ILOILO CITY -- The head of the business process licensing office (BPLO) here is urging businesses in this city not to wait for the January 20 deadline to renew their permits.
As of January 10, a report from the one-stop-shop established by the city government revealed that more or less 30 percent of the 14,500 businesses registered in the BPLO in 2017 have renewed their permits.
Norman Tabud, head of the BPLO, said that included in the 30 percent were those which renewed but were not issued with permits due to their negative record. These were establishments with record of violations of ordinances or executive orders of the city government.
“We hold the issuance (of permits) until they can settle their violations,” he said.
To fast track the process of permit renewals, the city government established a one-stop-shop where documents maybe processed in three steps:
1) assessment of gross receipts by the city treasurer and authentication of documents by the BPLO;
2) assessment of payment for business tax, regulatory fees, real property tax and other required fees; and
3) payment and issuance of permits.
For those who wanted to skip the queue, an online assessment of business tax was available. The forms were downloadable from the websites of the city government, Tabud said.
“We encourage them to apply as early as now, especially that we are open on weekends,” he added.
During weekdays, the processing of documents extends until 9 p.m. while on Saturdays and Sundays, the one-stop-shop is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Tabud said they expected a surge in the volume of applicants next week. However, he stressed that this year’s turnout was higher compared to the same period last year.
Clients with complete documents and with no negative record expect the release of their permits within 45 minutes to one hour but in peak period, it may last up to two hours.
Joint Memorandum Circular 2016-01 of the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) mandates that permits be released within the day.
“We are compliant,” said Tabud.
Those who will miss the January 20 deadline will pay the 25 percent surcharge and the 2 percent per month penalty for the business tax.
The BPLO head stated that they hoped to work on the online payment this year so it would be ready next year.
Meantime, the city government will start accepting new business applicants in February. This year 2,000 new businesses are expected to register in Iloilo City. (PNA)
PNA photos by Perla Lena
