Wednesday, November 07, 2007 Council okays ordinance for foreigners' stores By Grace L. Plata
IT WILL not be long before foreign nationals doing business here will have to follow stricter guidelines as the City Council approved on second reading an ordinance stipulating the guidelines for foreigners wanting to do business in the city, as well as those who bring in here their own workers.
With the approval, the ordinance is now considered approved in principle as the third reading approval is merely a formality and the ordinance will no longer be discussed.
Proposed by Councilor Bonifacio Militar, the ordinance aims to set up a close monitoring system of foreign businesses operating in the city. This came after the City Council received reports that a number of operating businesses as well as foreign workers do not have the required permits to do so.
The proposed registration procedure states that:
1) Foreign nationals must have the corresponding visa (business or investors visa) in order to engage in business. Those with tourist visas may apply for business permits and engage in business provided they apply for a special investor's resident visa with the Board of Investment. The copy of the special investor's resident visa from the head office shall be submitted to the Business Bureau within 90 days after the issuance of the business permit. Those with student visas or special student permits are not allowed to do business.
2) Foreign nationals shall apply for their Taxpayer's Identification Number (TIN) with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
3) For partnerships and corporations, applicants shall apply for the Articles of Partnership/Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
4) For sole proprietorships, provided foreign nationals are allowed by law, applicants shall apply with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
5) Application with the Office of the City mayor under the Office of the Business Bureau with the following requirements: Duly Accomplished Form (BB Form 1), Certificate of Registration from SEC (Xerox), Articles of Incorporation/Partnership (Xerox), Current Year Community Tax Certificate (Original), Certificate of Tax Exemption, If Any (Xerox), Certificate of Registration with DTI (Xerox), Barangay Clearance where business is located (original), Authorization Letter/ Special Power of Attorney with Xerox ID of the person authorized to transact and Xerox ID of the taxpayer/applicant and for foreign nationals, a xerox copy pf passport, xerox copy of visa and alien employment permit.
The ordinance also states that any business, which will operate without those permits, will be deemed unlawful or illegal.
An inter-agency task force is also created by virtue of the ordinance whose primary function is to conduct monitoring activities and ocular inspections in order to determine if the foreign nationals are complying with the law.
The task force is to be headed by the city mayor with representatives from the Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, PhilHealth Office, Social Security System, BIR, SEC, Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine National Police, DTI, Bureau of Customs and Business Bureau.
