Bohol DTI pilots BOI devolved functions
by Rey Anthony Chiu
Tagbilaran City (25 October) -- BEING cited as the most business-friendly province in the Visayas has its privileges.
For business-friendly Bohol, investors opening up investments here need not go to the Board of Investments (BOI) to get their applications for business related incentives, the latest development in Bohol's efforts to beckon investors to its countless opportunities.
The good news is, the BOI is pilot testing its devolution of functions to Bohol and selected Regional Operations Groups for three months before full-blown devolution in January of next year.
In lieu to this, the Bohol Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is in the thick of preparations along with six other provinces where the BOI pilots the devolved registration functions, local DTI sources said.
In Bohol the implementation of the devolution of functions started in October and runs until December of 2006. Then, it operates on a full-scale devolved registration in 2007 onwards.
The Bohol good news came over the fact that the devolutions do not happen for the National Capital Region (NCR), Cebu, Metro Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Region IV-A.
There is a need to bring down to the provincial level the processing of Executive Order No. 226 applications for registration in order to make available to micro and small enterprises the incentives granted to BOI-registered enterprises, BOI authorities shared to the local DTI.
When the devolution will be fully implemented, the DTI Provincial Offices shall handle the registration and evaluation of projects for BOI application and also the supervision and monitoring of BOI-registered projects.
Among the incentives available to BOI-registered firms are income tax holidays, duty-free or duty-reduced importation of capital equipment, unrestricted use of consigned equipment, tax and duty-free importation of spare parts and supplies, tax and duty-free importation of breeding stocks and genetic materials, tax credit on raw materials and supplies, exemption from wharfage dues and employment of foreign nationals.
The new development also excites local officials here who stand to benefit from the ripples of new investments, a sure thing that could dent on the pervading unemployment and the movement of capital. (PIA) [top]
