Editor: Teus Hagen
Creation date: 2008-05-01
Status: WiP 2008-05-02
Next status: DRAFT 2008
This CAcert sub-policy extends the Organisation Assurance Policy ("OAP") by specifying how the CAcert Organisation Assurance Program ("COAP") is to be conducted by the assigned Organisation Assurer ("OA") under the supervision of the Assurance Officer ("AO") for entities within the defined scope.
This sub-policy is applicable to European organisations registered with an official Trade Office Registry ("Registry"), following the European style of Chambers of Commerce.
Approved Registries are tabled in paragraph Appendix 1 of this sub-policy.
This section describes any scope-specific requirements that are not otherwise defined in the Organisation Assurance Policy (OAP).
This sub-policy is applicable to organisations that are, and are intended to be, registered with the official Trade Office Registry. The Registry itself defines what forms of organisation may be registered. They may include, amongst others: private companies, clubs Societies & Associations, partnerships, cooperatives, mutual societies, foundations, etc.
Registered Names. Where an approved Registry specifically maintains a register for local entities that trade without formal incorporation, the Registry entry will present independent evidence of the name, as demanded by OAP#5.d. This may apply to organisations such as Sole Traders, Doing-Business-As traders (DBAs), Partnerships, Church and Religious groups, etc.
Such entities have differing legal statuses with different liabilities. The named entity may not be capable of legally becoming a Member of CAcert, independently and separately from the individuals within. The Organisation Assurer (OA) must then take care to identify which individuals are Members, and which are therefore the natural legal entities behind the names.
The general standard for assurance of an unincorporated entity with a Registered Name is that the result is equivalent to assurance of an individual Member, or Members, with the addition of the Registered Name.
There is no limit to the number of Registered Names that a Member may have.
Foreign Entities.
Where a local Registry requires foreign entities to register, this registration MAY NOT be used for Organisation Assurance.
Example: companies are frequently incorporated in the United Kingdom, but operated primarily in another European country. These foreign entities may require to register locally and submit financial and/or yearly reports, extracts of home documents, reports from professionals such as accountants, etc, to authorities in the operating country.
Records supplied by the Registry must be one of the following forms:
The set of records supplied by the Registry is called the Extract, defined below.
Examples of Registries are: Chambers of Commerce in (continental) European, Companies House in the United Kingdom, Ministry of Justice, Finance, or Commerce in east Europe, and the Secretary of State in each of the United States of America.
An Organisation can be accepted for Assurance under this policy if registered with a formal Trade Office Registry. The criteria for a Trade Office Registry is:
Approved Registries are defined in Appendix I. Addition of new Registries is by means of the routine Policy on Policy process, and is controlled by the policy group, on submission by Organisation Assurer.
The Extract is the set of records provided by the Registry. The Extract is to include the following information about the entity:
Organisation Assurance is available to any entity which can provide the above Extract.
The Organisation Assurer should take note of the following.
For Companies requesting Organisation Assurance under this subsidiary policy:
For Individuals requesting Organisation Assurance under this subsidiary policy:
For Partnerships requesting Organisation Assurance under this subsidiary policy:
On the CAcert Organisation Assurance Programme Form (COAP Form), the following must be specified:
The essential purpose of the information is to permit the Organisation Assurer and others to clearly and accurately identify the entry held by the Registry.
The Organisation Assurance Officer is to maintain an accessible file or frequently asked questions (FAQ) for each Registry showing:
The Organisation Assurance Officer is also to maintain training and testing material applicable. Elements of the challenge may be confidential, but only for the purposes of maintaining the efficacy of the challenge.
The Organisation Assurance Officer may delegate local senior Organisation Assurers to lead activities within the areas of each Registry, or within countries in general. The powers of such a delegate are undefined, and the responsibility remains with the Organisation Assurer Officer.
The Organisation Assurer (OA) is to be tested according to Organisation Assurance Policy. Such testing is to include above documents kept by Organisation Assurance Officer.
Registries that have been identified but not approved have been hidden from view and may be awaiting feedback from OAs in that country.
Country | Registry | ID | web address | search address |
---|---|---|---|---|
Austria: | Bundesministerium für Justiz | BMJ | www.bmj.gv.at | |
HF Data GmbH | FB | www.firmenbuch.at | FB search | |
Finland: | Yritys-Ja Yhteisötietojärjestelmä | BIS | www.ytj.fi | BIS search |
France: | Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie | CCI | www.cci.fr | CCI search |
Registre National du Commerce et de Sociétés |
INPI | www.euridile.inpi.fr | Euridile search | |
InfoGreffe | IG | www.infogreffe.fr | InfoGreffe search | |
Ireland: | Companies Registration Office | CRO | www.cro.ie | CRO search |
Netherlands: | Kamer van Koophandel | KvK | www.kvk.nl | KvK search |
Sweden: | Skatteverket | SKAT | www.skatteverket.se | SE search |
Bolagsverket | BOL | www.bolagsverket.se | SE search | |
United Kingdom: | Companies House | CH | www.companieshouse.gov.uk | CH search |
Country | Registry | ID | web address | search address |
---|---|---|---|---|
Norway: | Brønnøysund Register Centre | BRC | www.brreg.no | |
Nøkkelopplysninger fra Enhetsregisteret |
BRREQ | w2.brreg.no |