THE Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) said it expects to complete soon uniform rules to govern the suspension or withdrawal of tax incentives from registered enterprises that do not comply with the conditions of the grant, the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Thursday.
“The guidelines are meant to provide uniform rules for imposing penalties on non-compliant registered business enterprises (RBEs). FIRB’s power to suspend or withdraw tax incentives, or cancel business registration was granted under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act,” the DoF said in a statement.
The DoF said a public consultation has been scheduled for the end of the month once the guidelines are approved by an FIRB Technical Committee.
The FIRB is also working on guidelines for dealing with the cancellation of a project or activity for which RBEs are sought incentives, the DoF said.
“The guidelines will clarify the procedure for RBEs when responding to a show cause order issued by their respective investment promotion agencies (IPAs) or the FIRB, or when filing an appeal from an adverse finding,” it added.
The FIRB also said it approved applications for tax incentives for new domestic enterprises operating tourist accommodation facilities and building common-tower telecommunications infrastructure. It gave no further details about the successful applications.
It said that the approved investment applications will “accelerate the present administration’s ongoing economic recovery efforts, specifically in areas of tourism and digitalization.”
“As we attract all types of big-ticket local and foreign investment, we also strive to be inclusive and not industry-specific in our grant of fiscal incentives. Largely, what we want to ensure is for these projects to result in a win-win situation for both the RBEs and the economy,” Finance Secretary and FIRB Chairman Benjamin E. Diokno added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
