74022
Economy Profile:
Slovak Republic
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 2
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Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: World Bank. 2013. Doing Business 2013:
Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises. Washington, DC: World
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Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 3
CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4
The business environment .......................................................................................................... 5
Starting a business ..................................................................................................................... 14
Dealing with construction permits ........................................................................................... 24
Getting electricity ....................................................................................................................... 34
Registering property .................................................................................................................. 42
Getting credit .............................................................................................................................. 51
Protecting investors ................................................................................................................... 58
Paying taxes ................................................................................................................................ 67
Trading across borders .............................................................................................................. 75
Enforcing contracts .................................................................................................................... 84
Resolving insolvency .................................................................................................................. 94
Employing workers .................................................................................................................. 100
Data notes ................................................................................................................................. 107
Resources on the Doing Business website ............................................................................ 112
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 4
INTRODUCTION
Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the
for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to period January–December 2011).
medium-size business when complying with relevant
The Doing Business methodology has limitations. Other
regulations. It measures and tracks changes in
areas important to business—such as an economy‘s
regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a
proximity to large markets, the quality of its
business: starting a business, dealing with construction
infrastructure services (other than those related to
permits, getting electricity, registering property,
trading across borders and getting electricity), the
getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes,
security of property from theft and looting, the
trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving
transparency of government procurement,
insolvency and employing workers.
macroeconomic conditions or the underlying strength
In a series of annual reports Doing Business presents of institutions—are not directly studied by Doing
quantitative indicators on business regulations and the Business. The indicators refer to a specific type of
protection of property rights that can be compared business, generally a local limited liability company
across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, operating in the largest business city. Because
over time. The data set covers 46 economies in Sub- standard assumptions are used in the data collection,
Saharan Africa, 33 in Latin America and the Caribbean, comparisons and benchmarks are valid across
24 in East Asia and the Pacific, 24 in Eastern Europe economies. The data not only highlight the extent of
and Central Asia, 19 in the Middle East and North obstacles to doing business; they also help identify the
Africa and 8 in South Asia, as well as 31 OECD high- source of those obstacles, supporting policy makers in
income economies. The indicators are used to analyze designing regulatory reform.
economic outcomes and identify what reforms have
More information is available in the full report. Doing
worked, where and why.
Business 2013 presents the indicators, analyzes their
This economy profile presents the Doing Business relationship with economic outcomes and presents
indicators for Slovak Republic. To allow useful business regulatory reforms. The data, along with
comparison, it also provides data for other selected information on ordering Doing Business 2013, are
economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. available on the Doing Business website at
The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 5
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
For policy makers trying to improve their economy‘s
regulatory environment for business, a good place to ECONOMY OVERVIEW
start is to find out how it compares with the regulatory
environment in other economies. Doing Business
provides an aggregate ranking on the ease of doing
Region: OECD high income
business based on indicator sets that measure and
benchmark regulations applying to domestic small to Income category: High income
medium-size businesses through their life cycle.
Economies are ranked from 1 to 185 by the ease of Population: 5,440,000
doing business index. For each economy the index is
calculated as the ranking on the simple average of its GNI per capita (US$): 16,070
percentile rankings on each of the 10 topics included in
the index in Doing Business 2013: starting a business, DB2013 rank: 46
dealing with construction permits, getting electricity,
registering property, getting credit, protecting DB2012 rank: 46*
investors, paying taxes, trading across borders,
Change in rank: 0
enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The
ranking on each topic is the simple average of the
percentile rankings on its component indicators (see * DB2012 ranking shown is not last year‘s published
the data notes for more details). The employing workers ranking but a comparable ranking for DB2012 that
indicators are not included in this year‘s aggregate ease captures the effects of such factors as data
of doing business ranking, but the data are presented corrections and the addition of 2 economies
in this year‘s economy profile. (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year. See
the data notes for sources and definitions.
The aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business
benchmarks each economy‘s performance on the
indicators against that of all other economies in the
Doing Business sample (figure 1.1). While this ranking
tells much about the business environment in an
economy, it does not tell the whole story. The ranking on
the ease of doing business, and the underlying
indicators, do not measure all aspects of the business
environment that matter to firms and investors or that
affect the competitiveness of the economy. Still, a high
ranking does mean that the government has created a
regulatory environment conducive to operating a
business.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 6
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Figure 1.1 Where economies stand in the global ranking on the ease of doing business
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 7
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
For policy makers, knowing where their economy relative to the regional average (figure 1.2). The
stands in the aggregate ranking on the ease of economy‘s rankings on the topics included in the
doing business is useful. Also useful is to know how ease of doing business index provide another
it ranks relative to comparator economies and perspective (figure 1.3).
Figure 1.2 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of doing business
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 8
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Figure 1.3 How Slovak Republic ranks on Doing Business topics
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 9
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Just as the overall ranking on the ease of doing business year Doing Business introduced the distance to frontier
tells only part of the story, so do changes in that ranking. measure. This measure shows how far each economy is
Yearly movements in rankings can provide some indication from the best performance achieved by any economy since
of changes in an economy‘s regulatory environment for 2005 on each indicator in 9 Doing Business indicator sets.
firms, but they are always relative. An economy‘s ranking
Comparing the measure for an economy at 2 points in
might change because of developments in other
time allows users to assess how much the economy‘s
economies. An economy that implemented business
regulatory environment as measured by Doing Business
regulation reforms may fail to rise in the rankings (or may
has changed over time—how far it has moved toward (or
even drop) if it is passed by others whose business
away from) the most efficient practices and strongest
regulation reforms had a more significant impact as
regulations in areas covered by Doing Business (figure 1.4).
measured by Doing Business.
The results may show that the pace of change varies widely
Moreover, year-to-year changes in the overall rankings do across the areas measured. They also may show that an
not reflect how the business regulatory environment in an economy is relatively close to the frontier in some areas
economy has changed over time—or how it has changed and relatively far from it in others.
in different areas. To aid in assessing such changes, last
Figure 1.4 How far has Slovak Republic come in the areas measured by Doing Business?
Note: The distance to frontier measure shows how far on average an economy is from the best performance achieved by any
economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2005. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing
the best performance (the frontier). The overall distance to frontier is the average of the distance to frontier in the 9 indicator sets
shown in the figure. See the data notes for more details on the distance to frontier measure.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 10
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
The absolute values of the indicators tell another part business regulation—such as a regulatory process that
of the story (table 1.1). The indicators, on their own or can be completed with a small number of procedures
in comparison with the indicators of a good practice in a few days and at a low cost. Comparison of the
economy or those of comparator economies in the economy‘s indicators today with those in the previous
region, may reveal bottlenecks reflected in large year may show where substantial bottlenecks persist—
numbers of procedures, long delays or high costs. Or and where they are diminishing.
they may reveal unexpected strengths in an area of
Table 1.1 Summary of Doing Business indicators for Slovak Republic
Slovak Republic DB2013
Slovak Republic DB2012
Best performer globally
Czech Republic DB2013
Hungary DB2013
Albania DB2013
Indicator
Serbia DB2013
Italy DB2013
DB2013
Starting a Business (rank) 83 78 62 140 52 84 42 New Zealand (1)
Procedures (number) 6 6 4 9 4 6 6 New Zealand (1)*
Time (days) 16 18 4 20 5 6 12 New Zealand (1)
Cost (% of income per
1.8 1.8 22.1 8.2 8.9 16.5 7.7 Slovenia (0.0)
capita)
Paid-in Min. Capital (% of
21.3 20.9 0.0 29.7 9.4 9.7 0.0 91 Economies (0.0)*
income per capita)
Dealing with Construction Hong Kong SAR, China
46 48 185 74 55 103 179
Permits (rank) (1)
no Hong Kong SAR, China
Procedures (number) 11 11 33 26 11 18
practice (6)*
no
Time (days) 286 286 120 102 234 269 Singapore (26)
practice
Cost (% of income per no
7.3 7.2 10.5 5.7 184.2 1,427.2 Qatar (1.1)
capita) practice
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 11
Slovak Republic DB2013
Slovak Republic DB2012
Best performer globally
Czech Republic DB2013
Hungary DB2013
Albania DB2013
Indicator
Serbia DB2013
Italy DB2013
DB2013
Getting Electricity (rank) 100 101 154 143 109 107 76 Iceland (1)
Procedures (number) 5 5 6 6 5 5 4 Germany (3)*
Time (days) 158 177 177 279 252 155 131 Germany (17)
Cost (% of income per
249.1 242.2 573.7 180.0 116.9 319.2 502.6 Japan (0.0)
capita)
Registering Property
8 8 121 27 43 39 41 Georgia (1)
(rank)
Procedures (number) 3 3 6 3 4 3 6 Georgia (1)*
Time (days) 17 17 33 24 17 24 11 Portugal (1)
Cost (% of property value) 0.0 0.0 11.4 3.0 5.0 4.5 2.8 Belarus (0.0)*
Getting Credit (rank) 23 23 23 53 53 104 40 United Kingdom (1)*
Strength of legal rights
9 9 9 6 7 3 7 Malaysia (10)*
index (0-10)
Depth of credit
4 4 4 5 4 5 5 United Kingdom (6)*
information index (0-6)
Public registry coverage
2.7 2.6 19.7 6.1 0.0 24.1 0.0 Portugal (90.7)
(% of adults)
Private bureau coverage United Kingdom
58.5 56.1 0.0 98.7 15.8 100.0 100.0
(% of adults) (100.0)*
Protecting Investors
117 114 17 100 128 49 82 New Zealand (1)
(rank)
Extent of disclosure index Hong Kong SAR, China
3 3 8 2 2 7 7
(0-10) (10)*
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 12
Slovak Republic DB2013
Slovak Republic DB2012
Best performer globally
Czech Republic DB2013
Hungary DB2013
Albania DB2013
Indicator
Serbia DB2013
Italy DB2013
DB2013
Extent of director liability
4 4 9 5 4 4 6 Singapore (9)*
index (0-10)
Ease of shareholder suits
7 7 5 8 7 7 3 New Zealand (10)*
index (0-10)
Strength of investor
4.7 4.7 7.3 5.0 4.3 6.0 5.3 New Zealand (9.7)
protection index (0-10)
United Arab Emirates
Paying Taxes (rank) 100 126 160 120 118 131 149
(1)
Payments (number per Hong Kong SAR, China
20 31 44 8 12 15 66
year) (3)*
United Arab Emirates
Time (hours per year) 207 231 357 413 277 269 279
(12)
Trading Across Borders
98 100 79 68 73 55 94 Singapore (1)
(rank)
Documents to export
6 6 7 4 6 4 7 France (2)
(number)
Time to export (days) 17 17 19 16 17 19 12 Singapore (5)*
Cost to export (US$ per
1,560 1,560 745 1,145 885 1,145 1,455 Malaysia (435)
container)
Documents to import
7 7 8 7 7 4 7 France (2)
(number)
Time to import (days) 17 17 18 17 19 18 14 Singapore (4)
Cost to import (US$ per
1,540 1,540 730 1,180 875 1,145 1,660 Malaysia (420)
container)
Enforcing Contracts (rank) 69 70 85 79 16 160 103 Luxembourg (1)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 13
Slovak Republic DB2013
Slovak Republic DB2012
Best performer globally
Czech Republic DB2013
Hungary DB2013
Albania DB2013
Indicator
Serbia DB2013
Italy DB2013
DB2013
Time (days) 545 565 390 611 395 1,210 635 Singapore (150)
Cost (% of claim) 30.0 30.0 35.7 33.0 15.0 29.9 31.3 Bhutan (0.1)
Procedures (number) 32 32 39 27 35 41 36 Ireland (21)*
Resolving Insolvency
38 36 66 34 70 31 103 Japan (1)
(rank)
Time (years) 4.0 4.0 2.0 3.2 2.0 1.8 2.0 Ireland (0.4)
Cost (% of estate) 18 18 10 17 15 22 20 Singapore (1)*
Outcome (0 as piecemeal
sale and 1 as going 1 0 1 0 1 0
concern)
Recovery rate (cents on
53.6 54.3 39.6 56.3 38.8 63.4 29.1 Japan (92.8)
the dollar)
Note: DB2012 rankings shown are not last year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of
such factors as data corrections and the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year. The ranking
methodology for the paying taxes indicators changed in Doing Business 2013; see the data notes for details. For more information
on “no practice� marks, see the data notes. Data for the outcome of the resolving insolvency indicator are not available for
DB2012.
* Two or more economies share the top ranking on this indicator. A number shown in place of an economy‘s name indicates the
number of economies that share the top ranking on the indicator. For a list of these economies, see the Doing Business website
(http://www.doingbusiness.org).
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 14
STARTING A BUSINESS
Formal registration of companies has many WHAT THE STARTING A BUSINESS
immediate benefits for the companies and for
business owners and employees. Legal entities can INDICATORS MEASURE
outlive their founders. Resources are pooled as
several shareholders join forces to start a company. Procedures to legally start and operate a
Formally registered companies have access to company (number)
services and institutions from courts to banks as
Preregistration (for example, name
well as to new markets. And their employees can
verification or reservation, notarization)
benefit from protections provided by the law. An
additional benefit comes with limited liability Registration in the economy‘s largest
companies. These limit the financial liability of business city
company owners to their investments, so personal
Postregistration (for example, social security
assets of the owners are not put at risk. Where
registration, company seal)
governments make registration easy, more
entrepreneurs start businesses in the formal sector, Time required to complete each procedure
creating more good jobs and generating more (calendar days)
revenue for the government.
Does not include time spent gathering
What do the indicators cover? information
Doing Business measures the ease of starting a Each procedure starts on a separate day
business in an economy by recording all Procedure completed once final document is
procedures officially required or commonly done in received
practice by an entrepreneur to start up and
formally operate an industrial or commercial No prior contact with officials
business—as well as the time and cost required to Cost required to complete each procedure
complete these procedures. It also records the (% of income per capita)
paid-in minimum capital that companies must
deposit before registration (or within 3 months). Official costs only, no bribes
The ranking on the ease of starting a business is No professional fees unless services required
the simple average of the percentile rankings on by law
the 4 component indicators: procedures, time, cost
and paid-in minimum capital requirement. Paid-in minimum capital (% of income
per capita)
To make the data comparable across economies,
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the Deposited in a bank or with a notary before
business and the procedures. It assumes that all registration (or within 3 months)
information is readily available to the entrepreneur ï‚· Has a start-up capital of 10 times income per
and that there has been no prior contact with capita.
officials. It also assumes that the entrepreneur will
ï‚· Has a turnover of at least 100 times income per
pay no bribes. And it assumes that the business:
capita.
ï‚· Is a limited liability company, located in the
ï‚· Does not qualify for any special benefits.
largest business city.
ï‚· Does not own real estate.
ï‚· Has between 10 and 50 employees.
ï‚· Is 100% domestically owned.
ï‚· Conducts general commercial or industrial
activities.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 15
STARTING A BUSINESS
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to start a business in Slovak procedures, takes 16 days, costs 1.8% of income per
Republic? According to data collected by Doing capita and requires paid-in minimum capital of 21.3%
Business, starting a business there requires 6 of income per capita (figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1 What it takes to start a business in Slovak Republic
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita): 21.3
Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. For more information on the methodology of
the starting a business indicators, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the
procedures reflected here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 16
STARTING A BUSINESS
Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 83 in the ranking of and the regional average ranking provide other useful
185 economies on the ease of starting a business information for assessing how easy it is for an
(figure 2.2). The rankings for comparator economies entrepreneur in Slovak Republic to start a business.
Figure 2.2 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of starting a business
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 17
STARTING A BUSINESS
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how the process have changed—and which have not (table
easy (or difficult) it is to start a business in Slovak 2.1). That can help identify where the potential for
Republic today, data over time show which aspects of improvement is greatest.
Table 2.1 The ease of starting a business in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2004 DB2005 DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 78 83
Procedures
10 9 9 9 9 6 6 6 6 6
(number)
Time (days) 103 52 27 27 27 18 18 18 18 16
Cost (% of
income per 9.4 5.7 5.0 4.8 4.2 3.3 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8
capita)
Paid-in Min.
Capital (% of
50.3 46.1 41.0 39.1 34.1 30.4 23.8 22.2 20.9 21.3
income per
capita)
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and the
addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 18
STARTING A BUSINESS
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by what is possible in making it easier to start a business.
the economies that over time have had the best And changes in regional averages can show where
performance regionally or globally on the procedures, Slovak Republic is keeping up—and where it is falling
time, cost or paid-in minimum capital required to start behind.
a business (figure 2.3). These benchmarks help show
Figure 2.3 Has starting a business become easier over time?
Procedures (number)
Time (days)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 19
STARTING A BUSINESS
Cost (% of income per capita)
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita)
Note: Ninety-one economies globally have no paid-in minimum capital requirement.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 20
STARTING A BUSINESS
Economies around the world have taken steps making greater firm satisfaction and savings and more
it easier to start a business—streamlining procedures registered businesses, financial resources and job
by setting up a one-stop shop, making procedures opportunities.
simpler or faster by introducing technology and
What business registration reforms has Doing Business
reducing or eliminating minimum capital requirements.
recorded in Slovak Republic (table 2.2)?
Many have undertaken business registration reforms in
stages—and they often are part of a larger regulatory
reform program. Among the benefits have been
Table 2.2 How has Slovak Republic made starting a business easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The one-stop shop merged 4 procedures into 1 and reduced
DB2009
costs.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The Slovak Republic made starting a business easier by
speeding up the processing of applications at the one-stop
DB2013
shop for trading licenses, income tax registration and health
insurance registration.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2005), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 21
STARTING A BUSINESS
What are the details?
Underlying the indicators shown in this chapter for
STANDARDIZED COMPANY
Slovak Republic is a set of specific procedures—the
bureaucratic and legal steps that an entrepreneur
must complete to incorporate and register a new City: Bratislava
firm. These are identified by Doing Business
through collaboration with relevant local Legal Form: Spolocnost s Rucenim Obmedzenym
professionals and the study of laws, regulations and (s.r.o.)
publicly available information on business entry in Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: EUR 2,500
that economy. Following is a detailed summary of
those procedures, along with the associated time Start-up Capital: 10 times GNI per capita
and cost. These procedures are those that apply to
a company matching the standard assumptions
(the ―standardized company‖) used by Doing
Business in collecting the data (see the section in
this chapter on what the indicators measure).
Summary of procedures for starting a business in Slovak Republic—and the time and cost
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
Check the uniqueness of the proposed company name
EUR 3 for research in
The cost of the certificate is EUR 3. The cost of a certificate issued in 1 day the Commercial
1
electronic form is EUR 0.33. An online check without charge is possible,
Register
but the information on the online website of the Commercial Register
(www.orsr.sk) is not legally binding and usable for legal acts.
Notarize articles of association and related documents
A company is established by articles of association signed by every EUR 1,99 (excluding
founder. Signatures shall be officially verified. According to the Item C, 1 day VAT) for notary
2
point 3 of The Rate Tariff, which is an appendix of Ministry of Justice
signature
Ordinance No. 31/1993 Coll. on Fees and Compensations of Notaries,
the fee for verification of one signature is 1.99 EUR (without VAT).
Apply at the One stop shop for trade licenses, income tax The hardcopy
registration and health insurance company application for a
standard trade license
One-stop shop centres (centres of first contact) were introduced at the
is EUR 5 and for a
Trade Licensing Offices. The one application form contains application
regulated or craft
for trade licenses, for income tax registration and registration with the
5 calendar days trade license EUR 15.
3 health insurance company.
An individual, who is already registered in the system of mandatory The electronic
health insurance submits with the application for trade license also the application for a
name of the insurance company, where he/she is registered. standard trade license
For nationals, it is only necessary to submit data required to obtain an signed with a secure
extract from the criminal record. The Trade Licensing Office will apply electronic signature is
for the extract from criminal record itself. free of charge
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 22
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
effective as of January
1, 2012.
The fee for electronic
application for a
regulated or craft
trade license signed
with a secure
electronic signature is
reduced to 1/2 of the
standard fee, i.e. EUR
7.50.
Open a bank account
The cost of opening a bank account varies from bank to bank but in 1 day EUR 16,5
4
average is EUR 16,5 . Minum shareholder´s capital to be paid is EUR
750, before registering the company at least 30% of each shareholder´s
capital (30% of EUR 750) and a total of at least EUR 2500 must be paid
Apply for registration at the District Court
Registration changed from a judicial to an administrative process, and
court clerks became responsible for company registration. A special
registration form is required to apply for registration at the County
Registry Court. This form may be downloaded from the Slovak
Commercial Register Web site (www.orsr.sk).The registration form can
also be submitted by electronic means. The form must be signed by a
secure electronic signature. In this case, the signature of the executives
or the authorised person need not be certified. (There are transitional
technical problems with getting electronic stignatures so the online
system is not commonly used yet). EUR 165,75 if the
application is
The proposal for company registration must be signed by all executives, submitted
5 7 days
and their signatures must be certified. If the executive is represented by electronically, EUR
an authorized person, the signature must be certified in the power of 331,5 for the
attorney. hardcopy
The County Registry Court must enter changes to a Commercial
Register entry, and add or delete an entry, within 5 working days of
receiving the completed registration form and its supporting
documents.
The business identification number is assigned by the Trade Licensing
Office. The Registry Court only assigns a business identification number
if one is not assigned by the Trade Licensing Office, most commonly if
the licenses for the company's commercial activities are issued by
another state authority.
Register with pension, sickness, and disability insurance and
unemployment insurance at the local social insurance company 1 day no charge
6
(Socialna poistovna)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 23
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
For social security, the company must register itself as an employer w at
least one day before first employment contract becoming effective and
must register all new employees with the Social Insurance Company
eight days before the contract becomes effective. The registration forms
are available at the official Social Security Company Web site
(www.socpoist.sk).
A duty to submit monthly records electronically to the Socilal Security
Company is recently imposed on all employers notwithstanding the
number of employees. However, there has been no amendment to the
relevant law - The Act No. 461/2003 on Social Security as amended,
since the law stipulates the right of the Social Security Company to
determine the way in which the montly reports are submitted in
accordance with the Section 231(2) hereof.
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 24
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Regulation of construction is critical to protect the WHAT THE DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION
public. But it needs to be efficient, to avoid
PERMITS INDICATORS MEASURE
excessive constraints on a sector that plays an
important part in every economy. Where complying
with building regulations is excessively costly in Procedures to legally build a warehouse
time and money, many builders opt out. They may (number)
pay bribes to pass inspections or simply build Submitting all relevant documents and
illegally, leading to hazardous construction that obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses,
puts public safety at risk. Where compliance is permits and certificates
simple, straightforward and inexpensive, everyone Completing all required notifications and
is better off. receiving all necessary inspections
What do the indicators cover? Obtaining utility connections for water,
Doing Business records the procedures, time and sewerage and a fixed telephone line
cost for a business to obtain all the necessary Registering the warehouse after its
approvals to build a simple commercial warehouse completion (if required for use as collateral or
in the economy‘s largest business city, connect it to for transfer of the warehouse)
basic utilities and register the property so that it Time required to complete each procedure
can be used as collateral or transferred to another (calendar days)
entity.
Does not include time spent gathering
The ranking on the ease of dealing with information
construction permits is the simple average of the
Each procedure starts on a separate day
percentile rankings on its component indicators:
procedures, time and cost. Procedure completed once final document is
received
To make the data comparable across economies,
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the No prior contact with officials
business and the warehouse, including the utility Cost required to complete each procedure (%
connections. of income per capita)
The business: Official costs only, no bribes
ï‚· Is a limited liability company operating in
ï‚· Will be connected to water, sewerage
the construction business and located in
(sewage system, septic tank or their
the largest business city.
equivalent) and a fixed telephone line. The
ï‚· Is domestically owned and operated. connection to each utility network will be 10
meters (32 feet, 10 inches) long.
ï‚· Has 60 builders and other employees.
ï‚· Will be used for general storage, such as of
The warehouse:
books or stationery (not for goods requiring
ï‚· Is a new construction (there was no special conditions).
previous construction on the land).
ï‚· Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all
ï‚· Has complete architectural and technical delays due to administrative and regulatory
plans prepared by a licensed architect. requirements).
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 25
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to comply with the formalities to construction permits there requires 11 procedures,
build a warehouse in Slovak Republic? According to takes 286 days and costs 7.3% of income per capita
data collected by Doing Business, dealing with (figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1 What it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in Slovak Republic
Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. For more information on the methodology of
the dealing with construction permits indicators, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on
the procedures reflected here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 26
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 46 in the ranking of ranking provide other useful information for assessing
185 economies on the ease of dealing with how easy it is for an entrepreneur in Slovak Republic to
construction permits (figure 3.2). The rankings for legally build a warehouse.
comparator economies and the regional average
Figure 3.2 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of dealing with construction permits
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 27
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how aspects of the process have changed—and which have
easy (or difficult) it is to deal with construction permits not (table 3.1). That can help identify where the
in Slovak Republic today, data over time show which potential for improvement is greatest.
Table 3.1 The ease of dealing with construction permits in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. 48 46
Procedures (number) 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
Time (days) 286 286 286 286 286 286 286 286
Cost (% of income
13.9 13.2 11.5 10.3 10.4 7.6 7.2 7.3
per capita)
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and
the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year. For more information on ―no practice‖ marks, see the
data notes.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 28
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by possible in making it easier to deal with construction
the economies that over time have had the best permits. And changes in regional averages can show
performance regionally or globally on the procedures, where Slovak Republic is keeping up—and where it is
time or cost required to deal with construction permits falling behind.
(figure 3.3). These benchmarks help show what is
Figure 3.3 Has dealing with construction permits become easier over time?
Procedures (number)
Time (days)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 29
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Cost (% of income per capita)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 30
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Smart regulation ensures that standards are met while building safety while keeping compliance costs
making compliance easy and accessible to all. reasonable, governments around the world have
Coherent and transparent rules, efficient processes and worked on consolidating permitting requirements.
adequate allocation of resources are especially What construction permitting reforms has Doing
important in sectors where safety is at stake. Business recorded in Slovak Republic (table 3.2)?
Construction is one of them. In an effort to ensure
Table 3.2 How has Slovak Republic made dealing with construction permits easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2013 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2006), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 31
DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Slovak Republic
BUILDING A WAREHOUSE
are based on a set of specific procedures—the
steps that a company must complete to legally
build a warehouse—identified by Doing Business City : Bratislava
through information collected from experts in
construction licensing, including architects,
Estimated
construction lawyers, construction firms, utility EUR 398,327
Warehouse Value :
service providers and public officials who deal with
building regulations. These procedures are those The procedures, along with the associated time and
that apply to a company and structure matching cost, are summarized below.
the standard assumptions used by Doing Business
in collecting the data (see the section in this
chapter on what the indicators cover).
Summary of procedures for dealing with construction permits in Slovak Republic —and the time and cost
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
Obtain certificate of ownership of the land
1 1 day EUR 8
The certificate of ownership must be recent, at most 3 months old.
Request and obtain a Location Permit from the Municipal
Authority
Design and documentation should be submitted to the municipal
authority and must show the dimensions and design of the building
and the technical requirements for water and sewerage.
State and municipal authorities and companies involved include the
public health department, fire department, labor inspection,
environment department, water company, telecommunications
provider. These organizations provide clearances and approvals.
2 The location permit determines, as the name implies, the location of 150 days EUR 17
the building, as well as the requirements for the utility connections
(telecommunications, water, sewerage, and roads, and so on).
The agencies may conduct on-site inspections. Generally, these are
conducted only when the documentation does not provide sufficient
information for the agencies to issue the required clearances and
approvals.
The location permit is valid for two years (unless a longer period is
stipulated by the municipal authority) during which the builder must
apply for a construction permit.
Request and obtain the construction permit from the Municipal
3 Authority 80 days EUR 116
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 32
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
The relevant construction office issues approval of the construction
permit application. Detailed design and documentation should be
submitted to the authority, with all authorized contractors providing
the design related to their field. The authority schedules a public
hearing where all parties concerned can submit their objections. An on-
site inspection is also set up. Statements to the design must be
provided by people from all relevant organizations. The permit is valid
for 2 years, during which time construction must begin.
* Receive pre-construction, on-site inspection
4 The construction authority sets up an inspection date, and all interested 1 day no charge
parties and authorities are invited. This procedure is not mandatory but
is common in practice.
* Obtain consent from water and sewage provider and request
water and sewage connection
To apply for the construction permit, BuildCo needs the consent of
utility providers on the delivery of these utilities, and agrees on the
terms under which the facilities would be granted. When the consent is
granted, terms are specified by the utility providers within 4 weeks.
During construction, the utility providers are requested to also inspect
the site at the stages specified in the terms. Inspection is usually carried 26 days EUR 332
5
out a week after it is requested.
The utility providers can be asked at any time to run checks on the
equipment they installed at the construction site, such as measurement
devices, and they usually charge a fee of EUR 332.00 to grant their
consent and specify their terms, depending on the complexity of the
construction. Afterwards, no additional setup fees are charged. Any
costs would be reflected in the monthly payments for the delivery of
utilities.
* Obtain consent from telecommunications provider and request
telephone connection
To apply for the construction permit, BuildCo needs the consent of
utility providers on the delivery of these utilities, and agrees on the
terms under which the facilities would be granted. When the consent is
granted, and terms are specified by the utility providers within 4 weeks.
During construction, the utility providers are requested to also inspect
the site at the stages specified in the terms. Inspection is usually carried 26 days EUR 204
6
out a week after it is requested.
The utility providers can be asked at any time to run checks on the
equipment they installed at the construction site, such as measurement
devices, and they usually charge a fee of EUR 204.00 to grant their
consent and specify their terms, depending on the complexity of the
construction. Afterwards, no additional setup fees are charged. Any
costs would be reflected in the monthly payments for the delivery of
utilities.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 33
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
Receive inspection and connection from water and sewage
provider 7 days no charge
7
* Receive inspection and connection from telecommunications
provider 7 days no charge
8
Obtain an occupancy permit from the Municipal Authority
The premises on which a construction approval is based can be fully
operational only upon issuance of an occupancy permit. In the approval
proceedings, the construction office examines whether the building was
erected in compliance with the documentation approved by the
construction office in the construction proceedings and whether the
terms determined in the land-use decision and the construction permit
have been complied with.
9 29 days EUR 66
An on-site inspection and a hearing involving the parties concerned are
always carried out before the occupancy permit is granted.
There is no time limit for the authority to start the proceedings related
to the occupancy permit. However, the builder may file the request for
the proceedings in advance, indicating the contemplated final
completion date, so that the authority is able to start the proceedings
without undue delay after the completion of construction. The authority
notifies the involved parties of the hearing and of the on-site inspection
10 days in advance.
* Receive on-site inspection from the Municipal authority
10 1 day no charge
Register the building with the Real Estate Registry
11 Speed-up proceeding submitted electronically -- EUR 130.00, if notice 18 days EUR 115
of intended entry is given, then an administration charge is reduced by
EUR 15.00.
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 34
GETTING ELECTRICITY
Access to reliable and affordable electricity is vital WHAT THE GETTING ELECTRICITY
for businesses. To counter weak electricity supply,
many firms in developing economies have to rely INDICATORS MEASURE
on self-supply, often at a prohibitively high cost.
Whether electricity is reliably available or not, the Procedures to obtain an electricity
first step for a customer is always to gain access by connection (number)
obtaining a connection.
Submitting all relevant documents and
What do the indicators cover? obtaining all necessary clearances and permits
Doing Business records all procedures required for Completing all required notifications and
a local business to obtain a permanent electricity receiving all necessary inspections
connection and supply for a standardized
warehouse, as well as the time and cost to Obtaining external installation works and
complete them. These procedures include possibly purchasing material for these works
applications and contracts with electricity utilities, Concluding any necessary supply contract and
clearances from other agencies and the external obtaining final supply
and final connection works. The ranking on the
ease of getting electricity is the simple average of Time required to complete each procedure
the percentile rankings on its component (calendar days)
indicators: procedures, time and cost. To make the Is at least 1 calendar day
data comparable across economies, several
assumptions are used. Each procedure starts on a separate day
The warehouse: Does not include time spent gathering
information
 Is located in the economy‘s largest
business city, in an area where other Reflects the time spent in practice, with little
warehouses are located. follow-up and no prior contact with officials
ï‚· Is not in a special economic zone where Cost required to complete each procedure
the connection would be eligible for (% of income per capita)
subsidization or faster service. Official costs only, no bribes
ï‚· Has road access. The connection works Excludes value added tax
involve the crossing of a road or roads but
are carried out on public land.
ï‚· Is 150 meters long.
ï‚· Is a new construction being connected to
ï‚· Is to either the low-voltage or the medium-
electricity for the first time.
voltage distribution network and either overhead
ï‚· Has 2 stories, both above ground, with a or underground, whichever is more common in
total surface of about 1,300.6 square the economy and in the area where the
meters (14,000 square feet), and is built on warehouse is located. The length of any
a plot of 929 square meters (10,000 square connection in the customer‘s private domain is
feet). negligible.
The electricity connection: ï‚· Involves installing one electricity meter. The
monthly electricity consumption will be 0.07
ï‚· Is a 3-phase, 4-wire Y, 140-kilovolt-ampere
gigawatt-hour (GWh). The internal electrical
(kVA) (subscribed capacity) connection.
wiring has been completed.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 35
GETTING ELECTRICITY
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to obtain a new electricity requires 5 procedures, takes 158 days and costs
connection in Slovak Republic? According to data 249.1% of income per capita (figure 4.1).
collected by Doing Business, getting electricity there
Figure 4.1 What it takes to obtain an electricity connection in Slovak Republic
Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. For more information on the methodology of
the getting electricity indicators, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 36
GETTING ELECTRICITY
Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 100 in the ranking perspective in assessing how easy it is for an
of 185 economies on the ease of getting electricity entrepreneur in Slovak Republic to connect a
(figure 4.2). The rankings for comparator economies warehouse to electricity.
and the regional average ranking provide another
Figure 4.2 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of getting electricity
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 37
GETTING ELECTRICITY
Even more helpful than rankings on the ease of getting performers on these indicators may provide useful
electricity may be the indicators underlying those benchmarks.
rankings (table 4.1). And regional and global best
Table 4.1 The ease of getting electricity in Slovak Republic
Best performer in
Slovak Republic Slovak Republic Best performer
Indicator OECD high income
DB2013 DB2012 globally DB2013
DB2013
Rank 100 101 Iceland (1) Iceland (1)
Procedures
(number) 5 5 Germany (3) Germany (3)*
Time (days) 158 177 Germany (17) Germany (17)
Cost (% of income
per capita) 249.1 242.2 Japan (0.0) Japan (0.0)
Note: DB2012 rankings shown are not last year‘s published rankings but c omparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the
effects of such factors as data corrections and the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year.
* Two or more economies share the top ranking on this indicator. For a list of these economies, see the Doing Business website
(http://www.doingbusiness.org).
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 38
GETTING ELECTRICITY
Obtaining an electricity connection is essential to safety in the connection process while keeping
enable a business to conduct its most basic operations. connection costs reasonable, governments around the
In many economies the connection process is world have worked to consolidate requirements for
complicated by the multiple laws and regulations obtaining an electricity connection. What reforms in
involved—covering service quality, general safety, getting electricity has Doing Business recorded in
technical standards, procurement practices and Slovak Republic (table 4.2)?
internal wiring installations. In an effort to ensure
Table 4.2 How has Slovak Republic made getting electricity easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2013 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 39
GETTING ELECTRICITY
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Slovak Republic are
OBTAINING AN ELECTRICITY CONNECTION
based on a set of specific procedures—the steps that
an entrepreneur must complete to get a warehouse
connected to electricity by the local distribution City: Bratislava
utility—identified by Doing Business. Data are collected
from the distribution utility, then completed and
Name of Utility: Zapadoslovenska
verified by electricity regulatory agencies and
Energetika
independent professionals such as electrical engineers,
The procedures are those that apply to a warehouse
electrical contractors and construction companies. The
and electricity connection matching the standard
electricity distribution utility surveyed is the one
assumptions used by Doing Business in collecting the
serving the area (or areas) in which warehouses are
data (see the section in this chapter on what the
located. If there is a choice of distribution utilities, the
indicators cover). The procedures, along with the
one serving the largest number of customers is
associated time and cost, are summarized below.
selected.
Summary of procedures for getting electricity in Slovak Republic—and the time and cost
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
Apply for connection and await conclusion of the technical study
and sign Agreement for Connection.
The application for connection can be submitted via mail or in person.
Documents attached to the application: technical drawings of the area,
property license (proof of ownership). The application is free. The
documents do not need notarization.
The request for connection is the base for the Agreement for
Connection, a contract defining technical details and conditions of the
connection. It is updated annually.
1 The applicant has to pay the estimate at the bank and show proof of the 24 calendar days EUR 4,263.3
payment at the utility.
The connection fee is 42.02 Eur per 1kW without taxes (VAT is 19%) on
MV side. The connection fee is regulated by the Regulatory Office for
Network Industries Decree No. 2/2007.
On LV side connection fees are: 140 kW=203A 3x250A=1,592.41Eur
(without VAT 19%) This fee covers construction of the related grid
equipment and electrometer installation. The fee has to be paid once
the connection agreement is signed. The applicant has a maximum of
one month to sign the connection agreement.
Obtain design of external connection and internal wiring and await
approval of design by utility
2 30 calendar days no charge
After the connection agreement is signed the customer prepares a
design of the construction project which also includes the design of the
external connection and internal wiring. ZSE examines the project and
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 40
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
issues a statement specifying in detail what is required for the
connection.
The design of the construction project including the design of the
external connection and the approval statement from ZSE is then
submitted by the applicant to the building authority so he can receive a
building permit.
Await completion of the external works carried out by ZSE
Distribucia or electrical contractor
In the case of the connection to low voltage the utility is in charge of the
external works. ZSE will also install the meter.
In the case of installation of a transformer substation a customer can hire
either Enermont, Ltd, a subsidiary of ZSE, or a private company to do the
actual installation and carry out technical inspection/coordination at the
end of the works.
The excavation permit is obtained either by ZSE or by the customer
depending on whether the part of the line belongs to the customer or
the utility. The excavation permit is a part of building permission, so the
excavation permit is issued by the Building Authority. The time to obtain
the excavation permit depends on what type of road is crossed. The cost
also depends on these factors.
3 90 calendar days EUR 25,000.0
In case of a simple hook up customer needs to buy material only for
his/her share of the grid (that begins behind the off-take point of the
connection/electrometer).
The material is available more than 50% of the time.
Any licensed electrician can work on the internal wiring. A technical
expert who is hired by the warehouse owner, inspects the electricity
wiring in the building, prepares a report and the report is then submitted
to the Office for inspection of the safety. The Office for inspection of the
safety issues its statement on the status of the electricity wiring in the
building and this statement is then submitted by the warehouse owner
to the Building Office during the proceedings to obtain the occupancy
permit. The technical expert is liable that the internal wiring is in
compliance with applicable rules and regulations.
Sign supply contract with ZSE
4 7 calendar days no charge
The customer needs to sign a contract with the electricity supplier, which
can be either ZSE trading company or its market competitors.
Await installation of the meter and electricity starts flowing
Local ZSE Dept. Unit installs the meter after the contract has been
signed. Before ZSE can connect the customer to electricity it will need
5 approval statements from the Building Authority which visits the site to 7 calendar days no charge
inspect completed external connection works, internal wiring, gas
connection and etc. The Building Authority checks whether all the work
is completed according to the guidelines issued by all the electricity, gas,
water and telecommunications utilities.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 41
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
After the supply contract is concluded, the meter is installed, and
approvals from the Building Authority are received, ZSE could turn on
the power.
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 42
REGISTERING PROPERTY
Ensuring formal property rights is fundamental. WHAT THE REGISTERING PROPERTY
Effective administration of land is part of that. If
INDICATORS MEASURE
formal property transfer is too costly or
complicated, formal titles might go informal
again. And where property is informal or poorly Procedures to legally transfer title on
administered, it has little chance of being immovable property (number)
accepted as collateral for loans—limiting access to Preregistration (for example, checking for liens,
finance. notarizing sales agreement, paying property
transfer taxes)
What do the indicators cover?
Registration in the economy‘s largest business
Doing Business records the full sequence of city
procedures necessary for a business to purchase
property from another business and transfer the Postregistration (for example, filing title with
the municipality)
property title to the buyer‘s name. The transaction
is considered complete when it is opposable to Time required to complete each procedure
third parties and when the buyer can use the (calendar days)
property, use it as collateral for a bank loan or
Does not include time spent gathering
resell it. The ranking on the ease of registering information
property is the simple average of the percentile
rankings on its component indicators: procedures, Each procedure starts on a separate day
time and cost. Procedure completed once final document is
received
To make the data comparable across economies,
several assumptions about the parties to the No prior contact with officials
transaction, the property and the procedures are
Cost required to complete each procedure
used.
(% of property value)
The parties (buyer and seller):
Official costs only, no bribes
ï‚· Are limited liability companies, 100% No value added or capital gains taxes included
domestically and privately owned.
ï‚· Are located in the periurban area of the
economy‘s largest business city.  Has no mortgages attached and has been
under the same ownership for the past 10
ï‚· Have 50 employees each, all of whom are
years.
nationals.
ï‚· Consists of 557.4 square meters (6,000 square
ï‚· Perform general commercial activities.
feet) of land and a 10-year-old, 2-story
The property (fully owned by the seller): warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000
ï‚· Has a value of 50 times income per capita. square feet). The warehouse is in good
The sale price equals the value. condition and complies with all safety
standards, building codes and legal
ï‚· Is registered in the land registry or requirements. The property will be transferred
cadastre, or both, and is free of title in its entirety.
disputes.
ï‚· Is located in a periurban commercial zone,
and no rezoning is required.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 43
REGISTERING PROPERTY
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to complete a property transfer in procedures, takes 17 days and costs 0.0% of the
Slovak Republic? According to data collected by Doing property value (figure 5.1).
Business, registering property there requires 3
Figure 5.1 What it takes to register property in Slovak Republic
Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. For more information on the methodology of
the registering property indicators, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the
procedures reflected here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 44
REGISTERING PROPERTY
Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 8 in the ranking of and the regional average ranking provide other useful
185 economies on the ease of registering property information for assessing how easy it is for an
(figure 5.2). The rankings for comparator economies entrepreneur in Slovak Republic to transfer property.
Figure 5.2 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of registering property
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 45
REGISTERING PROPERTY
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how the process have changed—and which have not (table
easy (or difficult) it is to register property in Slovak 5.1). That can help identify where the potential for
Republic today, data over time show which aspects of improvement is greatest.
Table 5.1 The ease of registering property in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2005 DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 8
Procedures
(number) 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Time (days) 22 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17
Cost (% of property
value) 3.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and
the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year. For more information on ―no practice‖ marks, see
the data notes.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 46
REGISTERING PROPERTY
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by (figure 5.3). These benchmarks help show what is
the economies that over time have had the best possible in making it easier to register property. And
performance regionally or globally on the procedures, changes in regional averages can show where Slovak
time or cost required to complete a property transfer Republic is keeping up—and where it is falling behind.
Figure 5.3 Has registering property become easier over time?
Procedures (number)
Time (days)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 47
REGISTERING PROPERTY
Cost (% of property value)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 48
REGISTERING PROPERTY
Economies worldwide have been making it easier for have cut the time required substantially—enabling
entrepreneurs to register and transfer property—such buyers to use or mortgage their property earlier. What
as by computerizing land registries, introducing time property registration reforms has Doing Business
limits for procedures and setting low fixed fees. Many recorded in Slovak Republic (table 5.2)?
Table 5.2 How has Slovak Republic made registering property easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2013 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2005), see the Doing Business
reports for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 49
REGISTERING PROPERTY
What are the details?
The indicators reported here are based on a set of
STANDARD PROPERTY TRANSFER
specific procedures—the steps that a buyer and
seller must complete to transfer the property to the
buyer‘s name—identified by Doing Business City: Bratislava
through information collected from local property Property Value: EUR 587,440
lawyers, notaries and property registries. These
procedures are those that apply to a transaction The procedures, along with the associated time and
matching the standard assumptions used by Doing cost, are summarized below.
Business in collecting the data (see the section in
this chapter on what the indicators cover).
Summary of procedures for registering property in Slovak Republic—and the time and cost
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
Each party obtains extracts from the commercial register held by the
respective court Commercial Register
of the Slovak
Parties obtain the Extract from the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic:
Republic held by the respective District Court, for each party. Extract for - paper form - 13 €
legal purposes can by in paper form or in electronic form signed with (2 extracts at 6.50 €
certified electronic signature. Extracts from commercial register for legal each)
purposes can be obtained either from the District Courts or from a - electronic form -
notary. 0.66 € (two extracts
1 1 day
at 0.33 € each)
There are circa 330 notary offices in Slovak Republic. A notary is attached
Notaries:
to the Central Portal of Public Administration with certified electronic
- paper form - circa
signature. After identifying of a notary and entering the requirement, the
system generates the required extract from commercial register. The 5.32 € (2 extracts at
notary prints the extract on paper and certifies it. This extract is also 2.66 € each) This do
usable for legal purposes not include 20%VAT.
Since July 2010 all notaries are connected on-line with Commercial
Register of the Slovak Republic.
Confirm the signature authenticity of the seller before applying for
registration
2 EUR (4 signatures
In order to file an Application for registration of the transfer (the
Proposal for Entry into the Cadastre) it is necessary to submit: at 0,50 EUR at
• 1 piece of Application, and registrar´s office;
2 •2 copies of the contract for the transfer to the respective district 1 day 7,96 EUR (4
Cadastral Registry. signatures at 1,99
Assuming there will be only one executive manager acting on behalf of EUR each) at notary
each party (company), a notary or Registrar´s Office have to verify 2 office
signatures (signatures of the person acting on behalf of the seller).
Verification:
• the notary fee is 1.99 EURper signature,
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 50
Time to
No. Procedure Cost to complete
complete
• or at the Registrar´s Office for a fee of 0.50 EUR per signature.
There are three possibilities for drawing up the contract in Slovakia. The
contract can be drawn up
• by clients themselves (no costs i.e. 0 EUR),
• by a notary (for the value of property 598,955.00 EUR is the fee for
notary 598,96 EUR), or by
• a lawyer (for the value of property 598,955.00 EUR is the fee for lawyer
1621.73 EUR).
The Cadastral Registry does not require that the contract is drawn either
by a notary or by a lawyer. The contract is still valid if drawn by the
parties themselves.
Submit the application for registration of the transfer (the proposal
for entry into the cadastre) with the competent district land registry
2 transfer contracts are attached to the "Application for registration of
the transfer". After the persons authorized by law to act on behalf of the Registration in paper
companies sign the transfer contract, the "Application for registration of form:
the transfer" is submitted for the registration and for the transfer of the 66 € (standard
ownership right to the respective district Cadastral Registry.
30 days (standard Procedure i.e. 30
Procedure)
days or 20 days)
Registration is executed by the respective District Cadastral Registry,
20 days (standard 265.50 € (speed up
according to the location of the property. The "Application for
registration of the transfer" includes the data prescribed by law. The Procedure if the Procedure i.e. 15
Application for registration is contract is in the days)
- in paper form, and also enclosures (contracts) have to be in paper form of a notarial
3
form, deed or the Registration in
- or in electronic form, and also the enclosures (contracts) have to be in contract is certified electronic form:
electronic form. by a lawyer)
33 € (standard
Enclosures have to be signed by certified electronic signature. 15 days (speed up Procedure i.e. 30
Procedure) days or 20 days
The Cadastral Registry shall decide on the Application for the registration 130 € (speed up
of the transfer within the period of 30days (standard Procedure) or
Procedure i.e. 15
within 15 days (speed up Procedure). If the contract is in form of public
days)
notary´s deed or deed authorized by the lawyer (advocate), the
registration has to be processed within 20 days.
After the property transfer is finished, the seller has to pay 19 % the
income tax to the Tax Office. Real estate transfer tax is no longer claimed
in Slovakia.
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 51
GETTING CREDIT
Two types of frameworks can facilitate access to WHAT THE GETTING CREDIT INDICATORS
credit and improve its allocation: credit information
MEASURE
systems and the legal rights of borrowers and
lenders in collateral and bankruptcy laws. Credit
information systems enable lenders to view a Strength of legal rights index (0–10)
potential borrower‘s financial history (positive or Protection of rights of borrowers and lenders
negative)—valuable information to consider when through collateral laws
assessing risk. And they permit borrowers to Protection of secured creditors‘ rights through
establish a good credit history that will allow easier bankruptcy laws
access to credit. Sound collateral laws enable
businesses to use their assets, especially movable Depth of credit information index (0–6)
property, as security to generate capital—while Scope and accessibility of credit information
strong creditors‘ rights have been associated with distributed by public credit registries and
higher ratios of private sector credit to GDP. private credit bureaus
What do the indicators cover? Public credit registry coverage (% of adults)
Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit Number of individuals and firms listed in
information and the legal rights of borrowers and public credit registry as percentage of adult
lenders with respect to secured transactions population
through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit Private credit bureau coverage (% of adults)
information index measures rules and practices
Number of individuals and firms listed in
affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of
largest private credit bureau as percentage of
credit information available through a public credit
adult population
registry or a private credit bureau. The strength of
legal rights index measures whether certain features
that facilitate lending exist within the applicable
collateral and bankruptcy laws. Doing Business uses
case scenarios to determine the scope of the ï‚· Has 100 employees.
secured transactions system, involving a secured ï‚· Is 100% domestically owned, as is the lender.
borrower and a secured lender and examining legal
The ranking on the ease of getting credit is based on
restrictions on the use of movable collateral. These
the percentile rankings on the sum of its component
scenarios assume that the borrower:
indicators: the depth of credit information index and
ï‚· Is a private, limited liability company. the strength of legal rights index.
ï‚· Has its headquarters and only base of
operations in the largest business city.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 52
GETTING CREDIT
Where does the economy stand today?
How well do the credit information system and Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 23 in the ranking of
collateral and bankruptcy laws in Slovak Republic 185 economies on the ease of getting credit (figure
facilitate access to credit? The economy has a score of 6.1). The rankings for comparator economies and the
4 on the depth of credit information index and a score regional average ranking provide other useful
of 9 on the strength of legal rights index (see the information for assessing how well regulations and
summary of scoring at the end of this chapter for institutions in Slovak Republic support lending and
details). Higher scores indicate more credit information borrowing.
and stronger legal rights for borrowers and lenders.
Figure 6.1 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of getting credit
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 53
GETTING CREDIT
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how where institutions and regulations have been
well the credit information system and collateral and strengthened—and where they have not (table 6.1).
bankruptcy laws in Slovak Republic support lending That can help identify where the potential for
and borrowing today, data over time can help show improvement is greatest.
Table 6.1 The ease of getting credit in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2005 DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 23 23
Strength of legal rights
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
index (0-10)
Depth of credit
3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
information index (0-6)
Public registry
0.6 0.5 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.4 2.2 2.6 2.7
coverage (% of adults)
Private bureau
n.a. 18.1 45.3 40.3 39.9 44.0 44.5 56.1 58.5
coverage (% of adults)
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and
the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 54
GETTING CREDIT
One way to put an economy‘s score on the getting 2012 and shows the number of economies with this
credit indicators into context is to see where the score in 2012 as well as the regional average score.
economy stands in the distribution of scores across Figure 6.3 shows the same thing for the depth of credit
economies. Figure 6.2 highlights the score on the information index.
strength of legal rights index for Slovak Republic in
Figure 6.2 How strong are legal rights for borrowers Figure 6.3 How much credit information is shared—
and lenders? and how widely?
Number of economies with each score on strength of legal Number of economies with each score on depth of credit
rights index (0–10), 2012 information index (0–6), 2012
Note: Higher scores indicate that collateral and bankruptcy Note: Higher scores indicate the availability of more credit
laws are better designed to facilitate access to credit. information, from either a public credit registry or a private
Source: Doing Business database. credit bureau, to facilitate lending decisions. Regional
averages for the depth of credit information index exclude
economies with no public registry or private bureau.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 55
GETTING CREDIT
When economies strengthen the legal rights of lenders credit information, they can increase entrepreneurs‘
and borrowers under collateral and bankruptcy laws, access to credit. What credit reforms has Doing
and increase the scope, coverage and accessibility of Business recorded in Slovak Republic (table 6.2)?
Table 6.2 How has Slovak Republic made getting credit easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The Slovak Republic improved its credit information system by
DB2012 guaranteeing by law the right of borrowers to inspect their own
data.
DB2013 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2005), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 56
GETTING CREDIT
What are the details?
The getting credit indicators reported here for Slovak The data on the legal rights of borrowers and lenders
Republic are based on detailed information collected are gathered through a survey of financial lawyers and
in that economy. The data on credit information verified through analysis of laws and regulations as
sharing are collected through a survey of a public well as public sources of information on collateral and
credit registry or private credit bureau (if one exists). bankruptcy laws. For the strength of legal rights index,
To construct the depth of credit information index, a a score of 1 is assigned for each of 8 aspects related to
score of 1 is assigned for each of 6 features of the legal rights in collateral law and 2 aspects in
public credit registry or private credit bureau (see bankruptcy law.
summary of scoring below).
Summary of scoring for the getting credit indicators in Slovak Republic
OECD high OECD high income
Indicator Slovak Republic
income average average
Strength of legal rights index (0-10) 9 7
Depth of credit information index (0-6) 4 5
Public registry coverage (% of adults) 2.7 31.5
Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 58.5 74.6
Note: In cases where an economy‘s regional classification is ―OECD high income,‖ regional averages above are only displayed
once. Regional averages for the depth of credit information index exclude economies with no public registry or private bureau.
Regional averages for the public registry coverage exclude economies with no public registry. Regional averages for the private
bureau coverage exclude economies with no private bureau.
Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Index score: 9
Can any business use movable assets as collateral while keeping possession of the assets;
Yes
and any financial institution accept such assets as collateral ?
Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category
Yes
of movable assets, without requiring a specific description of collateral?
Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of
Yes
its assets, without requiring a specific description of collateral?
May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and may it extend
Yes
automatically to the products, proceeds or replacements of the original assets ?
Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all
types of debts and obligations be secured between parties; and can the collateral agreement Yes
include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered?
Is a collateral registry in operation, that is unified geographically and by asset type, with an
Yes
electronic database indexed by debtor's names?
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 57
Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Index score: 9
Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before general tax claims and employee claims) when a
Yes
debtor defaults outside an insolvency procedure?
Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before general tax claims and employee claims) when a
Yes
business is liquidated?
Are secured creditors either not subject to an automatic stay or moratorium on enforcement
procedures when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization procedure, or the law No
provides secured creditors with grounds for relief from an automatic stay or
Does the law allow parties to agree in a collateral agreement that the lender may enforce its
Yes
security right out of court, at the time a security interest is created?
Private credit Public credit
Depth of credit information index (0–6) Index score: 4
bureau registry
Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? No No 0
Are both positive and negative data distributed? Yes Yes 1
Does the registry distribute credit information from
retailers, trade creditors or utility companies as well No No 0
as financial institutions?
Are more than 2 years of historical credit information
Yes No 1
distributed?
Is data on all loans below 1% of income per capita
Yes Yes 1
distributed?
Is it guaranteed by law that borrowers can inspect
Yes Yes 1
their data in the largest credit registry?
Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either private bureau or public registry.
Coverage Private credit bureau Public credit registry
Number of firms 17,000 105,081
Number of individuals 2,300,000 0
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 58
PROTECTING INVESTORS
Investor protections matter for the ability of WHAT THE PROTECTING INVESTORS
companies to raise the capital they need to grow,
INDICATORS MEASURE
innovate, diversify and compete. If the laws do not
provide such protections, investors may be reluctant
to invest unless they become the controlling Extent of disclosure index (0–10)
shareholders. Strong regulations clearly define Who can approve related-party transactions
related-party transactions, promote clear and efficient
Disclosure requirements in case of related-
disclosure requirements, require shareholder party transactions
participation in major decisions of the company and
set clear standards of accountability for company Extent of director liability index (0–10)
insiders. Ability of shareholders to hold interested
What do the indicators cover? parties and members of the approving body
liable in case of related-party transactions
Doing Business measures the strength of minority
Available legal remedies (damages, repayment
shareholder protections against directors‘ use of
of profits, fines, imprisonment and rescission
corporate assets for personal gain—or self-dealing. of the transaction)
The indicators distinguish 3 dimensions of investor
protections: transparency of related-party Ability of shareholders to sue directly or
transactions (extent of disclosure index), liability for derivatively
self-dealing (extent of director liability index) and Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10)
shareholders‘ ability to sue officers and directors for
Access to internal corporate documents
misconduct (ease of shareholder suits index). The
(directly or through a government inspector)
ranking on the strength of investor protection index is
the simple average of the percentile rankings on Documents and information available during
these 3 indices. To make the data comparable across trial
economies, a case study uses several assumptions Strength of investor protection index (0–10)
about the business and the transaction.
Simple average of the extent of disclosure,
The business (Buyer): extent of director liability and ease of
shareholder suits indices
ï‚· Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the
economy‘s most important stock exchange (or
at least a large private company with multiple
the company purchase used trucks from another
shareholders).
company he owns.
ï‚· Has a board of directors and a chief executive
ï‚· The price is higher than the going price for used
officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of
trucks, but the transaction goes forward.
Buyer where permitted, even if this is not
specifically required by law. ï‚· All required approvals are obtained, and all
required disclosures made, though the transaction
The transaction involves the following details:
is prejudicial to Buyer.
ï‚· Mr. James, a director and the majority
ï‚· Shareholders sue the interested parties and the
shareholder of the company, proposes that
members of the board of directors.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 59
PROTECTING INVESTORS
Where does the economy stand today?
How strong are investor protections in Slovak protection index (figure 7.1). While the indicator does
Republic? The economy has a score of 4.7 on the not measure all aspects related to the protection of
strength of investor protection index, with a higher minority investors, a higher ranking does indicate that
score indicating stronger protections (see the an economy‘s regulations offer stronger investor
summary of scoring at the end of this chapter for protections against self-dealing in the areas measured.
details).
Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 117 in the ranking
of 185 economies on the strength of investor
Figure 7.1 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the strength of investor protection index
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 60
PROTECTING INVESTORS
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how the global ranking on the strength of investor
well regulations in Slovak Republic protect minority protection index over time shows whether the
investors today, data over time show whether the economy is slipping behind other economies in
protections have been strengthened (table 7.1). And investor protections—or surpassing them.
Table 7.1 The strength of investor protections in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. 114 117
Extent of disclosure
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
index (0-10)
Extent of director
liability index (0- 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
10)
Ease of shareholder
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
suits index (0-10)
Strength of
investor protection 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
index (0-10)
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and
the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 61
PROTECTING INVESTORS
One way to put an economy‘s scores on the protecting and shows the number of economies with this score in
investors indicators into context is to see where the 2012 as well as the regional average score. Figure 7.3
economy stands in the distribution of scores across shows the same thing for the extent of director liability
economies. Figure 7.2 highlights the score on the index, and figure 7.4 for the ease of shareholder suits
extent of disclosure index for Slovak Republic in 2012 index.
Figure 7.2 How strong are disclosure requirements? Figure 7.3 How strong is the liability regime for directors?
Number of economies with each score on extent of
Number of economies with each score on extent of
director liability index (0–10), 2012
disclosure index (0–10), 2012
Note: Higher scores indicate greater liability of directors.
Note: Higher scores indicate greater disclosure.
No economy receives a score of 10 on the extent of
Source: Doing Business database.
director liability index.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 62
PROTECTING INVESTORS
Figure 7.4 How easy is access to internal corporate documents?
Number of economies with each score on ease of
shareholder suits index (0–10), 2012
Note: Higher scores indicate greater powers of shareholders
to challenge the transaction.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 63
PROTECTING INVESTORS
The scores recorded over time for Slovak Republic on changes over time in the regional average score on
the strength of investor protection index may also be this index.
revealing (figure 7.5). Equally interesting may be the
Figure 7.5 Have investor protections become stronger over time?
Strength of investor protection index (0–10)
Note: The higher the score, the stronger the investor protections.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 64
PROTECTING INVESTORS
Economies with the strongest protections of minority time. So reforms to strengthen investor protections
investors from self-dealing require more disclosure may move ahead on different fronts—such as through
and define clear duties for directors. They also have new or amended company laws or civil procedure
well-functioning courts and up-to-date procedural rules. What investor protection reforms has Doing
rules that give minority investors the means to prove Business recorded in Slovak Republic (table 7.2)?
their case and obtain a judgment within a reasonable
Table 7.2 How has Slovak Republic strengthened investor protections—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2013 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2006), see the Doing Business reports for
these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 65
PROTECTING INVESTORS
What are the details?
The protecting investors indicators reported here for ease of shareholder suits indices, a score is assigned
Slovak Republic are based on detailed information for each of a range of conditions relating to disclosure,
collected through a survey of corporate and securities director liability and shareholder suits in a standard
lawyers as well as on securities regulations, company case study transaction (see the notes at the end of this
laws and court rules of evidence. To construct the chapter). The summary below shows the details
extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and underlying the scores for Slovak Republic.
Summary of scoring for the protecting investors indicators in Slovak Republic
OECD high OECD high income
Indicator Slovak Republic
income average average
Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 3 6
Extent of director liability index (0-10) 4 5
Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7 7
Strength of investor protection index (0-10) 4.7 6.1
Note: In cases where an economy‘s regional classification is ―OECD high income,‖ regional averages above are only displayed
once.
Score Score description
Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 3
What corporate body provides legally sufficient
0 CEO
approval for the transaction?
Whether disclosure of the conflict of interest by Mr.
0 No disclosure obligation
James to the board of directors is required?
Whether immediate disclosure of the transaction to
1 Disclosure on the transaction only
the public and/or shareholders is required?
Whether disclosure of the transaction in published Disclosure on the transaction and Mr.
2
periodic filings (annual reports) is required? James' conflict of interest
Whether an external body must review the terms of
0 No
the transaction before it takes place?
Extent of director liability index (0-10) 4
Whether shareholders can sue directly or derivatively
for the damage that the Buyer-Seller transaction 1 Yes
causes to the company?
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 66
Score Score description
Whether shareholders can hold Mr. James liable for
Liable for negligence or influencing
the damage that the Buyer-Seller transaction causes 1
the approval of the transaction
to the company?
Whether shareholders can hold members of the
approving body liable for the damage that the Buyer- 1 Liable for negligence
Seller transaction causes to the company?
Whether a court can void the transaction upon a Not possible or only in case of Seller's
0
successful claim by a shareholder plaintiff? fraud or bad faith
Whether Mr. James pays damages for the harm
caused to the company upon a successful claim by 1 Yes
the shareholder plaintiff?
Whether Mr. James repays profits made from the
transaction upon a successful claim by the 0 No
shareholder plaintiff?
Whether fines and imprisonment can be applied
0 No
against Mr. James?
Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7
Whether shareholders owning 10% or less of Buyer's
shares can inspect transaction documents before 0 No
filing suit?
Whether shareholders owning 10% or less of Buyer's
shares can request an inspector to investigate the 0 No
transaction?
Whether the plaintiff can obtain any documents from Any information that may lead to the
4
the defendant and witnesses during trial? discovery of relevant information
Whether the plaintiff can request categories of
documents from the defendant without identifying 1 Yes
specific ones?
Whether the plaintiff can directly question the
1 Yes
defendant and witnesses during trial?
Whether the level of proof required for civil suits is
1 Yes
lower than that of criminal cases?
Strength of investor protection index (0-10) 4.7
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 67
PAYING TAXES
Taxes are essential. They fund the public amenities, WHAT THE PAYING TAXES INDICATORS
infrastructure and services that are crucial for a MEASURE
properly functioning economy. But the level of tax
rates needs to be carefully chosen—and needless Tax payments for a manufacturing company
complexity in tax rules avoided. According to in 2011 (number per year adjusted for
Doing Business data, in economies where it is more electronic or joint filing and payment)
difficult and costly to pay taxes, larger shares of
economic activity end up in the informal sector — Total number of taxes and contributions paid,
where businesses pay no taxes at all. including consumption taxes (value added tax,
sales tax or goods and service tax)
What do the indicators cover?
Method and frequency of filing and payment
Using a case scenario, Doing Business measures
Time required to comply with 3 major taxes
the taxes and mandatory contributions that a
(hours per year)
medium-size company must pay in a given year as
well as the administrative burden of paying taxes Collecting information and computing the tax
and contributions. This case scenario uses a set of payable
financial statements and assumptions about Completing tax return forms, filing with
transactions made over the year. Information is proper agencies
also compiled on the frequency of filing and
Arranging payment or withholding
payments as well as time taken to comply with tax
laws. The ranking on the ease of paying taxes is Preparing separate tax accounting books, if
the simple average of the percentile rankings on required
its component indicators: number of annual Total tax rate (% of profit before all taxes)
payments, time and total tax rate, with a threshold
1 Profit or corporate income tax
being applied to the total tax rate. To make the
data comparable across economies, several Social contributions and labor taxes paid by
assumptions about the business and the taxes and the employer
contributions are used. Property and property transfer taxes
ï‚· TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that Dividend, capital gains and financial
started operations on January 1, 2010. transactions taxes
ï‚· The business starts from the same financial Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes
position in each economy. All the taxes
ï‚· Taxes and mandatory contributions include
and mandatory contributions paid during
corporate income tax, turnover tax and all
the second year of operation are recorded.
labor taxes and contributions paid by the
ï‚· Taxes and mandatory contributions are company.
measured at all levels of government.
ï‚· A range of standard deductions and
exemptions are also recorded.
1
The threshold is defined as the highest total tax rate among the top 15% of economies in the ranking on the total tax rate. It is calculated and
adjusted on a yearly basis. The threshold is not based on any economic theory of an ―optimal tax rate‖ that minimizes distortions or maximizes
efficiency in the tax system of an economy overall. Instead, it is mainly empirical in nature, set at the lower end of the distribution of tax rates
levied on medium-size enterprises in the manufacturing sector as observed through the paying taxes indicators. This reduces the bias in the
indicators toward economies that do not need to levy significant taxes on companies like the Doing Business standardized case study company
because they raise public revenue in other ways—for example, through taxes on foreign companies, through taxes on sectors other than
manufacturing or from natural resources (all of which are outside the scope of the methodology). This year‘s threshold is 25.7%.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 68
PAYING TAXES
Where does the economy stand today?
What is the administrative burden of complying with Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 100 in the ranking
taxes in Slovak Republic—and how much do firms pay of 185 economies on the ease of paying taxes (figure
in taxes? On average, firms make 20 tax payments a 8.1). The rankings for comparator economies and the
year, spend 207 hours a year filing, preparing and regional average ranking provide other useful
paying taxes and pay total taxes amounting to 47.9% information for assessing the tax compliance burden
of profit (see the summary at the end of this chapter for businesses in Slovak Republic.
for details).
Figure 8.1 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of paying taxes
Note: DB2013 rankings reflect changes to the methodology. For all economies with a total tax rate below the threshold of
25.7% applied in DB2013, the total tax rate is set at 25.7% for the purpose of calculating the ranking on the ease of paying
taxes.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 69
PAYING TAXES
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how the process have changed — and which have not
easy (or difficult) it is to comply with tax rules in Slovak (table 8.1). That can help identify where the potential
Republic today, data over time show which aspects of for easing tax compliance is greatest.
Table 8.1 The ease of paying taxes in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. 126 100
Payments (number per
32 31 31 31 31 31 31 20
year)
Time (hours per year) 325 325 325 325 257 257 231 207
Total tax rate (% profit) 49.8 48.4 48.4 47.4 48.6 48.7 48.8 47.9
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and
the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year. DB2013 rankings reflect changes to the
methodology. For all economies with a total tax rate below the threshold of 25.7% applied in DB2013, the total tax rate is set at
25.7% for the purpose of calculating the ranking on the ease of paying taxes.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 70
PAYING TAXES
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by possible in easing the administrative burden of tax
the economies that over time have had the best compliance. And changes in regional averages can
performance regionally or globally on the number of show where Slovak Republic is keeping up—and where
payments or the time required to prepare and file it is falling behind.
taxes (figure 8.2). These benchmarks help show what is
Figure 8.2 Has paying taxes become easier over time?
Payments (number per year)
Time (hours per year)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 71
PAYING TAXES
Total tax rate (% of profit)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 72
PAYING TAXES
Economies around the world have made paying taxes concrete results. Some economies simplifying tax
faster and easier for businesses—such as by payment and reducing rates have seen tax revenue
consolidating filings, reducing the frequency of rise. What tax reforms has Doing Business recorded in
payments or offering electronic filing and payment. Slovak Republic (table 8.2)?
Many have lowered tax rates. Changes have brought
Table 8.2 How has Slovak Republic made paying taxes easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The Slovak Republic made paying taxes easier for companies by
DB2013 implementing electronic filing and payment of social security
and health insurance contributions.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2006), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 73
PAYING TAXES
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Slovak Republic
LOCATION OF STANDARDIZED COMPANY
are based on a standard set of taxes and
contributions that would be paid by the case study
company used by Doing Business in collecting the City: Bratislava
data (see the section in this chapter on what the
indicators cover). Tax practitioners are asked to
review standard financial statements as well as a
standard list of transactions that the company
The taxes and contributions paid are listed in the
completed during the year. Respondents are asked
summary below, along with the associated number of
how much in taxes and mandatory contributions
payments, time and tax rate.
the business must pay and what the process is for
doing so.
Summary of tax rates and administrative burden in Slovak Republic
OECD high OECD high income
Indicator Slovak Republic
income average average
Payments (number per year) 20 12
Time (hours per year) 207 176
Profit tax (%) 6.8 15.2
Labor tax and contributions (%) 39.6 23.8
Other taxes (%) 1.5 3.7
Total tax rate (% profit) 47.9 42.7
Note: In cases where an economy‘s regional classification is ―OECD high income,‖ regional averages above are only displayed
once.
Total tax
Tax or mandatory Payments Notes on Time Statutory Notes on
Tax base rate (% of
contribution (number) payments (hours) tax rate total tax rate
profit)
gross
Social security contributions 1 online filing 62 35% 39.6
salaries
taxable
Corporate income tax 1 42 19% 6.8
profit
included in
Fuel tax 1 0 0.9
fuel price
interest
Tax on interest 0 0 19% 0.5 not included
income
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 74
Total tax
Tax or mandatory Payments Notes on Time Statutory Notes on
Tax base rate (% of
contribution (number) payments (hours) tax rate total tax rate
profit)
various rates
property
Property tax 4 0 per square 0.4
area
meter
Motor vehicle tax 1 0 various rates 0.2
Value added tax (VAT) 12 103 20% value added 0 not included
Totals 20 207 47.9
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 75
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
In today‘s globalized world, making trade between WHAT THE TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
economies easier is increasingly important for
INDICATORS MEASURE
business. Excessive document requirements,
burdensome customs procedures, inefficient port
operations and inadequate infrastructure all lead to Documents required to export and import
extra costs and delays for exporters and importers, (number)
stifling trade potential. Research shows that Bank documents
exporters in developing countries gain more from
Customs clearance documents
a 10% drop in their trading costs than from a
similar reduction in the tariffs applied to their Port and terminal handling documents
products in global markets. Transport documents
What do the indicators cover? Time required to export and import (days)
Doing Business measures the time and cost Obtaining, filling out and submitting all the
(excluding tariffs and the time and cost for sea documents
transport) associated with exporting and importing
Inland transport and handling
a standard shipment of goods by sea transport,
and the number of documents necessary to Customs clearance and inspections
complete the transaction. The indicators cover Port and terminal handling
procedural requirements such as documentation
Does not include sea transport time
requirements and procedures at customs and other
regulatory agencies as well as at the port. They also Cost required to export and import (US$ per
cover trade logistics, including the time and cost of container)
inland transport to the largest business city. The
All documentation
ranking on the ease of trading across borders is
the simple average of the percentile rankings on its Inland transport and handling
component indicators: documents, time and cost Customs clearance and inspections
to export and import.
Port and terminal handling
To make the data comparable across economies,
Official costs only, no bribes
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the
business and the traded goods.
The business:
ï‚· Is of medium size and employs 60 people. ï‚· Do not require refrigeration or any other
special environment.
ï‚· Is located in the periurban area of the
economy‘s largest business city.  Do not require any special phytosanitary or
environmental safety standards other than
ï‚· Is a private, limited liability company,
accepted international standards.
domestically owned, formally registered
and operating under commercial laws and  Are one of the economy‘s leading export or
regulations of the economy. import products.
The traded goods: ï‚· Are transported in a dry-cargo, 20-foot full
container load.
ï‚· Are not hazardous nor do they include
military items.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 76
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to export or import in Slovak Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 98 in the ranking of
Republic? According to data collected by Doing 185 economies on the ease of trading across borders
Business, exporting a standard container of goods (figure 9.1). The rankings for comparator economies
requires 6 documents, takes 17 days and costs $1560. and the regional average ranking provide other useful
Importing the same container of goods requires 7 information for assessing how easy it is for a business
documents, takes 17 days and costs $1540 (see the in Slovak Republic to export and import goods.
summary of procedures and documents at the end of
this chapter for details).
Figure 9.1 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of trading across borders
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 77
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how the process have changed—and which have not (table
easy (or difficult) it is to export or import in Slovak 9.1). That can help identify where the potential for
Republic today, data over time show which aspects of improvement is greatest.
Table 9.1 The ease of trading across borders in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 98
Documents to export
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
(number)
Time to export (days) 22 22 22 22 20 17 17 17
Cost to export (US$ per
1,015 1,015 1,015 1,445 1,445 1,530 1,560 1,560
container)
Documents to import
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
(number)
Time to import (days) 23 23 23 23 23 17 17 17
Cost to import (US$ per
1,050 1,050 1,050 1,445 1,445 1,505 1,540 1,540
container)
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and
the addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 78
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by These benchmarks help show what is possible in
the economies that over time have had the best making it easier to trade across borders. And changes
performance regionally or globally on the documents, in regional averages can show where Slovak Republic
time or cost required to export or import (figure 9.2). is keeping up—and where it is falling behind.
Figure 9.2 Has trading across borders become easier over time?
Documents to export (number)
Time to export (days)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 79
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
Cost to export (US$ per container)
Documents to import (number)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 80
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
Time to import (days)
Cost to import (US$ per container)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 81
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
In economies around the world, trading across borders systems. These changes help improve the trading
as measured by Doing Business has become faster and environment and boost firms‘ international
easier over the years. Governments have introduced competitiveness. What trade reforms has Doing
tools to facilitate trade—including single windows, Business recorded in Slovak Republic (table 9.2)?
risk-based inspections and electronic data interchange
Table 9.2 How has Slovak Republic made trading across borders easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The Slovak Republic has sped trading times with an electronic
DB2010
system for customs administration.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2013 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2006), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 82
TRADING ACROSS BORDERS
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Slovak Republic
LOCATION OF STANDARDIZED COMPANY
are based on a set of specific procedural
requirements for trading a standard shipment of
goods by ocean transport (see the section in this City: Bratislava
chapter on what the indicators cover). Information
on the procedures as well as the required
documents and the time and cost to complete each The procedural requirements, and the associated time
procedure is collected from local freight forwarders, and cost, for exporting and importing a standard
shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials and shipment of goods are listed in the summary below,
banks. along with the required documents.
Summary of procedures and documents for trading across borders in Slovak Republic
OECD high OECD high income
Indicator Slovak Republic
income average average
Documents to export (number) 6 4
Time to export (days) 17 10
Cost to export (US$ per container) 1,560 1,028
Documents to import (number) 7 5
Time to import (days) 17 10
Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,540 1,080
Note: In cases where an economy‘s regional classification is ―OECD high income,‖ regional averages above are only displayed
once.
Procedures to export Time (days) Cost (US$)
Documents preparation 7 235
Customs clearance and technical control 2 55
Ports and terminal handling 2 285
Inland transportation and handling 6 985
Totals 17 1,560
Procedures to import Time (days) Cost (US$)
Documents preparation 9 215
Customs clearance and technical control 2 55
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 83
Procedures to import Time (days) Cost (US$)
Ports and terminal handling 1 285
Inland transportation and handling 5 985
Totals 17 1,540
Documents to export Documents to import
Bill of lading Bill of lading
Certificate of origin Certificate of origin
Commercial invoice Commercial invoice
Customs export declaration Customs import declaration
Inspection report Customs transit document (T1)
Packing List Packing list
Source: Doing Business database. Technical standard certificate
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 84
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
Well-functioning courts help businesses expand WHAT THE ENFORCING CONTRACTS
their network and markets. Without effective
INDICATORS MEASURE
contract enforcement, people might well do
business only with family, friends and others with
whom they have established relationships. Where Procedures to enforce a contract through
contract enforcement is efficient, firms are more the courts (number)
likely to engage with new borrowers or customers, Any interaction between the parties in a
and they have greater access to credit. commercial dispute, or between them and
the judge or court officer
What do the indicators cover?
Steps to file and serve the case
Doing Business measures the efficiency of the
judicial system in resolving a commercial dispute Steps for trial and judgment
before local courts. Following the step-by-step Steps to enforce the judgment
evolution of a standardized case study, it collects
Time required to complete procedures
data relating to the time, cost and procedural
(calendar days)
complexity of resolving a commercial lawsuit. The
ranking on the ease of enforcing contracts is the Time to file and serve the case
simple average of the percentile rankings on its Time for trial and obtaining judgment
component indicators: procedures, time and cost.
Time to enforce the judgment
The dispute in the case study involves the breach
of a sales contract between 2 domestic businesses. Cost required to complete procedures (% of
The case study assumes that the court hears an claim)
expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This No bribes
distinguishes the case from simple debt
Average attorney fees
enforcement. To make the data comparable across
economies, Doing Business uses several Court costs
assumptions about the case: Enforcement costs
ï‚· The seller and buyer are located in the
economy‘s largest business city.
ï‚· The buyer orders custom-made goods,
ï‚· The dispute on the quality of the goods
then fails to pay.
requires an expert opinion.
ï‚· The seller sues the buyer before a
ï‚· The judge decides in favor of the seller; there
competent court.
is no appeal.
ï‚· The value of the claim is 200% of income
ï‚· The seller enforces the judgment through a
per capita.
public sale of the buyer‘s movable assets.
ï‚· The seller requests a pretrial attachment to
secure the claim.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 85
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
Where does the economy stand today?
How efficient is the process of resolving a commercial Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 69 in the ranking of
dispute through the courts in Slovak Republic? 185 economies on the ease of enforcing contracts
According to data collected by Doing Business, (figure 10.1). The rankings for comparator economies
enforcing a contract takes 545 days, costs 30.0% of the and the regional average ranking provide other useful
value of the claim and requires 32 procedures (see the benchmarks for assessing the efficiency of contract
summary at the end of this chapter for details). enforcement in Slovak Republic.
Figure 10.1 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of enforcing contracts
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 86
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect how time help identify which areas have changed and
easy (or difficult) it is to enforce a contract in Slovak where the potential for improvement is greatest (table
Republic today, data on the underlying indicators over 10.1).
Table 10.1 The ease of enforcing contracts in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2004 DB2005 DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 70 69
Time (days) 655 565 565 565 565 565 565 565 565 545
Cost (% of claim) 25.7 25.7 25.7 25.7 25.7 25.7 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0
Procedures (number) 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last year‘s
published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factors as data corrections and the addition of
2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 87
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by help show what is possible in improving the efficiency
the economies that over time have had the best of contract enforcement. And changes in regional
performance regionally or globally on the number of averages can show where Slovak Republic is keeping
steps, time or cost required to enforce a contract up—and where it is falling behind.
through the courts (figure 10.2). These benchmarks
Figure 10.2 Has enforcing contracts become easier over time?
Time (days)
Cost (% of claim)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 88
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
Procedures (number)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 89
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
Economies in all regions have improved contract periodic reviews to clear inactive cases from the docket
enforcement in recent years. A judiciary can be and by making procedures faster. What reforms
improved in different ways. Higher-income economies making it easier (or more difficult) to enforce contracts
tend to look for ways to enhance efficiency by has Doing Business recorded in Slovak Republic (table
introducing new technology. Lower-income economies 10.2)?
often work on reducing backlogs by introducing
Table 10.2 How has Slovak Republic made enforcing contracts easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The Slovak Republic made enforcing contracts easier by
adopting several amendments to the code of civil procedure
DB2013
intended to simplify and speed up proceedings as well as to
limit obstructive tactics by the parties to a case.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2005), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 90
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Slovak Republic
COMPETENT COURT
are based on a set of specific procedural steps
required to resolve a standardized commercial
dispute through the courts (see the section in this City: Bratislava
chapter on what the indicators cover). These
procedures, and the time and cost of completing The procedures for resolving a commercial lawsuit, and
them, are identified through study of the codes of the associated time and cost, are listed in the summary
civil procedure and other court regulations, as well below.
as through surveys completed by local litigation
lawyers (and, in a quarter of the economies
covered by Doing Business, by judges as well).
Summary of procedures for enforcing a contract in Slovak Republic—and the time and cost
OECD high OECD high income
Indicator Slovak Republic
income average average
Time (days) 545 510 510
Filing and service 70
Trial and judgment 365
Enforcement of judgment 110
Cost (% of claim) 30.0 20.1 20.1
Attorney cost (% of claim) 14.0
Court cost (% of claim) 6.0
Enforcement Cost (% of claim) 10.0
Procedures (number) 32 31 31
Note: In cases where an economy‘s regional classification is ―OECD high income,‖ regional averages above are only displayed
once.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 91
ENFORCING CONTRACTS
No. Procedure
Filing and service:
1 Plaintiff requests payment: Plaintiff or his lawyer asks Defendant orally or in writing to comply with the contract.
2 Plaintiff’s hiring of lawyer: Plaintiff hires a lawyer to represent him before the court.
Plaintiff’s filing of summons and complaint: Plaintiff files his summons and complaint with the court, orally or in
*
writing.
* Plaintiff’s payment of court fees: Plaintiff pays court duties, stamp duties, or any other type of court fee.
Registration of court case: The court administration registers the lawsuit or court case. This includes assigning a
3
reference number to the lawsuit or court case.
Assignment of court case to a judge: The court case is assigned to a specific judge through a random procedure,
*
automated system, ruling of an administrative judge, court officer, etc.
Court scrutiny of summons and complaint: A judge examines Plaintiff's summons and complaint for formal
4
requirements.
Judge admits summons and complaint: After verifying the formal requirements, the judge decides to admit
*
Plaintiff‘s summons and complaint.
Mailing of summons and complaint: Court or process server, including (private) bailiff, mails summons and
*
complaint to Defendant.
First attempt at physical delivery: A first attempt to physically deliver summons and complaint to Defendant is
5
successful in the majority of cases.
Substituted service: Substituted service is accomplished by publication in newspapers, by affixing a notice in court
6
or on public bulletin boards, etc.
Trial and judgment:
Defendant’s filing of preliminary exemptions: Defendant presents preliminary exemptions to the court.
* Preliminary exemptions differ from answers on the merits of the claim. Examples of preliminary exemptions are
statute of limitations, jurisdictions, etc.
Plaintiff’s answer to preliminary exemptions: Plaintiff responds to the preliminary exemptions raised by
*
Defendant.
Judge’s resolution on preliminary exemptions: Judge decides on preliminary exemptions separately from the
7
merits of the case.
Defendant’s filing of defense or answer to Plaintiff’s claim: Defendant files a written pleading which includes his
8 defense or answer on the merits of the case. Defendant's written answer may or may not include witness statements,
expert statements, the documents Defendant relies on as evidence and the legal authori
Deadline for Plaintiff to answer Defendant's defense or answer: Judge sets the deadline by which Plaintiff will be
9
allowed to answer Defendant's defense or answer.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 92
No. Procedure
Plaintiff’s written response to Defendant's defense or answer: Plaintiff responds to Defendant‘s defense or
10 answer with a written pleading. Plaintiff's answer may or may not include a witness statements or expert (witness)
statements.
Court appointment of independent expert: Judge appoints, either at the parties' request or at his own initiative,
* an independent expert to decide whether the quality of the goods Plaintiff delivered to Defendant is adequate. (see
assumption 6-b of this case)
Notification of court-appointment of independent expert: The court notifies both parties that the court is
11
appointing an independent expert. (see assumption 6-b of this case)
Delivery of expert report by court-appointed expert: The independent expert appointed by the court delivers his
*
or her expert report to the court. (see assumption 6-b of this case)
* Setting of date(s) for oral hearing or trial: The judge sets the date(s) for the oral hearing or trial.
Summoning of (expert) witnesses: The court summons (expert) witnesses to appear in court for the oral hearing
12
or trial. (see assumption 6-a)
Oral hearing (prevalent in civil law): The parties argue the merits of the case at an oral hearing before the judge.
13
Witnesses and a court-appointed independent expert may be heard and questioned at the oral hearing.
14 Closing of the evidence period: The court makes the formal decision to close the evidence period.
Final arguments: The parties present their final factual and legal arguments to the court either by oral presentation
*
or by a written submission.
15 Judgment date: The judge sets a date for delivery of the judgment.
16 Notification of judgment in court: The parties are notified of the judgment at a court hearing.
17 Writing of judgment: The judge produces a written copy of the judgment.
18 Plaintiff's receipt of a copy of written judgment: Plaintiff receives a copy of the written judgment.
Notification of Defendant of judgment: Plaintiff or court formally notifies the Defendant of the judgment. The
19
appeal period starts to run the day the Defendant is formally notified of the judgment.
Appeal period: By law, Defendant has the opportunity to appeal the judgment during a period specified in the law.
20
Defendant decides not to appeal. Judgment becomes final the day the appeal period ends.
Reimbursement by Defendant of Plaintiff's court fees: The judgment obliges Defendant to reimburse Plaintiff for
21
the court fees Plaintiff has advanced, because Defendant has lost the case.
Enforcement of judgment:
Plaintiff’s hiring of lawyer: Plaintiff hires a lawyer to enforce the judgment or continues to be represented by a
*
lawyer during the enforcement of judgment phase.
Plaintiff's approaching of court enforcement officer or (private) bailiff to enforce the judgment: To enforce
22
the judgment, Plaintiff approaches a court enforcement officer such as a court bailiff or sheriff, or a private bailiff.
Plaintiff’s request for enforcement order: Plaintiff applies to the court to obtain the enforcement order ('seal' on
*
judgment).
23 Plaintiff’s advancement of enforcement fees: Plaintiff pays the fees related to the enforcement of the judgment.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 93
No. Procedure
Attachment of enforcement order to judgment: The judge attaches the enforcement order (‗seal‘) to the
24
judgment.
Delivery of enforcement order: The court's enforcement order is delivered to a court enforcement officer or a
*
(private) bailiff.
Request to Defendant to comply voluntarily with judgment: Plaintiff, a court enforcement officer or a (private)
25 bailiff requests Defendant to voluntarily comply with the judgment, giving Defendant a last chance to comply
voluntarily with the judgment.
Identification of Defendant's assets for attachment by court official or Defendant: Judge, a court enforcement
26
officer, a (private) bailiff or the Defendant himself identifies Defendant's movable assets for attachment.
Plaintiff’s identification of Defendant's assets for attachment: Plaintiff identifies Defendant's assets for
27
attachment.
28 Attachment: Defendant‘s movable goods are attached (physically or by registering, marking or separating assets).
Enforcement disputes before court: The enforcement of the judgment is delayed because Defendant opposes
29
aspects of the enforcement process before the judge.
30 Sale through public auction: The Defendant‘s movable property is sold at public auction.
Distribution of proceeds: The proceeds of the public auction are distributed to various creditors (including
31
Plaintiff), according to the rules of priority.
Reimbursement of Plaintiff’s enforcement fees: Defendant reimburses Plaintiff's enforcement fees which Plaintiff
32
had advanced previously.
33 Payment: Court orders that the proceeds of the public auction or the direct sale be delivered to Plaintiff.
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 94
RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
A robust bankruptcy system functions as a filter, WHAT THE RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
ensuring the survival of economically efficient
companies and reallocating the resources of INDICATORS MEASURE
inefficient ones. Fast and cheap insolvency
proceedings result in the speedy return of Time required to recover debt (years)
businesses to normal operation and increase
Measured in calendar years
returns to creditors. By improving the expectations
of creditors and debtors about the outcome of Appeals and requests for extension are
insolvency proceedings, well-functioning included
insolvency systems can facilitate access to finance, Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s
save more viable businesses and thereby improve estate)
growth and sustainability in the economy overall.
Measured as percentage of estate value
What do the indicators cover?
Court fees
Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome Fees of insolvency administrators
of insolvency proceedings involving domestic
entities. It does not measure insolvency Lawyers‘ fees
proceedings of individuals and financial Assessors‘ and auctioneers‘ fees
institutions. The data are derived from survey
Other related fees
responses by local insolvency practitioners and
verified through a study of laws and regulations as Recovery rate for creditors (cents on the
well as public information on bankruptcy systems. dollar)
The ranking on the ease of resolving insolvency is Measures the cents on the dollar recovered
based on the recovery rate, which is recorded as by creditors
cents on the dollar recouped by creditors through Present value of debt recovered
reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement
Official costs of the insolvency proceedings
(foreclosure) proceedings. The recovery rate is a
are deducted
function of time, cost and other factors, such as
lending rate and the likelihood of the company Depreciation of furniture is taken into
continuing to operate. account
To make the data comparable across economies, Outcome for the business (survival or not)
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the affects the maximum value that can be
recovered
business and the case. It assumes that the
company:
ï‚· Is a domestically owned, limited liability
company operating a hotel.
ï‚· Has 201 employees, 1 main secured creditor
 Operates in the economy‘s largest business and 50 unsecured creditors.
city.
 Has a higher value as a going concern—and
the efficient outcome is either reorganization
or sale as a going concern, not piecemeal
liquidation.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 95
RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
Where does the economy stand today?
Speed, low costs and continuation of viable businesses sold as going concern. The average recovery rate is
characterize the top-performing economies. How 53.6 cents on the dollar.
efficient are insolvency proceedings in Slovak
Globally, Slovak Republic stands at 38 in the ranking of
Republic? According to data collected by Doing
185 economies on the ease of resolving insolvency
Business, resolving insolvency takes 4.0 years on
(figure 11.1). The rankings for comparator economies
average and costs 18% of the debtor‘s estate, with the
and the regional average ranking provide other useful
most likely outcome being that the company will be
benchmarks for assessing the efficiency of insolvency
proceedings in Slovak Republic.
Figure 11.1 How Slovak Republic and comparator economies rank on the ease of resolving insolvency
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 96
RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
What are the changes over time?
While the most recent Doing Business data reflect the changed—and where it has not (table 11.1). That can
efficiency of insolvency proceedings in Slovak Republic help identify where the potential for improvement is
today, data over time show where the efficiency has greatest.
Table 11.1 The ease of resolving insolvency in Slovak Republic over time
By Doing Business report year
Indicator DB2004 DB2005 DB2006 DB2007 DB2008 DB2009 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013
Rank .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 36 38
Time (years) 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
Cost (% of estate) 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
Recovery rate
(cents on the 39.8 39.6 38.6 48.1 45.2 45.9 45.9 55.3 54.3 53.6
dollar)
Note: n.a. = not applicable (the economy was not included in Doing Business for that year). DB2012 rankings shown are not last
year‘s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2012 that capture the effects of such factor s as data corrections and the
addition of 2 economies (Barbados and Malta) to the sample this year. ―No practice‖ indicates that in each of the previous 5 years
the economy had no cases involving a judicial reorganization, judicial liquidation or debt enforcement procedure (foreclosure). This
means that creditors are unlikely to recover their money through a formal legal process (in or out of court). The recovery rate for
―no practice‖ economies is 0.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 97
RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
Equally helpful may be the benchmarks provided by possible in improving the efficiency of insolvency
the economies that over time have had the best proceedings. And changes in regional averages can
performance regionally or globally on the time or cost show where Slovak Republic is keeping up—and where
of insolvency proceedings or on the recovery rate it is falling behind.
(figure 11.2). These benchmarks help show what is
Figure 11.2 Has resolving insolvency become easier over time?
Time (years)
Cost (% of estate)
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 98
RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
Recovery rate (cents on the dollar)
Note: Regional averages on time and cost exclude economies with a “no practice� mark.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 99
RESOLVING INSOLVENCY
A well-balanced bankruptcy system distinguishes change. Many recent reforms of bankruptcy laws have
companies that are financially distressed but been aimed at helping more of the viable businesses
economically viable from inefficient companies that survive. What insolvency reforms has Doing Business
should be liquidated. But in some insolvency systems recorded in Slovak Republic (table 11.2)?
even viable businesses are liquidated. This is starting to
Table 11.2 How has Slovak Republic made resolving insolvency easier—or not?
By Doing Business report year
DB year Reform
DB2008 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2009 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2010 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2011 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
DB2012 No reform as measured by Doing Business.
The Slovak Republic improved its insolvency process by
redefining the roles and powers of creditors and trustees,
DB2013 strengthening the rights of secured creditors and redefining
rules for the conversion of restructuring into a bankruptcy
proceeding.
Note: For information on reforms in earlier years (back to DB2005), see the Doing Business reports
for these years, available at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 100
EMPLOYING WORKERS
Doing Business measures flexibility in the regulation of Particular data for Slovak Republic are presented here
employment, specifically as it affects the hiring and without scoring.
redundancy of workers and the rigidity of working
hours. From 2007 to 2011 improvements were made to To make the data on employing workers comparable
align the methodology for the employing workers across economies, several assumptions about the
indicators with the letter and spirit of the International worker and the business are used.
Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. Only 4 of the
188 ILO conventions cover areas measured by Doing The worker:
Business: employee termination, weekend work,
holiday with pay and night work. The Doing Business ï‚· Earns a salary plus benefits equal to the
methodology is fully consistent with these 4 economy‘s average wage during the entire
conventions. The ILO conventions covering areas period of his employment.
related to the employing workers indicators do not ï‚· Has a pay period that is the most common for
include the ILO core labor standards—8 conventions workers in the economy.
covering the right to collective bargaining, the ï‚· Is a lawful citizen who belongs to the same
elimination of forced labor, the abolition of child labor race and religion as the majority of the
and equitable treatment in employment practices. economy‘s population.
 Resides in the economy‘s largest business city.
Between 2009 and 2011 the World Bank Group worked
ï‚· Is not a member of a labor union, unless
with a consultative group—including labor lawyers,
membership is mandatory.
employer and employee representatives, and experts
from the ILO, the Organisation for Economic Co-
The business:
operation and Development, civil society and the
private sector—to review the employing workers
ï‚· Is a limited liability company.
methodology and explore future areas of research.
 Operates in the economy‘s largest business
city.
A full report with the conclusions of the consultative
ï‚· Is 100% domestically owned.
group is available at http://www.doingbusiness.org/
ï‚· Operates in the manufacturing sector.
methodology/employing-workers.
ï‚· Has 60 employees.
ï‚· Is subject to collective bargaining agreements
Doing Business 2013 does not present rankings of
in economies where such agreements cover
economies on the employing workers indicators or
more than half the manufacturing sector and
include the topic in the aggregate ranking on the ease
apply even to firms not party to them.
of doing business. The report does present the data on
ï‚· Abides by every law and regulation but does
the employing workers indicators in an annex. Detailed
not grant workers more benefits than
data collected on labor regulations are available on the
mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable)
Doing Business website (http://www.doing business.org).
collective bargaining agreement.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 101
EMPLOYING WORKERS
What do some of the data show?
One of the employing workers indicators is the worker in his or her first job. Doing Business data show
difficulty of hiring index. This measure assesses, among the trend in the minimum wage applied by Slovak
other things, the minimum wage for a 19-year-old Republic (figure 12.1).
Figure 12.1 Has the minimum wage for a 19-year-old worker or an apprentice increased over time?
Minimum wage (US$ per month)
Note: A horizontal line along the x-axis of the figure indicates that the economy has no minimum wage.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 102
EMPLOYING WORKERS
Employment laws are needed to protect workers from past 4 years did so in ways that increased labor market
arbitrary or unfair treatment and to ensure efficient flexibility. What changes did Slovak Republic adopt
contracting between employers and workers. Many that affected the Doing Business indicators on
economies that changed their labor regulations in the employing workers (table 12.1)?
Table 12.1 What changes did Slovak Republic make in employing workers in 2012?
Reform
The Slovak Republic increased the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts, eliminated
notification requirements to third parties in case of redundancy dismissals and reduced
redundancy costs.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 103
EMPLOYING WORKERS
What are the details?
The data on employing workers reported here for lawyers and public officials. Employment laws and
Slovak Republic are based on a detailed survey of regulations as well as secondary sources are reviewed
employment regulations that is completed by local to ensure accuracy.
Rigidity of employment index
The rigidity of employment index measures 3 areas of labor regulation: difficulty of hiring, rigidity of hours and
difficulty of redundancy.
Difficulty of hiring index
The difficulty of hiring index measures whether fixed- worker. (The average value added per worker is the
term contracts are prohibited for permanent tasks; the ratio of an economy‘s gross national income per capita
maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; to the working-age population as a percentage of the
and the ratio of the minimum wage for a trainee or total population.)
first-time employee to the average value added per
Difficulty of hiring index Data
Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No
Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) 36 months (Art. 48(2))
Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) 36
Minimum wage for a 19-year old worker or an apprentice (US$/month) 447.5
Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.24
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 104
EMPLOYING WORKERS
Rigidity of hours index
The rigidity of hours index has 5 components: whether respond to a seasonal increase in production; and
there are restrictions on night work; whether there are whether the average paid annual leave for a worker
restrictions on weekly holiday work; whether the with 1 year of tenure, a worker with 5 years and a
workweek can consist of 5.5 days or is more than 6 worker with 10 years is more than 26 working days or
days; whether the workweek can extend to 50 hours or fewer than 15 working days.
more (including overtime) for 2 months a year to
Rigidity of hours index Data
8 hours
(although slightly shorter for certain
Standard workday in manufacturing (hours) types of shift work patterns)
- Sec. 85, Labour Code
50-hour workweek allowed for 2 months a year in case of a seasonal Yes
increase in production?
Maximum working days per week 6.0
Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) in case of continuous 20%
operations
Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) in case of 0%
continuous operations
Major restrictions on night work in case of continuous operations? No
Major restrictions on weekly holiday in case of continuous operations? No
Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (in working days) 25.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (in working days) 25.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (in working days) 25.0
Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in 25.0
working days)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 105
EMPLOYING WORKERS
Difficulty of redundancy index
The difficulty of redundancy index has 8 components: worker; whether the employer needs approval from a
whether redundancy is disallowed as a basis for third party to terminate a group of 9 redundant
terminating workers; whether the employer needs to workers; whether the law requires the employer to
notify a third party (such as a government agency) to reassign or retrain a worker before making the worker
terminate 1 redundant worker; whether the employer redundant; whether priority rules apply for
needs to notify a third party to terminate a group of 9 redundancies; and whether priority rules apply for
redundant workers; whether the employer needs reemployment.
approval from a third party to terminate 1 redundant
Difficulty of redundancy index Data
Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes
Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No
Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No
Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No
Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No
Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? Yes
Priority rules for redundancies? No
Priority rules for reemployment? No
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 106
EMPLOYING WORKERS
Redundancy cost
The redundancy cost indicator measures the cost of notice requirements and severance payments
advance notice requirements, severance payments and applicable to a worker with 1 year of tenure, a worker
penalties due when terminating a redundant worker, with 5 years and a worker with 10 years is used to
expressed in weeks of salary. The average value of assign the score.
Redundancy cost indicator Data
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 1 year of tenure, in salary 8.7
weeks)
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 5 years of tenure, in 13.0
salary weeks)
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 10 years of tenure, in 13.0
salary weeks)
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years 11.6
of tenure, in salary weeks)
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 1 year of tenure, in 0.0
salary weeks)
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 5 years of tenure, in 0.0
salary weeks)
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 10 years of tenure, in 0.0
salary weeks)
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years 0.0
of tenure, in salary weeks)
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 107
DATA NOTES
The indicators presented and analyzed in Doing
Business measure business regulation and the ECONOMY CHARACTERISTICS
protection of property rights—and their effect on
businesses, especially small and medium-size domestic
firms. First, the indicators document the complexity of
Gross national income per capita
regulation, such as the number of procedures to start a
business or to register and transfer commercial Doing Business 2013 reports 2011 income per capita
property. Second, they gauge the time and cost of as published in the World Bank‘s World Development
achieving a regulatory goal or complying with Indicators 2012. Income is calculated using the Atlas
method (current US$). For cost indicators expressed
regulation, such as the time and cost to enforce a
as a percentage of income per capita, 2011 gross
contract, go through bankruptcy or trade across
national income (GNI) in U.S. dollars is used as the
borders. Third, they measure the extent of legal denominator. GNI data were not available from the
protections of property, for example, the protections World Bank for Afghanistan; Australia; The Bahamas;
of investors against looting by company directors or Bahrain; Barbados; Brunei Darussalam; Cyprus;
the range of assets that can be used as collateral Djibouti; Guyana; the Islamic Republic of Iran;
according to secured transactions laws. Fourth, a set of Kuwait; Malta; New Zealand; Oman; Puerto Rico
indicators documents the tax burden on businesses. (territory of the United States); Sudan; Suriname; the
Finally, a set of data covers different aspects of Syrian Arab Republic; Timor-Leste; West Bank and
employment regulation. Gaza; and the Republic of Yemen. In these cases
GDP or GNP per capita data and growth rates from
The data for all sets of indicators in Doing Business the International Monetary Fund‘s World Economic
2
2013 are for June 2012. Outlook database and the Economist Intelligence
Unit were used.
Region and income group
Methodology
Doing Business uses the World Bank regional and
The Doing Business data are collected in a
income group classifications, available at
standardized way. To start, the Doing Business team, http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-
with academic advisers, designs a questionnaire. The classifications. The World Bank does not assign
questionnaire uses a simple business case to ensure regional classifications to high-income economies.
comparability across economies and over time —with For the purpose of the Doing Business report, high-
assumptions about the legal form of the business, its income OECD economies are assigned the ―regional‖
size, its location and the nature of its operations. classification OECD high income. Figures and tables
Questionnaires are administered through more than presenting regional averages include economies
9,600 local experts, including lawyers, business from all income groups (low, lower middle, upper
consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, middle and high income).
government officials and other professionals routinely Population
administering or advising on legal and regulatory
Doing Business 2013 reports midyear 2011
requirements. These experts have several rounds of
population statistics as published in World
interaction with the Doing Business team, involving
Development Indicators 2012.
conference calls, written correspondence and visits by
the team. For Doing Business 2013 team members
visited 24 economies to verify data and recruit The Doing Business methodology offers several
respondents. The data from questionnaires are advantages. It is transparent, using factual information
subjected to numerous rounds of verification, leading about what laws and regulations say and allowing
to revisions or expansions of the information collected. multiple interactions with local respondents to clarify
potential misinterpretations of questions. Having
2
The data for paying taxes refer to January – December 2011.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 108
representative samples of respondents is not an issue; 2013 would differ from the recollection of
Doing Business is not a statistical survey, and the texts entrepreneurs reported in the World Bank Enterprise
of the relevant laws and regulations are collected and Surveys or other perception surveys.
answers checked for accuracy. The methodology is
inexpensive and easily replicable, so data can be
collected in a large sample of economies. Because Subnational Doing Business indicators
standard assumptions are used in the data collection,
This year Doing Business completed subnational
comparisons and benchmarks are valid across
studies for Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Russian
economies. Finally, the data not only highlight the Federation and the United Arab Emirates. Each of
extent of specific regulatory obstacles to business but
these countries had already asked to have subnational
also identify their source and point to what might be
data in the past, and this year Doing Business updated
reformed. the indicators, measured improvements over time and
Information on the methodology for each Doing expanded geographic coverage to additional cities or
Business topic can be found on the Doing Business added additional indicators. Doing Business also
website at http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology/. published regional studies for the Arab world, the East
African Community and member states of the
Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in
Limits to what is measured Africa (OHADA).
The Doing Business methodology has 5 limitations that The subnational studies point to differences in
should be considered when interpreting the data. First, business regulation and its implementation —as well as
the collected data refer to businesses in the economy‘s in the pace of regulatory reform—across cities in the
largest business city (which in some economies differs same economy. For several economies subnational
from the capital) and may not be representative of studies are now periodically updated to measure
regulation in other parts of the economy. To address change over time or to expand geographic coverage
this limitation, subnational Doing Business indicators to additional cities. This year that is the case for all the
were created (see the section on subnational Doing subnational studies published.
Business indicators). Second, the data often focus on a
specific business form—generally a limited liability
company (or its legal equivalent) of a specified size — Changes in what is measured
and may not be representative of the regulation on
The ranking methodology for paying taxes was
other businesses, for example, sole proprietorships. updated this year. The threshold for the total tax rate
Third, transactions described in a standardized case
introduced last year for the purpose of calculating the
scenario refer to a specific set of issues and may not
ranking on the ease of paying taxes was updated. All
represent the full set of issues a business encounters. economies with a total tax rate below the threshold
Fourth, the measures of time involve an element of
(which is calculated and adjusted on a yearly basis)
judgment by the expert respondents. When sources
receive the same ranking on the total tax rate
indicate different estimates, the time indicators indicator. The threshold is not based on any economic
reported in Doing Business represent the median
theory of an ―optimal tax rate‖ that minimizes
values of several responses given under the
distortions or maximizes efficiency in the tax system of
assumptions of the standardized case. an economy overall. Instead, it is mainly empirical in
Finally, the methodology assumes that a business has nature, set at the lower end of the distribution of tax
full information on what is required and does not rates levied on medium-size enterprises in the
waste time when completing procedures. In practice, manufacturing sector as observed through the paying
completing a procedure may take longer if the taxes indicators. This reduces the bias in the indicators
business lacks information or is unable to follow up toward economies that do not need to levy significant
promptly. Alternatively, the business may choose to taxes on companies like the Doing Business
disregard some burdensome procedures. For both standardized case study company because they raise
reasons the time delays reported in Doing Business public revenue in other ways—for example, through
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 109
taxes on foreign companies, through taxes on sectors investors, paying taxes, trading across borders,
other than manufacturing or from natural resources enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. The
(all of which are outside the scope of the employing workers indicators are not included in this
methodology). Giving the same ranking to all year‘s aggregate ease of doing business ranking. In
economies whose total tax rate is below the threshold addition to this year‘s ranking, Doing Business presents
avoids awarding economies in the scoring for having a comparable ranking for the previous year, adjusted
an unusually low total tax rate, often for reasons for any changes in methodology as well as additions of
3
unrelated to government policies toward enterprises. economies or topics.
For example, economies that are very small or that are
Construction of the ease of doing business index
rich in natural resources do not need to levy broad-
based taxes. Here is one example of how the ease of doing business
index is constructed. In Finland it takes 3 procedures,
14 days and 4% of annual income per capita in fees to
Data challenges and revisions register a property. On these 3 indicators Finland ranks
in the 6th, 16th and 39th percentiles. So on average
Most laws and regulations underlying the Doing
Finland ranks in the 20th percentile on the ease of
Business data are available on the Doing Business
registering property. It ranks in the 30th percentile on
website at http://www.doingbusiness.org. All the th
starting a business, 28 percentile on getting credit,
sample questionnaires and the details underlying the
24th percentile on paying taxes, 13th percentile on
indicators are also published on the website. Questions
enforcing contracts, 5th percentile on trading across
on the methodology and challenges to data can be
borders and so on. Higher rankings indicate simpler
submitted through the website‘s ―Ask a Question‖
regulation and stronger protection of property rights.
function at http://www.doingbusiness.org.
The simple average of Finland‘s percentile rankings on
all topics is 21st. When all economies are ordered by
Ease of doing business and distance to their average percentile rankings, Finland stands at 11
frontier in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing
business.
Doing Business 2013 presents results for 2 aggregate
measures: the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing More complex aggregation methods—such as
business and the distance to frontier measure. The principal components and unobserved components—
ease of doing business ranking compares economies yield a ranking nearly identical to the simple average
4
with one another, while the distance to frontier used by Doing Business. Thus, Doing Business uses
measure benchmarks economies to the frontier in the simplest method: weighting all topics equally and,
regulatory practice, measuring the absolute distance to
the best performance on each indicator. Both
measures can be used for comparisons over time.
3
In case of revisions to the methodology or corrections to the
underlying data, the data are back-calculated to provide a
When compared across years, the distance to frontier
comparable time series since the year the relevant economy or topic
measure shows how much the regulatory environment was first included in the data set. The time series is available on the
for local entrepreneurs in each economy has changed Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). Six topics
over time in absolute terms, while the ease of doing and more than 50 economies have been added since the inception
business ranking can show only relative change. of the project. Earlier rankings on the ease of doing business are
therefore not comparable.
Ease of doing business 4
See Simeon Djankov, Darshini Manraj, Caralee McLiesh and Rita
Ramalho, ―Doing Business Indicators: Why Aggregate, and How to
The ease of doing business index ranks economies Do It‖ (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005). Principal components
from 1 to 185. For each economy the ranking is and unobserved components methods yield a ranking nearly
calculated as the simple average of the percentile identical to that from the simple average method because both
rankings on each of the 10 topics included in the index these methods assign roughly equal weights to the topics, since the
pairwise correlations among indicators do not differ much. An
in Doing Business 2013: starting a business, dealing
alternative to the simple average method is to give different weights
with construction permits, getting electricity, to the topics, depending on which are considered of more or less
registering property, getting credit, protecting importance in the context of a specific economy.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 110
within each topic, giving equal weight to each of the ability of different government agencies to deliver
5
topic components. tangible results in their area of responsibility.
If an economy has no laws or regulations covering a Economies that improved the most across 3 or more
specific area—for example, insolvency—it receives a Doing Business topics in 2011/12
―no practice‖ mark. Similarly, an economy receives a
Doing Business 2013 uses a simple method to calculate
―no practice‖ or ―not possible‖ mark if regulation exists
which economies improved the most in the ease of
but is never used in practice or if a competing
doing business. First, it selects the economies that in
regulation prohibits such practice. Either way, a ―no
2011/12 implemented regulatory reforms making it
practice‖ mark puts the economy at the bottom of the
easier to do business in 3 or more of the 10 topics
ranking on the relevant indicator. 6
included in this year‘s ease of doing business ranking.
The ease of doing business index is limited in scope. It Twenty-three economies meet this criterion: Benin,
does not account for an economy‘s proximity to large Burundi, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Georgia,
markets, the quality of its infrastructure services (other Greece, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Korea, the Lao People‘s
than services related to trading across borders and Democratic Republic, Liberia, Mongolia, the
getting electricity), the strength of its financial system, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, the
the security of property from theft and looting, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, the
macroeconomic conditions or the strength of United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Second, Doing
underlying institutions. Business ranks these economies on the increase in
their ranking on the ease of doing business from the
Variability of economies‘ rankings across topics
previous year using comparable rankings.
Each indicator set measures a different aspect of the
Selecting the economies that implemented regulatory
business regulatory environment. The rankings of an
reforms in at least 3 topics and improved the most in
economy can vary, sometimes significantly, across
the aggregate ranking is intended to highlight
indicator sets. The average correlation coefficient
economies with ongoing, broad-based reform
between the 10 indicator sets included in the
programs.
aggregate ranking is 0.37, and the coefficients
between any 2 sets of indicators range from 0.19 Distance to frontier measure
(between dealing with construction permits and
A drawback of the ease of doing business ranking is
getting credit) to 0.60 (between starting a business
that it can measure the regulatory performance of
and protecting investors). These correlations suggest
economies only relative to the performance of others.
that economies rarely score universally well or
It does not provide information on how the absolute
universally badly on the indicators.
quality of the regulatory environment is improving
Consider the example of Canada. It stands at 17 in the over time. Nor does it provide information on how
aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. Its large the gaps are between economies at a single
ranking is 3 on starting a business, and 4 on both point in time.
resolving insolvency and protecting investors. But its
The distance to frontier measure is designed to
ranking is only 62 on enforcing contracts, 69 on
address both shortcomings, complementing the ease
dealing with construction permits and 152 on getting
of doing business ranking. This measure illustrates the
electricity.
distance of an economy to the ―frontier,‖ and the
Variation in performance across the indicator sets is change in the measure over time shows the extent to
not at all unusual. It reflects differences in the degree which the economy has closed this gap. The frontier is
of priority that government authorities give to a score derived from the most efficient practice or
particular areas of business regulation reform and the highest score achieved on each of the component
indicators in 9 Doing Business indicator sets (excluding
5 6
A technical note on the different aggregation and weighting Doing Business reforms making it more difficult to do business are
methods is available on the Doing Business website subtracted from the total number of those making it easier to do
(http://www.doingbusiness.org). business.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 111
the employing workers and getting electricity The maximum (max) and minimum (min) observed
indicators) by any economy since 2005. In starting a values are computed for the 174 economies included
business, for example, New Zealand has achieved the in the Doing Business sample since 2005 and for all
highest performance on the time (1 day), Canada and years (from 2005 to 2012). The year 2005 was chosen
New Zealand on the number of procedures required as the baseline for the economy sample because it was
(1), Slovenia on the cost (0% of income per capita) and the first year in which data were available for the
Australia and 90 other economies on the paid-in majority of economies (a total of 174) and for all 9
minimum capital requirement (0% of income per indicator sets included in the measure. To mitigate the
capita). Calculating the distance to frontier for each effects of extreme outliers in the distributions of the
economy involves 2 main steps. First, individual rescaled data (very few economies need 694 days to
indicator scores are normalized to a common unit: complete the procedures to start a business, but many
th
except for the total tax rate. To do so, each of the 28 need 9 days), the maximum (max) is defined as the 95
component indicators y is rescaled to (max − y)/(max percentile of the pooled data for all economies and all
− min), with the minimum value (min) representing the years for each indicator. The exceptions are the getting
frontier—the highest performance on that indicator credit, protecting investors and resolving insolvency
across all economies since 2005. For the total tax rate, indicators, whose construction precludes outliers.
consistent with the calculation of the rankings, the
Take Ghana, which has a score of 67 on the distance to
frontier is defined as the total tax rate corresponding
th frontier measure for 2012. This score indicates that the
to the 15 percentile based on the overall distribution
economy is 33 percentage points away from the
of total tax rates for all years. Second, for each
frontier constructed from the best performances
economy the scores obtained for individual indicators
across all economies and all years. Ghana was further
are aggregated through simple averaging into one
from the frontier in 2005, with a score of 54. The
distance to frontier score. An economy‘s distance to
difference between the scores shows an improvement
frontier is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0
over time.
represents the lowest performance and 100 the
frontier. The distance to frontier measure can also be used for
comparisons across economies in the same year,
The difference between an economy‘s distance to
complementing the ease of doing business ranking.
frontier score in 2005 and its score in 2012 illustrates
For example, Ghana stands at 64 this year in the ease
the extent to which the economy has closed the gap to
of doing business ranking, while Peru, which is 29
the frontier over time. And in any given year the score
percentage points from the frontier, stands at 43.
measures how far an economy is from the highest
performance at that time.
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 112
RESOURCES ON THE DOING BUSINESS WEBSITE
Current features Doing Business reforms
News on the Doing Business project Short summaries of DB2013 business regulation
http://www.doingbusiness.org reforms, lists of reforms since DB2008 and a
ranking simulation tool
Rankings http://www.doingbusiness.org/reforms/
How economies rank—from 1 to 185
http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings/ Historical data
Customized data sets since DB2004
Data http://www.doingbusiness.org/custom-query/
All the data for 185 economies—topic rankings,
indicator values, lists of regulatory procedures and Law library
details underlying indicators Online collection of business laws and regulations
http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ relating to business and gender issues
http://www.doingbusiness.org/law-library/
Reports http://wbl.worldbank.org/
Access to Doing Business reports as well as
subnational and regional reports, reform case Contributors
studies and customized economy and regional More than 9,600 specialists in 185 economies who
profiles participate in Doing Business
http://www.doingbusiness.org/reports/ http://www.doingbusiness.org/contributors/doing-
business/
Methodology
The methodologies and research papers NEW! Entrepreneurship data
underlying Doing Business Data on business density for 130 economies
http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology/ http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/e
ntrepreneurship
Research
Abstracts of papers on Doing Business topics and More to come
related policy issues Coming soon—information on good practices and
http://www.doingbusiness.org/research/ data on transparency and on the distance to
frontier
Doing Business 2013 Slovak Republic 113