The process of coordinating the reporting obligations of
business and industry has been and is a primary task for the
Brønnøysund Register Centre. Two of the registers
here in Brønnøysund, namely the Central Coordinating
Register for Legal Entities and the Register of Reporting
Obligations of Enterprises, have been instrumental in this
coordination process.
The establishment of the Central Coordinating Register for
Legal Entities in 1995 was an important achievement in the
coordination process. Registrations, changes and the striking-off
of companies are reported only to the Central Coordinating
Register for Legal Entities. The affiliated registers - the
Register of Employers, the Value Added Tax Register,
the Statistics Norway's Company register, the Register of
Business Enterprises and the County Governors' Register of
Foundations - collect the information they need from the Central
Coordinating Register for Legal Entities. Later the Corporate
Taxation Data Register has been added to the list of affiliated
registers. The Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities and The Register of Bankruptcies are affiliated registers. All estates in bankruptcy are given an organization number.
The Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities
provides all new companies with a nine-digit organization
number. This nine-digit code is common for all public business
and industry registers so if two or more public authorities
ask the same question to the same company, authorities can
then collaborate so that the question is asked only once.
The Register of Reporting Obligations of Enterprises was
established in 1997. The main task of the Register of the
Reporting Obligations of Enterprises is to maintain a constantly
updated overview of the reporting obligations business and
industry have, and to find ways to coordinate and simplify
these obligations. The Register of the Reporting Obligations
of Enterprises makes sure the authorities are informed of
what information is already available in other public business
and industry registers. The information may then be exchanged
by using the nine-digit organization number. The Register
of Reporting Obligations of Enterprises has been instrumental
in the process of interpreting the questions posed in public
questionnaires. Therefore, the Register of the Reporting Obligations
of Enterprises is becoming a national database for data interpretations.
Each question is categorized, defined, given a name and issued
a number.
Public authorities can utilize the Central Coordinating Register
for Legal Entities even better. The Register of Reporting
Obligations of Enterprises is aiming for an increased exchange
of information so that the effects of coordination may be
improved. The Brønnøysund Register Centre is
now in the final stage of creating an Accounting Database.
A greater degree of information exchange is expected when
business and industry can submit their annual accounts electronically.
The politicians also have a responsibility regarding the process
of simplification and coordination. New laws often generate
new reporting obligations, and without the help of politicians
it is difficult to achieve a reduced amount of questionnaires
and reporting obligations.
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