One-stop shop for business permit renewal in place

CEBU, Philippines -  The Cebu City government is ready for the 27,000 business owners who will renew their business permits tomorrow, Monday.

“After our dry-run, makaingon na ta nga ready na gyud ta sa atong collection on Monday,” said Cebu City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas yesterday.

The dry run was conducted at SM City Cebu’s Trade Hall where a one-stop shop was set up. The one-stop shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from January 5 to January 23.

Cuevas said that with the “one-stop shop,” processing time is estimated to be about 15 minutes granting that applicants have the necessary documents, among which are a filled-out business permit application form, income statement and ledge printout.

New applicants will be given a temporary permit if they can present an application form, barangay clearance, sketch of the location of their businesses, among others. The temporary permit will be valid until April 20, 2015.

Last year, the city government collected P1 billion from business permits renewals and other regulatory fees. This year, the city aims to collect P5 billion, Cuevas said.

Cuevas said that those who will fail to renew its permits after the scheduled dates will be mandated to pay two percent interest per month and 25 percent surcharge and late securing fees.

The city government can issue a closure order should a business would fail to renew after three notices, she said.

“That is why businessmen should take the renewal seriously kay puwede ta makapa-close nila,” she said.

Fifteen City Hall employees and volunteers will man the one-stop shop.

City Administrator Lucelle Mercado said all department heads have also been asked to help and to be familiar with the process. — /JMO (FREEMAN)