Micro enterprises to get incentives

Micro enterprises or companies with an asset size of not more than P3 million, can now avail of incentives due them under the Republic Act 9178 otherwise known as the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) Act of 2002. The law was signed by President Arroyo on Nov. 13, 2002.

The incentives embodied in the law include: Exemption from the minimum wage law; availment of a special credit assistance from formal and informal financing institutions; technology transfer, production and management training, and marketing assistance; and exemption from income tax for income arising from the operations of the enterprise.

BMBEs can also access the P300 million BMBE Development Fund endowment of Pagcor and administered by the SMED Council. To avail of the fund, the BMBE or his authorized representative applies at the Office of the Municipal or City Treasurer where the business is located. The applicant accomplishes BMBE Form 01 in triplicate and submits the same to the Office of the Municipal or City Treasurer. The Municipal or City Treasurer evaluates and processes the application upon submission of complete documents. If the processor does not act on the application within 15 days, the BMBEs applying for registration are deemed registered.

A certificate of authority or CA will be issued to the BMBE as proof of registration. This will be effective for two years and renewable for another two years.

"We are pleased that this law will soon be implemented as this will encourage micro entrepreneurs in the informal sector to join the mainstream," Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI). "Since the responsibility to register the BMBE is lodged in the local government units, we encourage the local chief executives to streamline the procedures and the charging system. For example, the CA should already serve as the Mayor’s permit so these enterprises do not have to apply and pay twice," added Ortiz-Luis.

The act aims to hasten the country’s economic development by encouraging the information and growth of barangay micro business enterprises which effectively serve as seedbeds of Filipino entrepreneurial talents, and integrating those in the informal sector with the mainstream economy, through the rationalization and bureaucratic restrictions, the active intervention of the government specially in the local level, and the granting incentives and benefits to generate much-needed employment and alleviate poverty.

A technical working group is in the final stages of drafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR). After publication of which, the law can already be implemented. – Philexport News and Features