By Lowell S. Vallecer
ZAMBOANGA CITY, February 29 - - -Here’s some good news for business registrants. The process of business registration is now made more and more accessible, easier and faster through the use of modern technology such as the computer and internet.
With the official launching of the Philippine Business Registry (PBR) this coming March 2012, a lot of steps in the registration process is now possible to be done online, thereby substantially reducing the need for registrants to go physically to the concerned government office to register his business.
In an interview during the PBR Users’ Training conducted on February 27, 2012, NERBAC-9 Center Manager Herminia B. Cuevas explained that the PBR is a web-based system that is envisioned to facilitate a seamless transactional environment for business registration and facilitation which can be accessed by anyone anytime, anywhere there is internet connection.
By way of example, Ms. Cuevas explained that whereas before, a business registrant has to go physically to the Department of Trade and Industry to register and pay for his business name, this can now be done just by logging on to the PBR portal at www.business.gov.ph, fill up the electronic forms provided, pay online via Globe’s GCash facility and print the business name certificate himself in the convenience of his own home or in an internet café any time of the day.
And since the PBR is connected to the database of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the system will generate the TIN automatically (that is if you have none) or validate the same (that is if you have an existing one), for your business. “There’s no need to go to the BIR office just to get your TIN”, Cuevas said.
Further, at your option, the system will also generate your employer number for SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG since these agencies too are connected to the PBR.
Meanwhile, those already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can also get their SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG ERNs through the PBR kiosk that will be set-up at the SEC Head Office. Said kiosk is scheduled for launching this March 2012. Such will be the set-up until SEC has developed a computerized registration system.
“It is just a matter of time before the mayor’s permit can also be processed online via the same PBR facility”, Ms. Cuevas added.
For those who are not computer savvy or have no internet access, Ms. Cuevas advised that they either use the PBR kiosk at the nearest NERBAC or DTI Provincial Office, or they ask the help of the DTI personnel at said offices to encode the information in their behalf.
Ms. Cuevas pointed out that the business registration facility of the PBR is just one of its many functions, adding that the system has also business registry search facility which the clients can use in checking whether the name of the business he will put up is already registered with DTI, SEC or IPOPHL to avoid legal problems in the future.
The PBR is one of the reform measures being assiduously pursued by the national government under the auspices of the DTI to promote transparency, streamline transaction processes, promote business growth, and improve the overall competitiveness of the country (LSV/ DTI9/PIA9/alt)