistan

Afghanistan

India

Sri Lanka

Bhutan

0 100 200 300 400 500

317.1

273.5

213.1

202.6

173.0

158.8

435.0

391.0

377.0

283.0

270.0

252.0

129.0

52.0

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Paying Taxes

Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

OECD High Income

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

India

Nepal

Bhutan

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Maldives

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

47.0

43.9

39.9

33.6

32.5

31.7

71.4

55.2

49.7

41.8

35.3

33.9

33.4

30.2

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Paying Taxes

Postfiling index (0-100)

Source: Doing Business database.

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Bhutan

India

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Bangladesh

Nepal

Pakistan

Afghanistan

0 20 40 60 80 100

86.7

68.2

56.4

53.3

47.5

41.2

95.0

49.3

49.3

47.5

44.4

33.3

10.5

0.0

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Trading across Borders

records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. measures the time and cost (excludingtariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting orimporting a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. .

Doing Business Doing Business

See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Documentary compliance

Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents duringtransport, clearance, inspections and port or border handling inorigin economy

Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents required bydestination economy and any transit economies

Covers all documents required by law and in practice, includingelectronic submissions of information

Border compliance

Customs clearance and inspections•Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% ofshipments)

Handling and inspections that take place at the economy’s portor border

Domestic transport

Loading or unloading of the shipment at the warehouse orport/border

Transport between warehouse and port/border•Traffic delays and road police checks while shipment is enroute

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the tradedgoods and the transactions:

Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are recorded as22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively,suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight andcan be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance would be recorded as24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours.

Time:

Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from thecosts recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors are asked to convert local currencyinto U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire.Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and are informed aboutexchange rates.

Cost:

- For all 190 economies covered by , it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse inthe largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the largestbusiness city of the importing economy.- It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) fromits natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest value (price timesquantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the product of its comparativeadvantage (defined by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that isthe largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000.- The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product andthe trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing.- All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection withthe shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the exportor import process.- A port or border is a place (seaport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter orleave an economy.- Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards,standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national securityagencies and any other government authorities.

Assumptions of the case study:Doing Business

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Trading across Borders

How easy it is for businesses in economies in South Asia to export and import goods? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of trading across borderssuggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of trading across borders

Source: Doing Business database.

Bhutan (Rank 30)

Nepal (Rank 60)

India (Rank 68)

Sri Lanka (Rank 96)

Pakistan (Rank 111)

Maldives (Rank 157)

Bangladesh (Rank 176)

Afghanistan (Rank 177)

Regional Average (Rank 109)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Trading across Borders score

94.2

85.1

82.5

73.3

68.8

55.9

31.8

30.6

65.3

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Trading across Borders

The indicators reported here are for trading a shipment of goods by the most widely used mode of transport (whether sea or land or some combination of these). Theinformation on the time and cost to complete export and import is collected from local freight forwarders, customs brokers and traders. Comparing these indicators acrossthe region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights.

What it takes to trade across borders in economies in South Asia

Time to export: Border compliance (hours)

Source: Doing Business database.

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Bangladesh

Pakistan

India

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Nepal

Bhutan

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

57.5

55.3

53.4

52.5

16.1

12.7

168.0

58.0

52.0

48.0

43.0

42.0

11.0

5.0

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Trading across Borders

Cost to export: Border compliance (USD)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Regional Average

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Maldives

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

India

Nepal

Bhutan

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

516.3

441.8

381.1

310.6

150.0

136.8

596.0

453.0

408.0

366.0

288.0

212.0

103.0

59.0

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Trading across Borders

Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Nepal

India

Bhutan

0 50 100 150 200 250

73.7

66.4

55.6

35.7

25.1

2.3

228.0

147.0

55.0

48.0

48.0

43.0

12.0

9.0

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Trading across Borders

Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD)

Source: Doing Business database.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

Maldives

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Nepal

India

Sri Lanka

Bhutan

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

240.7

157.9

109.4

100.3

87.6

33.4

344.0

300.0

225.0

118.0

110.0

58.0

58.0

50.0

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Trading across Borders

Time to import: Border compliance (hours)

Source: Doing Business database.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Maldives

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

India

Nepal

Bhutan

0 50 100 150 200 250

94.2

85.7

68.4

55.6

20.4

8.5

216.0

120.0

100.0

96.0

72.0

65.0

11.0

5.0

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Trading across Borders

Cost to import: Border compliance (USD)

Source: Doing Business database.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Maldives

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

India

Nepal

Bhutan

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

628.4

512.5

472.9

422.8

158.8

98.1

981.0

900.0

750.0

300.0

287.0

266.0

190.0

110.0

South AsiaDoing Business 2020

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Trading across Borders

Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Pakistan

Maldives

Nepal

Sri Lanka

India

Bhutan

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

93.7

72.5

53.7

43.2

23.4

3.4

324.0

144.0

96.0

61.0

48.0

48.0

20.0

8.0

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Trading across Borders

Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD)

Source: Doing Business database.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

OECD High Income

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Maldives

Pakistan

India

Nepal

Bhutan

0 200 400 600 800 1000

262.6

261.7

108.4

107.3

85.9

23.5

900.0

370.0

283.0

180.0

130.0

100.0

80.0

50.0

South AsiaDoing Business 2020

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Enforcing Contracts

.

The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of judicial processesindex, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of datacollection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

Time required to enforce a contract through the courts(calendar days)

Time to file and serve the case•Time for trial and to obtain the judgment•Time to enforce the judgment•

Cost required to enforce a contract through the courts (% ofclaim value)

Average Attorney fees•Court costs•Enforcement costs•

Quality of judicial processes index (0-18)

Court structure and proceedings (-1-5)•Case management (0-6)•Court automation (0-4)•Alternative dispute resolution (0-3)•

Case study assumptions

The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between two domesticbusinesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods indispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt enforcement.

To make the data comparable across economies, uses several assumptions aboutthe case are used:- The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and Buyer), bothlocated in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for thesecond largest business city.- The Buyer orders custom-made furniture, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are not ofadequate quality.- The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency ofUSD 5,000, whichever is greater.- The Seller sues the Buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% ofincome per capita or $5,000 whichever is greater.- The Seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to secure theclaim.- The claim is disputed on the merits because of Buyer’s allegation that the quality of the goodswas not adequate.- The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal.- The Seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the Buyer’s movable assets.

Doing Business

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Enforcing Contracts

How efficent is the process of resolving a commercial dispute through the courts in economies in South Asia? The global rankings of these economies on the ease ofenforcing contracts suggest an answer.The averge ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a userful benchmark.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of enforcing contracts.

Source: Doing Business database.

Bhutan (Rank 29)

Maldives (Rank 124)

Nepal (Rank 151)

Pakistan (Rank 156)

India (Rank 163)

Sri Lanka (Rank 164)

Afghanistan (Rank 181)

Bangladesh (Rank 189)

Regional Average (Rank 145)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Enforcing Contracts score

70.0

52.5

46.0

43.5

41.2

41.2

31.8

22.2

43.5

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Enforcing Contracts

The indicators underlying the rankings may also be revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to enforce a contract through the courts in eacheconomy in the region: the time, the cost and quality of judicial processes index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region andfor comparator regions can provide useful insights.

What it takes to enforce a contract through the courts in economies in South Asia

Time (days)

Source: Doing Business database.

Regional Average

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

OECD High Income

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Afghanistan

India

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Nepal

Maldives

Bhutan

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800

1101.6

774.2

622.0

589.6

581.1

496.4

1642.0

1445.0

1442.0

1318.0

1071.0

910.0

760.0

225.0

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Enforcing Contracts

Cost (% of claim value)

Source: Doing Business database.

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Regional Average

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

OECD High Income

Bangladesh

India

Afghanistan

Nepal

Bhutan

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Maldives

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

47.2

32.0

29.9

26.6

24.7

21.5

66.8

31.0

29.0

27.3

23.1

22.8

20.5

18.5

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Enforcing Contracts

Quality of judicial processes index (0-18)

Source: Doing Business database.

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Regional Average

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

India

Sri Lanka

Bhutan

Bangladesh

Nepal

Pakistan

Maldives

Afghanistan

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

11.7

10.3

8.8

8.1

7.1

6.6

10.5

8.5

8.0

7.5

6.0

5.7

5.5

5.0

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Resolving Insolvency

studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate,which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings.To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented withdata from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019.

.

Doing Business

Doing BusinessSee the methodology for more

information

What the indicators measure

Time required to recover debt (years)

Measured in calendar years•Appeals and requests for extension are included•

Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate)

Measured as percentage of estate value•Court fees•Fees of insolvency administrators•Lawyers’ fees•Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees•Other related fees•

Outcome

Whether business continues operating as a going concern orbusiness assets are sold piecemeal

Recovery rate for creditors

Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by securedcreditors

Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines themaximum value that can be recovered

Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted•Depreciation of furniture is taken into account•Present value of debt recovered•

Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16)

Sum of the scores of four component indices:•Commencement of proceedings index (0-3)•Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6)•Reorganization proceedings index (0-3)•Creditor participation index (0-4)•

Case study assumptions

To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, severalassumptions about the business and the case are used:

- A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotelexperiences financial difficulties.- The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD200,000, whichever is greater.- The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s real estate.The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to operate otherwise.

In addition, evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to judicialliquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best insolvency practices havebeen implemented in each economy covered.

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Resolving Insolvency

How efficient are insolvency proceedings in economies in South Asia? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of resolving insolvency suggest an answer.The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark for assessing the efficiency of insolvency proceedings. Speed, low costs andcontinuation of viable businesses characterize the top performing economies.

Where do the region’s economies stand today?

How economies in South Asia rank on the ease of resolving insolvency

Source: Doing Business database.

India (Rank 52)

Pakistan (Rank 58)

Afghanistan (Rank 76)

Nepal (Rank 87)

Sri Lanka (Rank 94)

Maldives (Rank 141)

Bangladesh (Rank 154)

Bhutan (Rank 168)

Regional Average (Rank 104)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Resolving Insolvency score

62.0

59.0

51.9

47.2

45.0

33.3

28.1

0.0

40.8

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Resolving Insolvency

The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show the average recovery rate and the average strength of insolvencyframework index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights.

How efficient is the insolvency process in economies in South Asia

Recovery rate (cents on the dollar)

Source: Doing Business database.

OECD High Income

Europe and Central Asia (ECA)

Regional Average

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

India

Maldives

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Nepal

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

0 20 40 60 80 100

70.2

38.5

38.1

35.5

31.2

27.3

71.6

50.2

43.0

42.8

41.2

29.1

26.7

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Employing Workers

presents detailed data for the employing workers indicators on the website ( ). The study does not presentrankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business.Doing Business Doing Business http://www.doingbusiness.org

The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. .See the methodology for more information

What the indicators measure

(i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for permanenttasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts;(iii) length of the maximum probationary period; (iv) minimumwage;(v) ratio of minimum wage to the average value added perworker.

Hiring

(i) maximum number of working days allowed per week; (ii)premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime;(iii) whether there are restrictions on work at night, work on aweekly rest day and for overtime work; (iv) length of paid annualleave.

Working hours

(i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating workers; (ii)whether employer needs to notify and/or get approval from thirdparty to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundantworkers; (iii) whether the law requires employer to reassign orretrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whetherpriority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment.

Redundancy rules

(i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severancepayments, and (iii) penalties due when terminating a redundantworker. Data on the availability of unemployment protection for aworker with one year of employment is also collected.

Redundancy cost

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the worker and thebusiness are used.

- Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience.- Is a full-time employee.- Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory.

The worker:

- Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy).- Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. For 11economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.- Has 60 employees.- Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than 50% of thefood retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them.- Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than thosemandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining agreements.

The business:

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Business Reforms in South Asia

From May 2, 2018 to May 1, 2019, 115 economies implemented 294 business regulatory reforms across the 10 areas measured by Doing Business. Reforms inspired byhave been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented in since 2011.Doing Business South Asia Doing Business

= reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business.Doing Business

Starting a Business

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 Bangladesh Bangladesh made starting a business less expensive by reducing name clearance and registration feesand abolishing the fee for certifying digital certificates. This reform applies to both Dhaka and Chittagong.

DB2020 India India made starting a business easier by abolishing filing fees for the SPICe company incorporation form,electronic memorandum of association and articles of association. This reform applies to both Delhi andMumbai.

DB2020 Nepal Nepal made starting a business more difficult by requiring in-person follow-up for employee registration forsocial security.

DB2020 Pakistan Pakistan made starting a business easier by expanding procedures available through the online one-stopshop. This reform applies to both Karachi and Lahore. Furthermore, Pakistan (Lahore) abolished the LaborDepartment registration fee.

DB2019 Afghanistan Afghanistan made starting a business less costly by reducing the fees for business incorporation

DB2019 India India made starting a business easier by fully integrating multiple application forms into a generalincorporation form. India also replaced the value added tax with the GST (Goods and Services Tax) forwhich the registration process is faster. At the same time, Mumbai abolished the practice of siteinspections for registering companies under the Shops and Establishments Act.

DB2019 Pakistan Pakistan made starting a business easier by enhancing the online one-stop registration system, replacingseveral forms for incorporation with a single application and establishing information exchange betweenthe registry and the tax authority. This change applies to both Karachi and Lahore.

DB2018 Afghanistan Afghanistan made starting a business more costly by requiring that entrepreneurs pay the business licensefee for three years at the time of incorporation.

DB2018 Bangladesh Bangladesh made starting a business more expensive by increasing the cost of business registration atthe Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms. This reform applies to both Chittagong and Dhaka.

DB2018 Bhutan Bhutan made starting a business easier by reducing the time for obtaining a Security Clearance Certificate,registering at the Office of the Registrar and registering for taxes.

DB2018 India India made starting a business faster by merging the applications for the Permanent Account Number(PAN) and the Tax Account Number (TAN), and by improving the online application system. This reformapplies to both Delhi and Mumbai. Mumbai also made starting a business faster by merging theapplications for the value-added tax and the profession tax.

DB2018 Pakistan Pakistan made starting a business easier by replacing the need to obtain a digital signature for companyincorporation with a less costly personal identification number. This change applies to both Karachi andLahore.

DB2017 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by removing the stamp duty on newly issued shares.

DB2016 Afghanistan Afghanistan made starting a business more costly by increasing the registration and publication fees.

DB2016 India India made starting a business easier by eliminating the minimum capital requirement and the need toobtain a certificate to commence business operations. This reform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2016 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to notify the Registrar ofCompanies of the payment of stamp duty for the initial issuance of shares.

DB2015 Afghanistan Afghanistan made starting a business more difficult by increasing the publication fees and prolonging thetime required for registration.

DB2015 India India made starting a business easier by considerably reducing the registration fees, but also made it moredifficult by introducing a requirement to file a declaration before the commencement of businessoperations. These changes apply to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2014 Afghanistan Afghanistan made starting a business easier by reducing the time and cost to obtain a business licenseand by eliminating the inspection of the premises of newly registered companies.

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Dealing with Construction Permits

Getting Electricity

DB2014 Bangladesh Bangladesh made starting a business easier by automating the registration process and reducing the timerequired to obtain a trading license and to complete the tax and value added tax registration.

DB2014 Bhutan Bhutan made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to obtain the security clearancecertificate.

DB2014 Nepal Nepal made starting a business easier by reducing the administrative processing time at the companyregistrar and by establishing a data link between agencies involved in the incorporation process.

DB2013 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by computerizing and expediting the process of obtaining aregistration number for the Employees Provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund.

DB2012 Bhutan Bhutan eased the process of starting a business by making its criminal records search electronic andmaking the rubber company stamps available on the local market.

DB2011 Bangladesh Bangladesh made business start-up easier by eliminating the requirement to buy adhesive stamps andfurther enhancing the online registration system.

DB2011 India India eased business start-up by establishing an online VAT registration system and replacing the physicalstamp previously required with an online version.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 India India (Delhi) streamlined the process, reduced the time and cost of obtaining construction permits andimproved building quality control by strengthening professional certification requirements. India (Mumbai)streamlined the process of obtaining a building permit and made it faster and less expensive to get aconstruction permit.

DB2020 Nepal Nepal made dealing with construction permits easier and less costly by reducing fees for building permitsand improving the online e-submissions platform.

DB2020 Pakistan Pakistan (Karachi) made obtaining a construction permit easier and faster by streamlining the approvalprocess and also made construction safer by ensuring that building quality inspections take place regularly.Pakistan (Lahore) also made obtaining a construction permit easier and faster by streamlining the approvalprocess and by improving the operational efficiency of its one-stop shop for construction permitting.

DB2019 India India streamlined the process of obtaining a building permit and made it faster and less expensive toobtain a construction permit. It also improved building quality control by introducing decennial liability andinsurance. This reform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2019 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits easier by launching a single window, increasingtransparency by providing online access to building regulations and reducing the processing times to issueseveral building certificates.

DB2018 India India made dealing with construction permits less cumbersome by implementing an online system that hasstreamlined the process at the Municipality of New Delhi and Municipality of Greater Mumbai. The onlinesystem has streamlined the process of obtaining a building permit, thereby reducing the number ofprocedures and time required to obtain a building permit in India.

DB2017 Nepal Nepal made dealing with construction permits more difficult by increasing the cost of obtaining a buildingpermit.

DB2016 Maldives The Maldives made dealing with construction permits more difficult by requiring that building plans bestamped and approved by private structural and architectural checkers prior to requesting a buildingpermit.

DB2016 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by streamlining the internal reviewprocess for building permit applications.

DB2015 Nepal Nepal made dealing with construction permits easier by implementing a new electronic building permitsystem.

DB2014 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a taxclearance and by reducing building permit fees.

DB2013 India India reduced the time required to obtain a building permit by establishing strict time limits forpreconstruction approvals.

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Registering Property

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 Bangladesh Bangladesh (Dhaka) made getting electricity faster by investing in digitization and human capital at theutility. Bangladesh (Dhaka) also made getting electricity less costly by reducing the amount of the securitydeposit for a new connection.

DB2020 Pakistan Pakistan made getting electricity easier by enforcing service delivery time frames and by launching anonline portal for new applications. Pakistan also increased the transparency of electricity tariff changes.This reform applies to both Karachi and Lahore.

DB2019 India The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission reduced charges for low voltage connections. Gettingelectricity was also made easier in Delhi through a reduction in the time for the utility to carry out theexternal connection works.

DB2018 Maldives Maldives made getting electricity faster by upgrading existing electricity grid and increasing the networkcapacity to accommodate new connections.

DB2017 India India made getting electricity faster and cheaper by streamlining the process of getting a new commercialelectricity connection. This reform impacts Delhi.

DB2016 Bangladesh Bangladesh reduced the application processing time for new connections in both Dhaka and Chittagongthanks to an increase in the country’s network capacity.

DB2016 Bhutan Bhutan made getting electricity easier by speeding up the process for obtaining a new connection.

DB2016 India The utility in Delhi made the process for getting an electricity connection simpler and faster by eliminatingthe internal wiring inspection by the Electrical Inspectorate. The utility in Mumbai reduced the proceduresand time required to connect to electricity by improving internal work processes and coordination.

DB2016 Pakistan Pakistan (Karachi), made the process for getting an electricity connection faster as the distribution utilityimproved the stock of material for the external connection works.

DB2015 India In India the utility in Mumbai made getting electricity less costly by reducing the security deposit for a newconnection.

DB2014 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made getting electricity easier by improving the utility’s internal workflow and by reducing thetime required to process new applications for connections.

DB2013 Bangladesh Bangladesh made getting electricity more difficult by requiring all customers to meet 7% of their electricityneeds through solar energy, making it necessary to install solar panels.

DB2012 Afghanistan Afghanistan made getting electricity easier by improving the efficiency of the electricity department inKabul and introducing a new fee schedule for connections.

DB2012 Bangladesh Bangladesh made getting electricity more difficult by imposing a moratorium on new electricity connectionsfrom April 2010 to March 2011 because of an electricity supply shortage. This moratorium has led to longdelays for customers and has increased the time to obtain an electricity connection.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 Nepal Nepal made property registration more expensive by increasing the property transfer registration fee.Nepal also improved the quality of its land administration system by publishing the official servicestandards for delivering updated cadastral maps.

DB2020 Pakistan Pakistan (Karachi) made property registration faster by making it easier to execute and register a deed atthe Office of the Sub-Registrar. Pakistan (Lahore) made registering property easier by increasing thetransparency of the land administration system.

DB2019 India

DB2019 Pakistan Pakistan (Lahore) made registering property easier by streamlining and automating administrativeprocedures, and by increasing the transparency of its land administration system. Pakistan (Karachi) maderegistering property easier by increasing the transparency of the land registry.

DB2019 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made property registration easier by implementing a single window to streamline the process ofdelivering several certificates and increased transparency by providing online access to cadastralinformation.

DB2018 Pakistan Pakistan, Karachi improved the transparency of the land registration process by publishing online the feeschedule and the list of documents necessary to complete any property registration.

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Getting Credit

Protecting Minority Investors

DB2017 Pakistan Pakistan improved the quality of land administration by digitizing ownership and land records. This reformapplies to Lahore.

DB2016 Bhutan Bhutan made transferring property easier by introducing a computerized land information system.

DB2013 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made registering property faster by introducing an electronic system at the Land Registry inColombo.

DB2011 Bangladesh Bangladesh reduced the property transfer tax to 6.7% of the property value.

DB2011 Maldives Maldives now allows registered companies to own land as long as all company shares are owned byMaldivians.

DB2011 Pakistan Pakistan made property transfer more affordable by reducing the stamp duty rate.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 Bangladesh Bangladesh improved access to credit information by expanding the coverage of the credit informationbureau. This reform applies to both Dhaka and Chittagong.

DB2020 Nepal Nepal improved access to credit information by expanding the coverage of the credit bureau.

DB2019 Afghanistan Afghanistan strengthened access to credit by enacting a new insolvency law. Secured creditors are nowgiven absolute priority over other claims within insolvency proceedings.

DB2019 India India strengthened access to credit by amending its insolvency law. Secured creditors are now givenabsolute priority over other claims within insolvency proceedings.This reform affects both Delhi andMumbai.

DB2018 Bhutan Bhutan improved access to credit information by beginning to distribute payment data from two utilitycompanies.

DB2018 India India strengthened access to credit by amending the rules on priority of secured creditors outsidereorganization proceedings and by adopting a new law on insolvency that provides a time limit and cleargrounds for relief to the automatic stay for secured creditors during reorganization proceedings. Thisreform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2018 Nepal Nepal strengthened access to credit by operationalizing the existing law on secured transactions thatimplements a functional secured transactions system and establishes a centralized, notice-based, moderncollateral registry.

DB2017 Pakistan Pakistan improved access to credit information guaranteeing by law borrowers’ rights to inspect their owndata. The credit bureau also expanded its borrower coverage. This reform applies to both Lahore andKarachi.

DB2016 Afghanistan Afghanistan improved access to credit information by launching a credit registry.

DB2014 Afghanistan Afghanistan strengthened its secured transactions system by implementing a unified collateral registry.

DB2014 Bhutan Bhutan improved access to credit information through new regulations governing the licensing andfunctioning of the credit bureau and guaranteeing borrowers’ right to access their data.

DB2013 Bangladesh Bangladesh improved access to credit information by establishing an online platform for sharing suchinformation.

DB2013 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka strengthened its secured transactions system by establishing an electronic, searchable collateralregistry and issuing regulations for its operation.

DB2012 Bhutan Bhutan improved its credit information system by launching the operation of a public credit registry.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2019 Afghanistan Afghanistan strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater disclosure of transactions withinterested parties, easing shareholder suits by extending access to documents and evidence during trial,increasing shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate decisions, clarifying ownership and controlstructures and requiring greater corporate transparency.

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Paying Taxes

DB2018 Bhutan Bhutan strengthened minority investor protections by clarifying ownership and control structures butweakened minority investor protections by reducing shareholder rights.

DB2018 India India strengthened minority investor protections by increasing the remedies available in cases ofprejudicial transactions between interested parties. This reform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2018 Pakistan Pakistan increased minority investor protections by making it easier to sue directors in case of prejudicialtransactions with interested parties. This reform applies to both Karachi and Lahore.

DB2017 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka strengthened minority investor protections by requiring board and in some cases shareholderapproval of related-party transactions and by requiring that such transactions undergo external review.

DB2015 India India strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater disclosure of conflicts of interest byboard members, increasing the remedies available in case of prejudicial related-party transactions andintroducing additional safeguards for shareholders of privately held companies. This reform applies to bothDelhi and Mumbai.

DB2012 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka strengthened investor protections by requiring greater corporate disclosure in case oftransactions between interested parties.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 Pakistan Pakistan made paying taxes easier by introducing online payment modules for value added tax andcorporate income tax, and less costly by reducing the corporate income tax rate. This reform applies toboth Karachi and Lahore.

DB2019 Afghanistan Afghanistan made paying taxes easier by adopting a new tax administration and law manual with clearrules and guidelines on tax audit, and by automating the submission of tax returns.

DB2019 Bhutan Bhutan made paying taxes easier by introducing an online platform for filing corporate income tax andpersonal income tax returns.

DB2019 India India made paying taxes easier by replacing many indirect taxes with a single indirect tax, the GST, for theentire country. India also made paying taxes less costly by reducing the corporate income tax rate and theemployees’ provident funds scheme rate paid by the employer. This reform applies to both Delhi andMumbai.

DB2019 Nepal Nepal made paying taxes more difficult by introducing a new labor contribution (gratuity contribution),medical insurance and accident insurance paid by the employer.

DB2019 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made paying taxes easier by introducing online systems for filing corporate income tax, valueadded tax and employee trust fund contributions

DB2018 India India made paying taxes easier by making payment of EPF mandatory electronically and introducing a setof administrative measures easing compliance with corporate income tax. This reform applies to both Delhiand Mumbai.

DB2018 Maldives Maldives made paying taxes easier by introducing an online system for filing and paying taxes.

DB2017 Afghanistan Afghanistan made paying taxes more costly by increasing the business receipts tax rate.

DB2017 Bangladesh Bangladesh made paying taxes more complicated for companies by increasing the time it takes to prepareVAT and corporate income tax returns. This reform applies to both Chittagong and Dhaka.

DB2017 India India made paying taxes easier by introducing an electronic system for paying employee state insurancecontributions. This reform applies to both Mumbai and Delhi.

DB2016 Bangladesh Bangladesh made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Thisreform applies to both Chittagong and Dhaka.

DB2016 Maldives Maldives made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing more payment counters at the taxauthority and express counters at peak periods. At the same time, Maldives introduced additionaldisclosure requirements for filing corporate income tax returns.

DB2015 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the reduced corporate income taxrate for qualifying small and medium-size enterprises.

DB2014 Maldives Maldives made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing electronic filing systems for corporateincome tax, sales tax and pension contributions.

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Trading across Borders

DB2014 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic filing system for socialsecurity contributions.

DB2013 Maldives Maldives introduced a goods and service tax, a business profit tax and additional social contributions.

DB2012 India India eased the administrative burden of paying taxes for firms by introducing mandatory electronic filingand payment for value added tax.

DB2012 Pakistan Pakistan increased the profit tax rate for small firms.

DB2012 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made paying taxes less costly for businesses by abolishing the turnover tax and social securitycontribution and by reducing corporate income tax, value added tax and national building tax rates.

DB2011 India India reduced the administrative burden of paying taxes by abolishing the fringe benefit tax and improvingelectronic payment.

DB2011 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made paying taxes more difficult by introducing a new tax called the Nation Building Tax (NBT)as of February 1, 2009 at a rate of 1% on the turnover.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 India India made trading across borders easier by enabling post-clearance audits, integrating trade stakeholdersin a single electronic platform, upgrading port infrastructures and enhancing the electronic submission ofdocuments. This reform applies to both Mumbai and New Delhi.

DB2020 Nepal Nepal reduced the time and cost to export and the time to import by opening the Integrated Check PostBirgunj at the Nepal-India border.

DB2020 Pakistan Pakistan made trading across borders easier by enhancing the integration of various agencies in the Web-Based One Customs (WEBOC) electronic system and coordinating joint physical inspections at the port.This reform applies to both Karachi and Lahore.

DB2019 India India reduced the time and cost to export and import through various initiatives, including theimplementation of electronic sealing of containers, the upgrading of port infrastructure and allowingelectronic submission of supporting documents with digital signatures. This reform applies to both Delhiand Mumbai.

DB2018 India India reduced import border compliance time in Mumbai by improving infrastructure at the Nhava ShevaPort. Export and import border compliance cost were also reduced in both Delhi and Mumbai byeliminating merchant overtime fees and through the increased use of electronic and mobile platforms.

DB2018 Pakistan Pakistan made importing and exporting easier by developing a new container terminal and enhancing itscustoms platform for electronic document submission. These changes apply to both Karachi and Lahore.

DB2018 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made exporting and importing easier by developing a customs single window.

DB2017 Afghanistan Afghanistan made exporting and importing easier by enhancing the usage of different modules of theASYCUDA World customs processing system.

DB2017 India India made exporting and importing easier by launching Customs Electronic Commerce InterchangeGateway portal and simplifying border and documentary compliance procedures. This reform applies toboth New Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2017 Nepal Exporting in Nepal became more difficult due to an increase in the time and cost for documentarycompliance following the introduction of a special vehicle permit requirement. At the same time, Nepalimplemented the ASYCUDA World data management system, which expedited the customs clearanceprocess.

DB2017 Pakistan Pakistan made exporting and importing easier by enhancing its electronic "Web Based One CustomsPlatform".

DB2015 Bangladesh Bangladesh made trading across borders easier by introducing a fully automated, computerized customsdata management system, ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) World. This reform appliesto both Chittagong and Dhaka.

DB2015 Pakistan Pakistan made trading across borders easier by introducing a fully automated, computerized system (theWeb-Based One Customs system) for the submission and processing of export and import documents.This reform applies to both Lahore and Karachi.

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Enforcing Contracts

Resolving Insolvency

Employing Workers

DB2014 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made trading across borders easier by introducing an electronic payment system for portservices.

DB2013 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka reduced the time to export by implementing the ASYCUDA World electronic data interchangesystem.

DB2011 Pakistan Pakistan reduced the time to export by improving electronic communication between the Karachi Portauthorities and the private terminals, which have also boosted efficiency by introducing new equipment.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 Nepal Nepal made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a new code of civil procedure that introduces timestandards for key court events.

DB2019 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a pre-trial conference as part of the casemanagement techniques used in court.

DB2018 Bhutan Bhutan made enforcing contracts easier by creating a dedicated bench to resolve commercial cases.

DB2018 India India made enforcing contracts easier by introducing the National Judicial Data Grid, which makes itpossible to generate case measurement reports on local courts. This reform applies to both Delhi andMumbai.

DB2017 India India made enforcing contracts easier by creating dedicated divisions to resolve commercial cases. Thisreform applies to both Mumbai and Delhi.

DB2012 Nepal Nepal improved oversight and monitoring in the court, speeding up the process for filing claims.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2020 India India made resolving insolvency easier by promoting reorganization proceedings in practice. India alsomade resolving insolvency more difficult by not allowing dissenting creditors to receive as much underreorganization as they would receive in liquidation. This reform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB2019 Afghanistan Afghanistan made resolving insolvency easier by improving the continuation of the debtor’s businessduring insolvency proceedings, introducing the reorganization procedure and granting creditors greaterparticipation in the proceedings.

DB2019 Pakistan Pakistan made resolving insolvency easier by introducing the reorganization procedure and improving thecontinuation of the debtor’s business during insolvency proceedings. This change applies to both Karachiand Lahore.

DB2018 India India made resolving insolvency easier by adopting a new insolvency and bankruptcy code that introduceda reorganization procedure for corporate debtors and facilitated continuation of the debtor’s businessduring insolvency proceedings. This reform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai.

DB Year Economy Reform

DB2019 India India (Mumbai) changed regulations pertaining to weekly holiday work, overtime hours and paid annualleave.

DB2019 Nepal Nepal changed regulations pertaining to fixed-term contracts, probationary periods, working hours, paidmaternity and sick leave, night work for women, third party approval in case of redundancy andunemployment protection.

DB2018 India India increased the mandatory length of paid maternity. This reform applies to both New Delhi andMumbai.

DB2013 Bhutan Bhutan introduced a minimum wage.

DB2011 Bhutan Bhutan established the mandatory paid annual leave.

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