DP FINANCIAL AND MARKETING SERVICES (DP FMS): May 2014

Thursday, May 15, 2014

GUIDELINES FOR COMPANY AND BUSINESS NAMES APPROVALS

These guidelines outline the practices used by the Registrar in the process of approving Companies and Business Names.

It also explains the rules and restrictions on the choice of companies and business names both when they are formed on the first time and when there is a change of name.

Please note that:

Every company name must end with the word Limited or Public Limited Company or Unlimited, depending on the type of the company.

•These are mere guidelines to guide applicants and not binding legal instruments with a legal force.

• Each application is dealt with on its own merits.

•The explanations below are neither exhaustive nor conclusive but merely aim at giving indications of what is normally taken into account and that the Registrar may be influenced by other considerations as well.

No name will be available for your use if it:-

(a) is the same as a name appearing in the index of company names;

(b) too like a name appearing in the index of company or business names;

(d) has already been reserved in the Companies Registry by another person.

(a) “same as”

“same as” simply means similar or exactly look alike.

Therefore if your name is similar to a name which is already in the companies or business name indices it will not be accepted.

Take note that the similarity which is being referred to here includes similarities in appearance, semantic and phonetic.

eg. (semantic) - Simba Investment Limited can not be registered if there is Lion Investment Limited.

eg. (phonetic) - Wills Transport Company Limited can not be registered if there is already Wheels Transport Company Limited.

(b) “too like”

Your proposed name will be regarded as “too like” a name in the indices if it nearly resembles the one existing already such that there is a danger of confusion by the public between the two companies/names

Eg. Tasmania Company Limited can not be registered if there is already Tasman Limited

(c) “undesirable”

Undesirability encompasses many things. These include if the name:-

(i) connotes an insult or bad language to the society;

(ii) Suggests a connection with the Government or its Authorities;

(iii) Is offensive or its use will be a criminal offence;

(iv) Consists of a Registered Trade or Service Mark;

(v) Is misleading, that is containing a word which is contrary to activities of the company, eg. “International” while it operates locally only;

(vi) Is suggesting to monopolize a generic name or name of a country or place, eg. “Tanzania Company Limited” or Tanzania Limited can not be registered.

(vii) Consist of purely personal names only.