BPO firms given until end-’22 to move to BOI and keep perks

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has released supplementary guidelines for the transfer of registered business process outsourcing (BPO) firms to the Board of Investments (BOI), giving them until the end of the year to make the transition so they can keep their tax perks while under a work-from-home setup.

On Thursday, Peza released details about its memorandum circular No. 2022-067 dated Oct. 21 which provides that eligible information technology (IT) locators will have until Dec. 31, 2022 to avail themselves of the paper transfer of registration.

“Under this arrangement, BOI will issue a certificate of registration to the transferee RBEs (registered business enterprises) for their conduct of 100-percent work from home and where Peza will continue to administer to them the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the sunset period,” Peza said in a statement.

Peza will also keep its monitoring and reporting functions concerning the subject firms’ performance, as well as other compliance requirements.

“As these covered RBEs will not cancel their registration with Peza, the agency will be kept whole with its investment facilitation and revenue generation functions,” Peza added.

Peza jurisdiction

However, the investment promotion agency said companies that will transfer must maintain an office inside Peza-registered buildings or facilities.

“This is necessary in order for PEZA to retain its authority and jurisdiction over the transferee RBEs, which are required under the rules to operate inside the economic zone,” said Peza Officer in Charge and Deputy Director General for policy and planning Tereso Panga.

Firms that will fail to comply with this mandatory requirement will see their registration with Peza, as well as the BOI, canceled.

Panga has also assured the IT-BPO sector that it has the full support and assistance of Peza in the transfer of registration.

“With government’s role as enablers of business and facilitators of value creation, PEZA will continue to enhance its ease and cost of doing business. We in PEZA always strive to provide the best business ecosystem in the ecozones so we can continue to attract more investments and sustain the growth of this winner sector,” said Panga.

Since April of this year, Peza-registered businesses were given the temporary leeway in their work arrangement until September 12, 2022.

The government then decided to have firms transfer their registration from Peza to the Department of Trade and Industry’s investment promotion arm, the BOI, to keep incentives while under the new work arrangement.

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