President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and Efficient Government Service Delivery (EGSD) Act of 2018. The new law will shorten the number of days in processing permits and licenses of all business-related transactions in the Philippines.
Signed on May 28, Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 also includes stricter rules like the two-strike policy that any violation will warrant penalties and liabilities for government officials who fail to issue permits in the given period.
The provisions of the law were highlighted in the 6th Annual Ease of Doing Business Summit recently held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
RA 11032 amends Republic Act No. 9485, otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
Under this Act, businesses can expect streamlined processes; reduced processing times from all government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs). Government agencies shall be made to comply with the prescribed processing time: three working days for simple transactions, seven working days for complex transactions, and 20 working days for highly technical transactions.
Apart from streamlining, the law also provides for the creation of a central business portal that will receive and capture application data on business-related transactions, while a Philippine business databank will provide LGUs and national government agencies access to information to verify the validity and existence of businesses. With this, businesses are not required to submit the same documentary requirement previously submitted