What's New?
- The Business Number for Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships
- Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
- Parking Tax
- Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA)
- Now Available - Business Name Requests Online!
The Business Number for Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships
On October 24th, 2011 the OneStop Business Registry added the national Business Number to all new Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships registrations. This move is in response to the growing demand for all businesses to have one identifying number for all their dealings with government. The Business Number service provides the ability for each BC business interacting with the public sector to be assigned a Business Number (BN) - a unique identifier that makes working with the public sector simpler, easier, and more convenient.
Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
The HST will apply to goods and services purchased on or after July 1, 2010. For more information on the rules and general guidelines related to the HST, click here. Detailed information on how the HST will benefit business can be found here.
Parking Tax
Effective July 1, 2010, the responsibility for parking tax payable at commercial parking lots within Metro Vancouver is being transferred from the Social Service Tax Act to the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act and administration of the tax is being transferred to TransLink. For more information visit www.translink.ca/parkingtax
Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA)
Effective April 27, 2009, BC Registry Services implemented changes to Name Requests Online and Corporate Online to support streamlining extraprovincial registrations of corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships and cooperative associations from British Columbia to Alberta as outlined in the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement.
For more details regarding this initiative, go to our Important News page. There you will find links to important information regarding TILMA and a list of frequently asked questions.
Now Available - Business Name Requests Online!
For the past several years the number one comment the OneStop Business Registry and BC Registry Services has received is “make the reservation of a business name available online".
BC Registry Services has introduced a web-based Name Requests Online system that will, for the first time, provide an online business name reservation service for credit card and over-the-counter customers. To submit a business name reservation through Name Requests Online, go to www.bcregistrynames.gov.bc.ca/nro/.
BC Registry Services will continue to examine names submitted through Name Requests Online, and the online service will have built-in edits and validations that will help:
- reduce the number of name rejections;
- reduce the number of telephone calls;
- reduce turnaround times;
- reduce user frustration;
- allow online submission of name approval requests for credit card customers;
- simplify the process;
- remove the bottleneck; and
- facilitate the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA).
Customers may continue to reserve a name through our other multi-channel service venues: phone, in person and mail. Clients can visit any of the OneStop service delivery sites or contact a registry agent to submit their name requests. BC Registry Services staff will continue to advise clients over-the-telephone and on our web sites of the different options available to reserve a name.
If you require further information, please contact 1 877-370-1033.
