Information technology-business process management companies have until Dec. 16 to submit their application for the transfer of registration to the Board of Investments, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said Wednesday.
PEZA deputy director for operation Vivian Santos said the agency imposed a cut-off to review and endorse the applications to the BOI on or before the final day of endorsement on Dec. 31, 2022.
“We asked the BOI if we could still receive applications as of Dec. 31 as indicated in the FIRB [Fiscal Incentives Review Board] resolution, but the BOI will not extend the endorsement deadline,” she said.
“However, we are committed that all applications, provided that they have complete requirements, will be endorsed to the BOI,” she said.
The transfer of registration of ITBPM companies to the BOI from PEZA will allow these companies to practice work-from-home setup.
Registered business enterprises that re-registered with the BOI would retain their fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from PEZA under the sunset incentives provision of the CREATE Law.
Santos said, however, that ITBPM firms with applications for new projects and expansion would qualify for the incentives of the BOI, and not of PEZA upon the expiry of the sunset incentives. Othel V. Campos
“The procedure for transfer of registration from PEZA to BOI will be seamless—to be carried out expeditiously,” said Trade and Industry Secretary Fred Pascual in his capacity as co-chair of FIRB and chair of both PEZA and BOI.
“From the beginning, our priority has been to secure a solution for the sector’s WFH setup, which has become the new normal post-pandemic,” he said.
Registered firms are required to signify with PEZA their intention to shift registration to the BOI. PEZA will then endorse the request to the BOI for the issuance of a certificate of registration, along with the remaining incentives the firms stand to benefit from.
The ITBPM industry group said the registration with the BOI would help the industry expand its full-time employees by another 1.1 million in the next six years, on top of the current 1.4 million.