BUSINESS owners will still have to pay their tax dues either quarterly or annually even if the Cebu City Government is already issuing business permits that are valid for two years.
This was the clarification of Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) officer-in-charge Jared Limquiaco to the business owners.
The BPLO opened its one-stop shop on the second floor of SM City Cebu in Barangay Mabolo on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. It will end on Jan. 31.
The BPLO personnel will cater to the clients from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Limquiaco said the one-stop shop is open on Saturdays, except on Jan. 18, a day before the Fiesta Señor.
Lawyer Jerone Castillo of the City Treasurer’s Office said they are expecting around 40,000 business owners who will be renewing and applying for business permits in January.
Around 200 Cebu City Hall personnel are serving the business owners.
Castillo plans to retain the one-stop shop at the SM City Cebu even after the opening of the City’s Financial Center within this month. By doing so, he said the Financial Center would be spacious.
There is also available space for the BPLO’s one-stop shop at Ayala Central Bloc in Cebu IT Park and SM Seaside City at the South Road Properties.
If the management of the two malls would agree to let the BPLO open its one-stop shop, Castillo said the business owners would have several options as to where they could process their business permits.
Mandaue’s one-stop shop
Meanwhile, the Mandaue City Government also opened its one-stop shop at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.
An estimated 16,000 businesses are expected to renew their permits during the 20-day renewal of business permits.
Lawyer August Lizer Malate, officer-in-charge of the Mandaue City BPLO, said they removed the regulatory steps to hasten the process and release the business permits in one day. From 19 steps, the application for business permits has been stripped down to three steps.
The applicants are still obliged to obtain other regulatory clearances.
In the new process, the first step is the application and evaluation phase. It requires the business owner to submit an application form, barangay clearance or city clearance and lease contract for renewal of permits. The new applicants must submit the same documents the same as those seeking to renew their permits, but they must present a locational clearance and the Department of Trade and Industry or the Securities and Exchange Commission registration.
The second step is the assessment and payment. The last step is the issuance of the business permit, and the applicants must present the proof of payment of business tax and the requirements mentioned in the first step.
After the issuance of the business permit, the applicants will secure their regulatory clearances from the Mandaue City Environment and Natural Resource Office, City Planning Office and Office of the Building Official, among others.
Malate said the applicants will then be subjected to a post-audit, a scheduled inspection led by the BPLO to check the compliance of the applicants with all regulatory clearances, permits and necessary documents. (JJL, KFD)