Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu

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Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Doing Business 2018   Vanuatu

                                Page 1
Doing Business 2018 Vanuatu
Doing Business 2018       Vanuatu

                                             Economy Profile of Vanuatu

                                          Doing Business 2018 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 safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system

Getting electricity                 Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, the reliability of the
                                    electricity supply and the 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 and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-
                                    filing processes

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 for insolvency

Labor market regulation             Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality

                                                                                                                                       Page 2
Doing Business 2018          Vanuatu

About Doing Business

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

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

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

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

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

The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets
and 190 economies. Most indicator 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 Doing Business, also collected data for 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 from feedback from
governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving
the regulatory environment for business around the world.

The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance
observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is
reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business
ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to
two decimals.

More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)

                                                                                                                                                   Page 3
Doing Business 2018                 Vanuatu

         Ease of Doing Business in                                                                                             DB 2018 Rank
                                                Region                 East Asia & Pacific
                                                                                                               190                                        1
               Vanuatu
                                                Income Category        Lower middle income                                             90
                                                                                                                        DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
                                                Population             270,402
                                                                                                                 0                               100

                                                City Covered           Port Vila                                                            63.08

                                                               DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)

                       0                                                                                                               100
                                                                                              63.89: Samoa (Rank: 87)

                                                                                             63.08: Vanuatu (Rank: 90)

                                                                                             62.70: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)

                                                                              51.45: Marshall Islands (Rank: 149)

                                                                           48.99: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 155)

                                                                           48.74: Kiribati (Rank: 157)

Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the
indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the
lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.

Rankings on Doing Business topics - Vanuatu

         1

                                                                                    29
         28

                                                                                                                57
         55
                                                                80
         82                                     86
 Rank

                                                                                                                                                                 96
                                                                                                 108
        109
                128
                                                                                                                                               135
        136                                                                                                                    143
                               151

        163

        190

              Starting       Dealing          Getting        Registering       Getting         Protecting      Paying        Trading         Enforcing         Resolving
                 a            with           Electricity      Property         Credit           Minority       Taxes         across          Contracts        Insolvency
              Business     Construction                                                        Investors                     Borders
                             Permits

Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Vanuatu

        100

               81.23
        80                                                                                                     77.85
                                                                                   75.00
                                               72.01
                                                               65.63
                              57.58                                                                                           59.13
        60
DTF

                                                                                                 50.00                                         49.27
                                                                                                                                                                43.04
        40

        20

         0

              Starting       Dealing          Getting        Registering       Getting         Protecting      Paying        Trading          Enforcing        Resolving
                 a            with           Electricity      Property         Credit           Minority       Taxes         across           Contracts       Insolvency
              Business     Construction                                                        Investors                     Borders
                             Permits

                                                                                                                                                                           Page 4
Doing Business 2018             Vanuatu

        Starting a Business

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

  To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has
  start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and
  50 people one month after the commencement of operations, 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 one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5
  married men. The distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scores obtained for each of the component indicators.

  The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information.

      What the indicators measure                            Case study assumptions

  Procedures to legally build a warehouse                   To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
  (number)                                                  business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
                                                            readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
●   Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
      all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
                                                            The business:
      certificates
●   Submitting all required notifications and receiving   - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
      all necessary inspections                             of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
                                                            is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
●   Obtaining utility connections for water and
                                                            lawyers or the statistical office.
      sewerage
                                                            - Operates in the economy’s largest business city and the entire office space is
●   Registering and selling the warehouse after its       approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11 economies the data
      completion                                            are also collected for the second largest business city.
                                                            - Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
  Time required to complete each procedure
                                                            and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at
  (calendar days)
                                                            least 100 times income per capita.
●   Does not include time spent gathering information     - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
●   Each procedure starts on a separate day (2            of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
      procedures cannot start on the same day)              activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
                                                            liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
●   Procedures fully completed online are recorded
                                                            - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
      as ½ day
                                                            amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to 1 times income per
●   Procedure is considered completed once final          capita.
      document is received                                  - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
●   No prior contact with officials                       - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
                                                            operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
  Cost required to complete each procedure (% of            - Has a company deed 10 pages long.
  income per capita)
                                                            The owners:
●   Official costs only, no bribes
●   No professional fees unless services required by      - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
      law or commonly used in practice                      assumed to be 30 years old.
                                                            - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
  Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita           - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
●   Funds deposited in a bank or with third party         - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
      before registration or up to 3 months after           man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
      incorporation                                         answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.

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Doing Business 2018          Vanuatu

Starting a Business - Vanuatu

  Standardized Company

 Legal form                                                               Private Limited Liability Company

 Paid-in minimum capital requirement                                      VUV 0

 City Covered                                                             Port Vila

  Indicator                                              Vanuatu             East Asia &           OECD high               Overall Best
                                                                             Pacific               income                  Performer

 Procedure – Men (number)                               7                   7.0                   4.9                      1.00 (New Zealand)

 Time – Men (days)                                      18                  22.7                  8.5                      0.50 (New Zealand)

 Cost – Men (% of income per capita)                    44.4                18.4                  3.1                      0.00 (United Kingdom)

 Procedure – Women (number)                             7                   7.0                   4.9                      1.00 (New Zealand)

 Time – Women (days)                                    18                  22.8                  8.5                      0.50 (New Zealand)

 Cost – Women (% of income per capita)                  44.4                18.4                  3.1                      0.00 (United Kingdom)

 Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita)          0.0                 15.1                  8.7                      0.00 (113 Economies)

 Figure – Starting a Business in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF

                                                      DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)

       0                                                                                            100

                                                                                         92.54: Samoa (Rank: 33)

                                                                                      88.49: Marshall Islands (Rank: 72)

                                                                                82.32: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)

                                                                               81.23: Vanuatu (Rank: 128)

                                                                            77.47: Kiribati (Rank: 147)

                                                                     69.56: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 170)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

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Doing Business 2018   Vanuatu

  Figure – Starting a Business in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                             Time (days)          Cost (% of income per capita)
               18                                                                                                                       35

               16
                                                                                                                                        30

                                                                                                                                             Cost (% of income per capita)
               14
                                                                                                                                        25
               12
 Time (days)

               10                                                                                                                       20

               8                                                                                                                        15

               6
                                                                                                                                        10
               4
                                                                                                                                        5
               2

               0                                                                                                                        0
                    1             2                 3                 *4                 5                *6                 7
                                                              Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

                                                                                                                                                                             Page 7
Doing Business 2018             Vanuatu

Details – Starting a Business in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

No.     Procedures                                                                                     Time to Complete     Associated Costs

1       Check the uniqueness of the company name                                                       1 day                no charge
        Agency : Vanuatu Financial Services Commission
        This service is not automated and cannot be completed on the spot. A form must be
        completed and faxed to the VFSC – this form is usually available at the lawyer’s office or
        can be downloaded from http://www.vfsc.vu/steps.html. At least three alternatives must
        be provided and the VFSC will return the form providing information on their
        availability. There is no charge for this service and it takes only 1 day to complete this
        process.

        In addition to checking the name (as recorded by the Starting a business indicator), it is
        possible to reserve the name, which costs VUV 2,000. Reserving the name is a good
        practice but not required and not done systematically.

2       Apply for incorporation at the VFSCU                                                           4 days               VUV 35,000 for in
        Agency : Vanuatu Financial Services Commission                                                                      person filing and VUV
        Pursuant to Official Gazette No. 75 of 2015 (dated 31 August 2015), it is now possible to                           30,000 for online
        register a company online. A company can conduct all steps online, and also has the                                 applications.
        option to choose model rules, to avoid having to use legal services to draft their own
        rules. The application is filled out online, and reviewed by officers online. Fees can be
        paid through an online payment processing system. The certificate of incorporation is
        delivered by email on confirmation of incorporation. However, most applications for
        incorporation are filed in person. Online applications cost VUR 30,000 and in person,
        35,000

3       Apply for a business license from the Department of Customs and Inland                         1 day                VUV 20,000 to
        Revenue services                                                                                                    1,000,000 (VUV
        Agency : Department of Customs and Inland Revenue Services                                                          100,000 in case of a
        An incorporated company is not entitled to begin operating until it has obtained a                                  turnover between
        business license from the Department of Customs and Inland Revenue Services. It may
                                                                                                                            VUV 20,000,000 and
        take 2–3 weeks to obtain such a license.
                                                                                                                            VUV 30,000,000).

        Business license certificates are issued by the Rates and Taxes Authority. The fee varies
        by type and size of business, as shown below for 2006.

        Fee schedule:
        • < VUV 4million(annual turnover): No charge
        • > VUV 4 Million to 10 Million (annual turnover): VUV 20 thousand (fee)
        • > VUV 10 Million to 20 Million (annual turnover): VUV 50 thousand (fee)
        • > VUV 20 Million to 50 Million (annual turnover): VUV100 thousand (fee)
        • > VUV 50 Million to 100 Million (annual turnover): VUV 250 thousand (fee)
        • > VUV 100 Million to 200 Million (annual turnover): VUV 500 thousand (fee)
        • > VUV 200 Million />(annual turnover): VUV 1 Million(fee)

    4   Register with the VAT office                                                                   3 days,              no charge
        Agency : Department of Customs and Inland Revenue Services                                     simultaneous with
        A company must register with the value added tax (VAT) office if it anticipates turnover       procedure 4
        of at least VUV 4 million per year.

5       Register as an employer with the National Provident Fund                                       1 week               no charge
        Agency : National Provident Fund
        All employees from the age of 14 – 55 must join the fund. 50% of the monthly
        contribution (understand gross salary) is paid by the employer and 50% by the employee.
        This is for the retirement benefits of the employees. Under the law, an employer must
        register with this fund 7 days after incorporation of the business (or 7 days as soon as the
        first employee is recruited).

        Payment of contribution is made directly at the National Provident Fund.

    6   Enroll employees in the work accident insurance                                                3 days,              no charge
        Agency : Any insurance fund                                                                    simultaneous with
        All employers are required to insure their employees against workplace accidents.              previous procedure

7       Make a company seal                                                                            3 days               VUV 3,000
        Agency : Sealmaker
        By law, a company must have a seal – a mean to authenticate its documents

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                                                    Page 8
Doing Business 2018             Vanuatu

        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 building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of
  quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of
  data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information

      What the indicators measure                            Case study assumptions

  Procedures to legally build a warehouse                   To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
  (number)                                                  construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
●   Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
                                                            The construction company (BuildCo):
      all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
      certificates                                          - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
●   Submitting all required notifications and receiving   largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
      all necessary inspections                             largest business city.
                                                            - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
●   Obtaining utility connections for water and
                                                            legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
      sewerage
                                                            the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
●   Registering and selling the warehouse after its       other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
      completion                                            topographical experts.
                                                            - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
  Time required to complete each procedure
                                                            upon its completion.
  (calendar days)
●   Does not include time spent gathering information     The warehouse:
●   Each procedure starts on a separate day—              - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
      though procedures that can be fully completed         - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
      online are an exception to this rule                  approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
●   Procedure is considered completed once final          meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
      document is received                                  929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
                                                            warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
●   No prior contact with officials
                                                            - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
  Cost required to complete each procedure (% of            architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
  income per capita)                                        documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
                                                            as procedures.
●   Official costs only, no bribes
                                                            - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
                                                            regulatory requirements).
  Building quality control index (0-15)
●   Sum of the scores of six component indices:           The water and sewerage connections:
●   Quality of building regulations (0-2)                 - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
●   Quality control before construction (0-1)             is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
                                                            no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
●   Quality control during construction (0-3)
                                                            installed or built.
●   Quality control after construction (0-3)              - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
●   Liability and insurance regimes (0-2)                 wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
●   Professional certifications (0-4)                     1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a 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 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
                                                            the sewerage connection.

                                                                                                                                                       Page 9
Doing Business 2018      Vanuatu

Dealing with Construction Permits - Vanuatu

       Standardized Company

    Estimated value of warehouse                                              VUV 15,550,316.90

    City Covered                                                              Port Vila

       Indicator                                           Vanuatu                East Asia &             OECD high          Overall Best
                                                                                  Pacific                 income             Performer

    Procedures (number)                                   14                     15.2                 12.5                   7.00 (Denmark)

    Time (days)                                           124                    138.2                154.6                  27.5 (Korea, Rep.)

    Cost (% of warehouse value)                           7.8                    2.2                  1.6                    0.10 (5 Economies)

    Building quality control index (0-15)                 5.0                    8.9                  11.4                   15.00 (3 Economies)

  Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF

                                                        DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)

                     0                                                                                    100

                                                                           70.93: Marshall Islands (Rank: 71)

                                                                        69.60: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)

                                                                       68.68: Samoa (Rank: 83)

                                                                     65.72: Kiribati (Rank: 111)

                                                                 61.05: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 137)

                                                               57.58: Vanuatu (Rank: 151)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for
dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component
indicators.

  Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                 Time (days)          Cost (% of income per capita)
                                                                                                                                                   8
               120

                                                                                                                                                   7
                                                                                                                                                       Cost (% of income per capita)

               100
                                                                                                                                                   6

               80
 Time (days)

                                                                                                                                                   5

               60                                                                                                                                  4

                                                                                                                                                   3
               40
                                                                                                                                                   2

               20
                                                                                                                                                   1

                0                                                                                                                                  0
                         1   2    3         *4     *5      *6         *7         8         9         10         11      12        13        14
                                                                   Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

                                                                                                                                                                                       Page 10
Doing Business 2018                        Vanuatu

Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

              15

Index score
              10                                                                                                                                   8.9

                                                         6.0                                                                     6.0
                                5.0
                  5

                                                                                  1.0
                                                                                                              0.0
                  0

                             Vanuatu                   Kiribati             Marshall Islands       Micronesia, Fed. Sts.        Samoa       East Asia & Pacific

Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

  No.                 Procedures                                                                                      Time to Complete   Associated Costs

1                     Request and obtain preliminary environmental assessment                                         15 days            VUV 20,000
                      Agency : Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation (DEPC)
                      According to the Law on Environment published in the Official Gazette on August 13,
                      2011, it is mandatory to obtain a preliminary environmental impact assessment (EIA)
                      conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection & Conservation (DEPC). If no
                      full EIA is required, an approval may be granted with conditions. This is a requirement
                      prior to having all other departments involved in clearing the permit application.

2                     Request building permit and pay application fee                                                 1 day              VUV 10,000
                      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
                      BuildCo must submit the plans and specifications along with a copy of the lease title (as
                      urban land in Vanuatu belongs to the government). During this process, the approval from
                      5 departments will be needed:
                      • Public Works Department
                      • Department of Land, Survey and Registry
                      • Geology and Mines Department
                      • Fire Department
                      • Physical Planning Department -- located in the Municipality

                      The following documents must be submitted to these agencies:
                      • Floor plan
                      • Elevation plan
                      • Cross section plan
                      • Detail plan of ring beam and roof structure – details of next floor must also be provided
                      since this building has one ground floor and 1 level
                      • Services layout plan (electricity, plumbing lines, power point)
                      • Septic tank Plan
                      • Site plan
                      • Location plan
                      • Copy of survey plan
                      • Copy of front page of lease document

                      The application fee is a fixed fee of VUV 10,000.00.

3                     Obtain approval from the Public Works Department                                                5 days             no charge
                      Agency : Public Works Department
                      This is the office that would verify the safety of the building. Plans are checked.

              4       Obtain approval from the Department of Land, Survey and Registry                                3 days             no charge
                      Agency : Department of Land, Survey & Registry
                      This office will check that the land lease fees have paid and that the lease type and
                      location are accurate.

              5       Obtain approval from the Geology and Mines Department                                           2 days             no charge
                      Agency : Geology and Mines Department
                      This office will check whether the soil is suitable for construction based solely on the
                      location of the intended building.

              6       Obtain approval from the Fire Department                                                        1 day              no charge
                      Agency : Fire Department
                      This office will check the fire safety requirements of the building.

              7       Obtain approval from the Physical Planning Department                                           2 days             no charge
                      Agency : Physical Planning department

                                                                                                                                                                  Page 11
Doing Business 2018           Vanuatu

8     Pay building permit fee and obtain building permit                                        90 days   VUV 1,138,025
      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
      Payment for the construction permit itself is made when the Town Council has approved
      the permit. The Town Council will meet only if there are more than 10 applications for
      approval.

      The fee for a construction permit is VUV 875.00 per sq. m. for commercial or industrial
      constructions.

9     Notify the Town Planning and Building Division of commencement of work                    1 day     no charge
      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
      According to Article 14, Section 4 of the Building Act 2013, BuildCo must notify the
      Town Planning and Building Division about the intended commencement of work 7 days
      before starting construction.

10    Request and receive inspection for excavation for a foundation                            1 day     no charge
      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
      According to Article 14, Section 4 (b) (i) of the BuildingAct 2013, the builder or his
      representative must notify the Town Planning and Building Division 7 days before the
      intended covering up of the excavation for foundation.

11    Request and obtain connection to water services from UNELCO                               7 days    VUV 25,000
      Agency : UNELCO Vanuatu Ltd.
      UNELCO is the sole provider of water and electricity and all requests for connection
      must be made in person.

12    Request certificate of completion from Town Planning and Building                         1 day     VUV 13,000
      Division (Port Vila Municipality)
      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division

13    Receive inspection from Town Planning and Building Division (Port Vila                    1 day     no charge
      Municipality)
      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division
      The Town Planning Unit, Port Vila Municipality would issue a certificate of completion
      upon performing an inspection. A VUV 13,000.00 fee must be paid for this certificate.

14    Obtain completion certificate                                                             1 day     no charge
      Agency : Town Planning and Building Division

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                          Page 12
Doing Business 2018         Vanuatu

Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Vanuatu – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                      Answer               Score

Building quality control index (0-15)                                                                                      5.0

Quality of building regulations index (0-2)                                                                                1.0

  How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1)                             They must be         0.0
                                                                                                      purchased; Not
                                                                                                      easily accessible.

  Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building            List of required     1.0
  regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1)                               documents; Fees
                                                                                                      to be paid;
                                                                                                      Required
                                                                                                      preapprovals.

Quality control before construction index (0-1)                                                                            0.0

  Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in             By law, there is     0.0
  compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1)                                                no need to verify
                                                                                                      plans
                                                                                                      compliance; Civil
                                                                                                      servant reviews
                                                                                                      plans.

Quality control during construction index (0-3)                                                                            1.0

  What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction?       Inspections at       1.0
  (0-2)                                                                                               various phases.

  Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1)                        Mandatory            0.0
                                                                                                      inspections are
                                                                                                      not always done
                                                                                                      in practice during
                                                                                                      construction.

Quality control after construction index (0-3)                                                                             3.0

  Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance     Yes, final           2.0
  with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2)                                                      inspection is
                                                                                                      done by
                                                                                                      government
                                                                                                      agency.

  Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1)                                      Final inspection     1.0
                                                                                                      always occurs in
                                                                                                      practice.

Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2)                                                                                0.0

  Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building      No party is held     0.0
  once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1)                           liable under the
                                                                                                      law.

  Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible          No party is          0.0
  structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance   required by law
  or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1)                                                                      to obtain
                                                                                                      insurance .

Professional certifications index (0-4)                                                                                    0.0

  What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the     There are no         0.0
  architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2)         specific
                                                                                                      requirements.

  What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction        There are no         0.0
  on the ground? (0-2)                                                                                specific
                                                                                                      requirements.

                                                                                                                                   Page 13
Doing Business 2018             Vanuatu

        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 data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology
  for more information.

      What the indicators measure                            Case study assumptions

  Procedures to obtain an electricity connection            To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
  (number)                                                  construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
●   Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
                                                            The construction company (BuildCo):
      all necessary clearances and permits
●   Completing all required notifications and             - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
      receiving all necessary inspections                   largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
                                                            largest business city.
●   Obtaining external installation works and possibly
                                                            - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
      purchasing material for these works
                                                            legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
●   Concluding any necessary supply contract and          the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
      obtaining final supply                                other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
                                                            topographical experts.
  Time required to complete each procedure
                                                            - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
  (calendar days)
                                                            upon its completion.
●   Is at least 1 calendar day
                                                            The warehouse:
●   Each procedure starts on a separate day
●   Does not include time spent gathering information     - 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
●   Reflects the time spent in practice, with little
                                                            approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
      follow-up and no prior contact with officials
                                                            meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
  Cost required to complete each procedure (% of            929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
  income per capita)                                        warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
                                                            - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
●   Official costs only, no bribes                        architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
●   Value added tax excluded                              documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
                                                            as procedures.
  The reliability of supply and transparency of             - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
  tariffs index (0-8)                                       regulatory requirements).
●   Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3)
                                                            The water and sewerage connections:
●   Tools to monitor power outages (0–1)
                                                            - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
●   Tools to restore power supply (0–1)
                                                            is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
●   Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance       no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
      (0–1)                                                 installed or built.
●   Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1)           - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
                                                            wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
●   Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
                                                            1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
  Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*           gallons) a day.
                                                            - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
●   Price based on monthly bill for commercial
                                                            year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
      warehouse in case study
                                                            the sewerage connection.
  *Note: Doing Business measures the price of
  electricity, but it is not included in the distance to
  frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting
  electricity.

                                                                                                                                                       Page 14
Doing Business 2018           Vanuatu

Getting Electricity - Vanuatu

  Standardized Company

 Price of electricity (US cents per kWh)                                       35.1

 Name of utility                                                               Unelco

 City Covered                                                                  Port Vila

  Indicator                                               Vanuatu                  East Asia &          OECD high            Overall Best
                                                                                   Pacific              income               Performer

 Procedures (number)                                      4                       4.5                  4.7                   2 (United Arab
                                                                                                                             Emirates)

 Time (days)                                              120                     71.6                 79.1                  10 (United Arab
                                                                                                                             Emirates)

 Cost (% of income per capita)                            1090.4                  712.0                63.0                  0.00 (Japan)

 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff         5                       3.7                  7.4                   8.00 (28 Economies)
 index (0-8)

 Figure – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF

                                                       DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)

        0                                                                                                100

                                                                                   79.70: Samoa (Rank: 60)

                                                                             72.23: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)

                                                                             72.01: Vanuatu (Rank: 86)

                                                                    64.48: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 109)

                                                                59.26: Marshall Islands (Rank: 126)

                                               41.50: Kiribati (Rank: 168)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting
electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

                                                                                                                                                   Page 15
Doing Business 2018             Vanuatu

  Figure – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                         Time (days)        Cost (% of income per capita)
                   120                                                                                                                  1200

                                                                                                                                                 Cost (% of income per capita)
                   100                                                                                                                  1000

                   80                                                                                                                   800
 Time (days)

                   60                                                                                                                   600

                   40                                                                                                                   400

                   20                                                                                                                   200

                       0                                                                                                                0
                                     1                          *2                              3                     *4
                                                                        Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

  Figure – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

                   8
                   7
                   6
     Index score

                             5
                   5
                                                                                                               4
                   4                                                                                                              3.7

                   3
                   2
                   1
                                                   0                    0                     0
                   0

                           Vanuatu            Kiribati            Marshall Islands    Micronesia, Fed. Sts.   Samoa        East Asia & Pacific

                                                                                                                                                                                 Page 16
Doing Business 2018             Vanuatu

Details – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

No.     Procedures                                                                                       Time to Complete   Associated Costs

1       Submit application to Unelco and await estimate                                                  30 calendar days   USD 0
        Agency : Unelco
        The application for connection can be submitted in person or by mail and the following
        documents should be attached to the application:
        1) Land tile showing all cadastral limits (Electronic version georeferenced). The land title
        must show clearly that the applicant is the owner. The land in question must also show
        evidence of roads or easement up to the existing electricity grid.
        2) Calculation of Power requirement
        3) Building plan showing service point

        The utility is in charge of designing the details of the external connection works. It is also
        in charge of designing the details of the external connection works.

    2   Receive external site inspection by Unelco for preparing technical study                         1 calendar day     USD 0
        Agency : Unelco
        Unelco visits the site for a technical study after the application for connection is
        submitted. Someone from the applicant’s party has to be present during the inspection.

3       Await completion of external works by Unelco                                                     90 calendar days   VUV 3,244,444.44
        Agency : Unelco

    4   Sign supply contract and pay security deposit for electricity to flow                            30 calendar days   VUV 146,889.52
        Agency : Unelco
        The customer has to sign a supply contract right after the commissioning of the works
        and before electricity starts flowing. When the customer signs a supply contract he/she
        has to pay a deposit. The security deposit is based on load the customer is subscribing to.
        There is no interest paid on the security deposit and it is returned at the end of the
        contract.

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                                               Page 17
Doing Business 2018           Vanuatu

 Details – Getting Electricity in Vanuatu – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                                           Answer

 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8)                                                              5

 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3)                                                         1

    System average interruption duration index (SAIDI)                                                                     6.0

    System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI)                                                                    6.2

    What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI             3.0

 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1)                                                                                   1

    Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages?                                                  Yes

 Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1)                                                                                    1

    Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service?                                                  Yes

 Regulatory monitoring (0-1)                                                                                               1

    Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of      Yes
    supply?

 Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1)                                                                      1

    Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages              Yes
    exceed a certain cap?

 Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1)                                                                         0

    Are effective tariffs available online?                                                                                Yes

    Link to the website, if available online                                                                               http://www.ura.gov.vu
                                                                                                                           /index.php?
                                                                                                                           option=com_content
                                                                                                                           &view=article&id=68
                                                                                                                           &Itemid=98&lang=en

    Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle?                                               No

Note:

If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff
index.

If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.

If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.

                                                                                                                                                    Page 18
Doing Business 2018           Vanuatu

        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 a building 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 quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency
  of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for
  the project was completed in June 2017.See the methodology for more information.

      What the indicators measure                            Case study assumptions

  Procedures to legally transfer title on                  To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
  immovable property (number)                              parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
●   Preregistration procedures (for example,
                                                           The parties (buyer and seller):
      checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
      paying property transfer taxes)                      - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
●   Registration procedures in the economy's largest     - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
      business citya.                                      economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
                                                           - Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
●   Postregistration procedures (for example, filling
                                                           - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
      title with municipality)
                                                           - Perform general commercial activities.
  Time required to complete each procedure
                                                           The property (fully owned by the seller):
  (calendar days)
                                                           - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
●   Does not include time spent gathering information
                                                           - Is fully owned by the seller.
●   Each procedure starts on a separate day - though     - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
      procedures that can be fully completed online are    10 years.
      an exception to this rule
                                                           - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
●   Procedure is considered completed once final         - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
      document is received                                 - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
●   No prior contact with officials                      square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
                                                           located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
  Cost required to complete each procedure (% of           heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
  property value)                                          requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
●   Official costs only (such as administrative fees,    entirety.
      duties and taxes).                                   - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
                                                           - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
●   Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit
                                                           any kind.
      payments are excluded
                                                           - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
  Quality of land administration index (0-30)              residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
                                                           activities, are required.
●   Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)            - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
●   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)

                                                                                                                                                       Page 19
Doing Business 2018                Vanuatu

Registering Property - Vanuatu

       Standardized Company

    Property value                                                                        VUV 15,550,316.90

    City Covered                                                                          Port Vila

       Indicator                                                       Vanuatu                East Asia &          OECD high   Overall Best
                                                                                              Pacific              income      Performer

    Procedures (number)                                               4                      5.5                  4.6          1.00 (4 Economies)

    Time (days)                                                       58                     74.5                 22.3         1.00 (3 Economies)

    Cost (% of property value)                                        7.0                    4.3                  4.2          0.00 (5 Economies)

    Quality of the land administration index (0-30)                   18.5                   15.8                 22.7         29.00 (Singapore)

  Figure – Registering Property in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF

                                                                   DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)

                    0                                                                                               100

                                                                                     69.51: Samoa (Rank: 66)

                                                                                  65.63: Vanuatu (Rank: 80)

                                                                           57.21: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)

                                                                  49.12: Kiribati (Rank: 146)

                        0.00: Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank: 187)

                        0.00: Marshall Islands (Rank: 187)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for registering
property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

  Figure – Registering Property in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                             Time (days)           Cost (% of income per capita)
                                                                                                                                                    6

               50                                                                                                                                       Cost (% of income per capita)
                                                                                                                                                    5

               40
                                                                                                                                                    4
 Time (days)

               30                                                                                                                                   3

               20                                                                                                                                   2

               10                                                                                                                                   1

               0                                                                                                                                    0
                                   1                                 *2                                  3                        4
                                                                               Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Page 20
Doing Business 2018                        Vanuatu

Figure – Registering Property in Vanuatu and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

              30

              25
Index score                    18.5
              20
                                                                                                                                                        15.8
              15                                                                                                                   13.0

              10                                         9.0

                  5

                  0
                                                                              no practice               no practice
                              Vanuatu                   Kiribati             Marshall Islands       Micronesia, Fed. Sts.          Samoa        East Asia & Pacific

Details – Registering Property in Vanuatu – Procedure, Time and Cost

  No.                 Procedures                                                                                       Time to Complete      Associated Costs

1                     Payment of stamp duty at the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission                               1-14 days             2% stamp duty on the
                      Agency : Vanuatu Financial Services Commission                                                                         value of the lease
                      Transfer of a lease is done by mean of an instrument in the prescribed form. The seller,                               (stamp duty)
                      must provide warranty that there are no outstanding payment (such as the ren). The buyer
                      should provide warranty that he/she will pay the rent and other obligations. After the
                      agreement is executed by the parties, with no need to engage the services of a lawyer, the
                      stamp duty must be paid. The stamp duty is paid at the Vanuatu Financial Services
                      Commission. The Controller of Stamp Duties may take from one to 14 days to stamp the
                      document. It depends on what type of lease documents are submitted to that Office. The
                      Controller of Stamp Duty may require further details from the parties to assist that office
                      to assess duty. In cases when a lease is transferred, before the parties may execute a
                      transfer, the vendor (registered proprietor of the registered Lease) must have ready to
                      hand to the purchaser a consent granted by the lessor (either the Government or custom
                      owners as the case may be) agreeing to such transfer of the interests comprised in the
                      lease. The stamp duties act establishes stamp duty at 2% of property value. The 2007
                      amendment reduced it from 5 to 2%.

              2       Check for encumbrances                                                                           1 day (simultaneous   VT 1,000
                      Agency : Department of Lands Records                                                             with Procedure 1)
                      It is usually the buyer who will request that a search is done on the property. The
                      checking is done before so that the discharge of mortgage can be done prior to the
                      registration.

3                     Obtain Ministerial consent to transfer the lease                                                 3 weeks               VT 3375
                      Agency : Lands Department
                      According to the law, it is mandatory to request the consent of the Minister of lands to
                      transfer a property, if the property is located in an urban area. In practice, there is a sale
                      agreement between the parties and there is no need to hire a lawyer, or a real estate agent.
                      All relevant documents are provided at the land registry. The land department will verify
                      that all taxes are paid. The State Law office will provide its legal advice on the
                      documents to the Minister. The consent is picked up at the department of lands and
                      surveys. Once consent is granted (and all encumbrances cleared – see following
                      Procedure), ownership is transferred and payment to the seller is made.

4                     Apply for and obtain registration of the deed of transfer at the Department                      30 days               5% registration fee on
                      of Lands Records                                                                                                       the value of the lease
                      Agency : Department of Lands Records                                                                                   (registration fee)
                      When the consent to transfer is granted, the documents are filed at the Department of
                      Lands Records where payment of the registration fees is made. The fee is established in
                      the Land lease act. The amendment of 2004 increased it from 2 to 6% and the amendment
                      of 2006 decreased it from 6 to 5%. The Department of Lands Records is computerized
                      and this has significantly reduced the time it takes to process new requests. When a
                      company is involved, the memorandum and articles of association as well as the
                      certificate of incorporation must be provided at registration.

 Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                                                                      Page 21
Doing Business 2018         Vanuatu

Details – Registering Property in Vanuatu – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                    Answer                Score

Quality of the land administration index (0-30)                                                                           18.5

Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)                                                                                 6.0

  What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration?                             Department of
                                                                                                    Lands Records

  In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a   Computer/Scann        1.0
  paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?                              ed

  Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions     Yes                   1.0
  and the like)?

  Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city:         Land Survey and
                                                                                                    Mapping
                                                                                                    department of the
                                                                                                    Ministry of Land
                                                                                                    and Natural
                                                                                                    Resources

  In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a      Computer/Scann        1.0
  paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?                              ed

  Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing            Yes                   1.0
  cadastral information (geographic information system)?

  Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral       Different             1.0
  or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate     databases but
  databases?                                                                                        linked

  Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the             Yes                   1.0
  same identification number for properties?

Transparency of information index (0–6)                                                                                   4.5

  Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable          Anyone who            1.0
  property registration in the largest business city?                                               pays the official
                                                                                                    fee

  Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made      Yes, online           0.5
  publicly available–and if so, how?

  Link for online access:                                                                           http://mol.gov.vu/i
                                                                                                    ndex.php/en/land
                                                                                                    -survey-3/256-
                                                                                                    land-registration-
                                                                                                    checklist

  Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of            Yes, online           0.5
  immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if
  so, how?

  Link for online access:                                                                           http://mol.gov.vu/i
                                                                                                    ndex.php/en/land
                                                                                                    -survey-3/255-
                                                                                                    registration-fees

  Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally       No                    0.0
  binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how
  does it communicate the service standard?

  Link for online access:

  Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that             Yes                   1.0
  occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?

  Contact information:                                                                              Land
                                                                                                    Ombudsman
                                                                                                    under the
                                                                                                    Ministry of
                                                                                                    Justice. Phone
                                                                                                    number: +(678)
                                                                                                    33615

                                                                                                                                  Page 22
Doing Business 2018           Vanuatu

  Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the      No                   0.0
  immovable property registration agency?

  Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2016:

  Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city?                          Anyone who           0.5
                                                                                                   pays the official
                                                                                                   fee

  Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available—         Yes, online          0.5
  and if so, how?

  Link for online access:                                                                          http://mol.gov.vu/
                                                                                                   attachments/articl
                                                                                                   e/264/Map%20Pr
                                                                                                   inting%20Fees.p
                                                                                                   df

  Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a                No                   0.0
  specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard?

  Link for online access:

  Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that            Yes                  0.5
  occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency?

  Contact information:                                                                             Land
                                                                                                   Ombudsman
                                                                                                   under the
                                                                                                   Ministry of
                                                                                                   Justice. Phone
                                                                                                   number: +(678)
                                                                                                   33615

Geographic coverage index (0–8)                                                                                         4.0

  Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property   No                   0.0
  registry?

  Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the        No                   0.0
  immovable property registry?

  Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped?                                         Yes                  2.0

  Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped?                           Yes                  2.0

Land dispute resolution index (0–8)                                                                                     4.0

  Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable          Yes                  1.5
  property registry to make them opposable to third parties?

  Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee?        Yes                  0.5

  Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who           No                   0.0
  engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by
  the immovable property registry?

  Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property    Yes                  0.5
  transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)?

  If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents?                           Registrar; Notary.

  Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property          Yes                  0.5
  transaction?

  If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties?                            Registrar; Notary.

  Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents?                       No                   0.0

  For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property        Land Tribunal
  worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business
  city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance?

  How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a   Between 2 and 3      1.0
  case (without appeal)?                                                                           years

  Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance?                   No                   0.0

                                                                                                                              Page 23
Doing Business 2018         Vanuatu

  Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2016:

Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)                                            0.0

  Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property?   Yes   0.0

  Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property?       Yes   0.0

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