PEZA to bring back incentives
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In a bid to be at par with the Board of Investments (BOI), the Philippine Economic Authority (PEZA) is looking to restore all tax incentives it used to offer to firms registered with them.
According to PEZA Deputy Director-General Vivian Santos, they are anticipating a favorable opinion from the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolving the conflicting provisions on various issuances, such as value-added tax (VAT) zero-rating as well as work-from-home (WFH) setup for PEZA registered business enterprises (RBEs).
Since the dawn of the implementation of WFH arrangements during the pandemic, PEZA’s rules and regulations have not been very friendly to member firms registered under the agency.
Per PEZA’s ruling, companies that implement WFH are forfeited from its tax breaks and incentives. This urged companies to transfer their membership from PEZA to BOI, which is more lenient and open to companies that follow the WFH model.
Santos said eventually, a bill amending the PEZA law would remove all the inconsistencies.
This move would allow PEZA to restore all incentives for its locators.
PEZA is also pushing for the issuance by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) granting PEZA RBEs similar WFH privileges, now enjoyed by BOI RBEs up to 100%.
Santos said PEZA made a presentation to Congress to both committees on economic affairs and on trade and industry, whose members expressed support for the ecozone authority.
