Register as BMBE, be

Minimum pay-exempt

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Jan 3 (PIA)—As the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board (RTWPB) is set to implement within the week the wage hike now pegged at P356 for an eight-hour day of work for private employees in Bohol towns and P366 in Tagbilaran City, small entrepreneurs still have a recourse.

When going full on the wage increase can deplete the precious capital for start-ups, business counselor at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Negosyo Center (NC) in Tagbilaran hinted a way out:  by registering under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE).

Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA, DTI Bohol NC business counselor Kent Anthony Calumba said business entities or enterprises with an asset below P3 million, not including the lot upon which the business stands, and when the business is engaged in production, processing, products or commodities manufacturing including agro processing and trading or services, can register under the BMBE.

For services however, Calumba said the law restricts those which are rendered by government licensed professionals in the exercise of one’s profession.

Aside from an exemption from coverage of the minimum wage law, BMBE registered enterprises can get tax exemptions for incomes arising from the operation of the enterprise, can get priority to a special credit window set p specifically for the financing requirements of BMBEs and priority over technology transfers, production and management training, and marketing assistance programs for BMBE beneficiaries.

Apart from that, the law also encourages LGUs to reduce the amount of local taxes, fees and charges imposed, if not exempt the BMBE from local taxes, charges and fees, Calumba said.

        

And if only to put up the icing to the offer, the registration and the issuance of the BMBE Certificate of Authority is free, according to the Negosyo Center counselor. 

The BMBE certificate of Authority runs effective for two years reckoning at the date of issuance, renewable every two years and two years here after, subject to the compliance with the eligibility requirements prescribed by law and the DTI Administrative Order No. 16-01 series of 2016.

For those intending to register their investments as BMBE, applicants need to accomplish the BMBE application, get their Certificate of Business Name Registration from the DTI, Securities and Exchange Commission or the Cooperative Development Authority.   

The accomplished BMBE application need to be submitted to the nearest Negosyo Center of DTI business Office, so the DTI can evaluate the application’s eligibility and if found to be qualified, the DTI issues a BMBE Certificate of Authority which shall be valid for two years.   

While it might not be good for the workers, the BMBE law still requires investors to entitle their workers to the same social security and health care benefits as with other employees.

The deal is to make sure that start-ups get incentives enough to spur local economies and trickle the benefits to the communities.

The government believes that MSME is that engine that drives local economies into greater directions. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

NEWBIE AND SCARED OF PERMIT FEES, CHARGES? Worry not, go to your nearest Negosyo Center and have your businesses registered as BMBE, chances are you can get away with the fees, or you can be exempted from paying the minimum wage, says business counselor Kent Anthony Calumba during the recent Kapihan sa PIA. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)