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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON BUSINESS NAMES What is a business names?
A Registered Business Name or Firm is an unincorporated body of one or more individuals or one or more corporations who have entered into partnership with one another for the purpose of carrying on business for profit. Therefore, a Business Name or Commercial name as it is sometimes referred to is a designation which identifies an enterprise. Why do you have to register your business with PACRO?
Firstly, it is a legal requirement that you register your company or business name. Section 3 of the Registration of Business Act Cap 389 of the Laws of Zambia requires that anyone carrying on business in a name other than their personal names should register. Over and above this, registration ensures protection of a Business Name. Are there any post registration obligationsregarding Business Names?
Section 8 of the Registration of Business Names Act requires that if any change(s) occur regarding any particulars registered in respect of a firm or an individual, such firm or individual should within 14 days of such change furnish the Registrar with a statement in the prescribed form (Business Name Form IV) signed by all partners, stating the nature and date of change. Regulation 10 of the Registration of Business Names Regulations of 1998 (Statutory Instrument No. 100 of 1998) futher requires every business registered under the Act to submit annual returns by not later than three(3) months after the end of its financial year. Prescribed Annual Return Forms can be downloaded from this site. What is the difference between a business/firm and a company? | 1. | A Business Name has no legal personality while a Limited Company is a body corporate and therefore an artificial person; | | 2. | In a Business Name, liability of shareholders is unlimited whereas under a Company, shareholder liability is limited to the amount unpaid on the shares; | | 3. | In a Business Name, transfer of shares requires the consent of all those registered as partners whereas in a Limited Company, shares are freely transferable; and, | | 4. | A Business Name is not permanent - death usually dissolves it whereas a company has perpetual succession. |
What should I do if my business name ceases to operate?
If any individual or firm that has been registered ceases to carry on business, it is the duty of the persons who are partners at the time it ceases carrying on business to file within three (3) months after such cessation a notice in a prescribed form (Business Form VII) that the firm or individual has ceased to carry on business.
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