Republic of the Congo
National ID Card & ePassport
The Congolese identity project, awarded by the Ministry of Interior and starting in late 2011, comprised the development and implementation of the customized infrastructure for the issuance of high-secure ID documents. Serving as a model example for the setup of a complex system, this solution includes an extensive range of documents. Along with the existing database, the registry forms the basis of the complete national census of all citizens.
The project started with comprehensive consulting and the development of the system architecture involving the setup of 800 decentralized mobile MB GET-ID enrollment units. 105 decentralized MB DEOS-sites collect and process the data. From there, they are transferred to and managed by the central data-base SDM. The high-secure blank documents, produced and delivered from Mühlbauer Germany, are personalized in three sites in the capital Brazzaville, in Oyo and Pointe-Noire. From there, the finished documents are forwarded to the decentralized sites for issuance. 33 embassies abroad have been equipped with units providing for enrollment, personalization and issuance of visas, substitute passports and consular cards. Another part of this successful project is the police card solution, involving the complete hardware and software infrastructure for the registry and issuance in five decentralized offices, as well as the central database and the personalization of the blank documents in Brazzaville.
Tax ID Card
In early 2018, after the successful collaboration in the issuance of the Congolese National ID Card and ePassport, the Republic of the Congo awarded Mühlbauer another flagship project: In order to reliably support the registration, identification and life cycle of all the country’s tax payers, Mühlbauer – in close cooperation with the Congolese Ministry of Finance and Budget – developed a solution for the issuance of high-secure biometric Tax ID Cards.
In ten enrollment stations across the country, private individuals as well as legal entities can get enrolled for the tax card via dedicated MB GET-ID enrollment systems. Enrolled applications are then forwarded to the main data center, where a unique tax payer’s ID is generated. The applicant’s demographical data and biometrics (fingerprint and iris) are used to secure the identification process and thus guarantee the tax ID’s uniqueness. Multiple registration attempts and other inconsistencies can be detected by the sophisticated combination of the two software components MB SDM and MB ABIS. Within 48 hours – as required by international standards – the applicant receives an electronic document with a unique tax ID via email (in PDF format) or SMS. In a second step, a chip-based Tax ID Card is personalized in two personalization sites (in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire) by one of four personalization machines with state-of-the-art laser engraving and chip encoding technologies, and an overall throughput of 200.000 cards per year.
Once the biometric Tax ID Cards have been issued, they are handed over to the applicant and can be used on verification devices for the visualization of the data digitally stored on the chip, as well as for the verification of the tax payer’s identity.
Via a third-party interface, the biometric Tax ID Card issuance system also offers the possibility to securely exchange data with external entities such as tax authorities, customs or banks.
