FIRB confirms loophole that allows 30% remote work for BPO firms
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) confirmed that there is a loophole that Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms could utilize to allow 30% of their staff to remain working at home.
Trade Secretary and FIRB co-chair Ramon Lopez explained that since BPO firms are considered export enterprises, current rules said that they should get 70% of their sales from the export market while the remaining 30% could be sold locally.
The review board said that the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) interpretation which applies this ratio to the on-site and remote work debate is acceptable.
Lopez stated that “registered enterprises who keep to this will continue to enjoy incentives.”
However, the FIRB official noted that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) could question whether “the incentives should apply to all of the project’s revenues, or only to the revenues associated with the 70% done onsite.”
This news comes after PEZA announced that they have issued letters of authority to BPO companies who want to continue their hybrid operations based on this loophole.
PEZA hybrid work approval will run untl September 12, 2022, which is also the end of the Country’s CPVID-19 state of calamity.
The ecozone authority said that interested BPO companies are welcome to apply for authorization letters by sending their applications in their offices.
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