Favila wants Clark declared as customs bonded warehouse

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila is proposing the temporary designation of the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) as a customs bonded warehouse to shield Clark investors from tax liabilities.

Clark, along with a few other special economic zones, lost their tax incentives following a Supreme Court ruling that Republic Act 7227 grants incentives only to locators in the Subic Bay Freeport and not to those located in Clark, Poro Point in La Union and Camp John Hay in Baguio.

Locators in Clark, which include big American and Japanese firms, have expressed concern that they would now be subject to the regular 32-percent corporate income tax as well as excise tax and duties on their imports of raw materials.

Without the promised tax incentives, Clark locators may pull out their investments resulting in loss of employment to thousands of Filipino workers in Pampanga where the CSEZ is located.

In a press briefing, Favila said, that the government is trying to certify as urgent pending bills in the Senate and the Lower House that would restore the promised incentives to locators in Clark and other special economic zones.

However, since the passage of the necessary legislation is expected to take some time, Favila said the government is studying other options that include registering the existing locators either with the Board of Investments (BOI) or with the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA).

Likewise, Favila said, another option is to designate CSEZ as a customs bonded warehouse wherein goods that enter the area are not subject to import taxes and locators would also be shielded from the regular income tax.

Favila acknowledged that the foreign and domestic investors in Clark "came here in good faith."

Thus, Favila assured them that the government is working on shielding them and restoring the incentives promised to them.