Checklist of starting up a business in the Philippines

company registration SEC PEZA SSS establish a company license SBMA BSP BIR DTI BOI

To apply to establish a new company in the Philippines is not so complicated but it REALLY takes some weeks to get licenses. Hereunder is the checklist of starting up a business in the Philippines to help you monitoring the process of applications of registration.

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Checklist for starting up a business in the Philippines:

(download the checklist excel file, in LibreOffice ODS format or Adobe PDF format)

(you can download LibreOffice here for FREE of charge and FREE to open ODS files.)

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The basic process of setting up a Philippine company

• Foreign investors who intend to invest in a registered company in the Philippines must first confirm and retain the company name with the Philippine Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), then open a temporary account with a bank to deposit the minimum registered capital, and then complete the registration with the SEC to obtain Business license; those who intend to obtain rewards from the BOI must register with the BOI; those who plan to set up factories in export zone must register with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA); those who plan to set up factories in Subic Bay must register with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). The procedure varies slightly depending on the city in which the Philippine company is established.

• The basic registration process is as follows:

(1) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):
Philippine company formation as a joint stock company and partnership registration;

(2) Central Bank of the Philippines (Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, BSP):
Foreign capital recovery and profit repatriation;

(3) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI):
Philippine company establishment of sole proprietorship registration and business name application;

(4) Office of Investment (BOI):
Preferential business registration under the Philippine Omnibus Investment Law;

(5) Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and other independent economic zone management agencies:
Philippine company registration enjoys the business registration of the economic zone preferential policies;

(6) Application for district-level and municipal-level business licenses for setting up companies in the Philippines;

(7) Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR):
Obtain a tax certificate number (TIN number);

(8) Social Security System (SSS):
Obtain an employer social security number;

(9) Registration of Philippine Health Insurance Company:
Obtain membership in the government health insurance system.