Register your business at Investment Promotion Authority (IPA)

You have a business idea or plan and want to officially register this idea as a business at your nearest Investment Promotion Authority office. Before going to the IPA office to register your entity, it is important to understand the suitable business or entity type that suits your business idea.

Given that the word ‘Company’ is commonly linked to conducting businesses, people have the tendency to register a company to perform any business activity either to make a profit or for charity. 

Although it is still alright, it is essential to understand the various entity types available that people can utilize when trying to register and do business.

There are four (4) entity types that are registered at the IPA. They are;

1. Business Name
2. Company
3. Business Group
4. Association

1. Business Name

A Business Name allows the business to carry out only one type of business activity. For example, if a person registers a hire car business then the name is specifically for the hire car business. That person can’t use the same name to run a trade store. They will need to register a separate Business Name to operate a trade store. By law, Business Names expire after a year but can be renewed. It costs K200 to register a Business Name manually or K150 if you do it online.

2. Company

A Company on the other hand can do more than one type of business activity. A company needs to have a director or directors and a shareholder or shareholders as a primary prerequisite. A director runs the day-to-day operations of the company and the shareholder is the owner of the company. Every year, a company is required by law to lodge annual returns or run the risk of being de-registered. It costs K600 to register a company or K450 if you do it online.

3. Business Group

A Business Group is usually rural based and can consist of many members from the same family, clan or tribe. This entity type is only allowed for Papua New Guineans. A Business Group is required by law to lodge a statement of assets and liability every year or run the risk of being de-registered. The registration fee is K100.

4. Association

An Association is a not-for-profit organization and must NOT carry out business. It is registered for the purpose of achieving a common goal as agreed by the members of the association’s constitution. However, the association can register a Business Name or company which will make money to fund the operations of the Association.

IPA Forms

You can download all the necessary IPA forms by visiting the IPA forms page. Moreover, Contact us for more information and assistance by emailing info@smartbizpacific.com or using the form available here.