Gov't opens online one-stop-shop for business registration

The government has launched the first phase of its Central Business Portal (CBP) that will make registering a business enterprise more convenient, the Bureau of Internal Revenue said Thursday.

In a statement, the BIR said the CBP was launched last January 28.

It said the online one-stop-shop offers a single site/one-stop shop for all business-related information and transactions, such as registering a corporation, registering business and securing business permits/certificates, licenses from the Securities and Exchange Commissioner (SEC), BIR, Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG.

To transact, the CBP can be accessed at https://business.gov.ph.

According to the BIR, for its initial implementation of the CBP, the online portal shall be available to the domestic corporations, particularly one-person corporation, corporations with two to four incorporators; regular corporations whose incorporators are juridical entities and/or the capital structure is not covered by the 25%-25% rule.

CBP provides a Unified Application Form for all agencies involved in the business registration process.

Thus, citizens who are registering a corporation no longer need to accomplish and file several registration forms in different government agencies, according to the BIR.

BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay expressed optimism that with the recently-launched online registration platform, more taxpayers will find it easier and faster to comply with registration requirements of the government.

“It will put delays, bureaucratic gridlocks and inefficiencies a thing of the past. It will likewise put more taxpayers into the tax net thereby strengthening revenue collection efforts and eventually pump more lifeblood into the veins of government operations,” said Dulay.

Among the BIR-related features of the CBP are online generation/issuance of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of new corporations; identification of the national internal revenue taxes which the new corporations will be liable to; online payment of the annual registration fee (ARF) of P500.00 and loose Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) of thirty pesos P30.00; and generation of BIR Electronic Certificate of Registration (COR).

Moreover, the electronic COR bears a Quick Response (QR) Code that serves as a security feature to prove its authenticity.

New corporations registering through CBP are likewise given an option to pay ARF and loose DST manually, the BIR said.

“However, when they choose this option, they shall complete its business registration at the respective Revenue District Office (RDO) by submitting the printed CBP-generated documents, and other documentary requirements prescribed by the Bureau in its Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 15-2021 issued on January 27, 2021,” it added.

Taxpayers opting to pay electronically through the CBP shall, after securing/printing the BIR electronic COR through the CBP, proceed to the RDO indicated in the electronic COR, to buy its BIR Printed Receipts/Invoices (BPR/BPI) in order to start its business operation immediately after its registration, the taxman said.

“Otherwise, it may apply for Authority to Print (ATP) its own receipts/invoices to be printed by BIR Accredited Printers,” it added. 

Corporations not registering through the CBP shall apply with the documentary requirements provided in RMC No. 57-2020.

The CBP is created in accordance to RA No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business Act.

It is a project spearheaded by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), in collaboration with the DICT, BIR, SEC, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG. —LBG, GMA News