FIRB: 10 non-complaint ecozones fail to submit CREATE reportorial requirements

MANILA, Philippines — The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) bared a list of investment agencies that failed to comply with CREATE Law's reporting requirements.

In a statement on Tuesday, the FIRB said that the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Aurora Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Board of Investments, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, Clark Development Corporation, Regional Board of Investments-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority, failed to submit several documents required under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law.

Finance Secretary and FIRB chairman Carlos Dominguez III was dismayed after investment promotion agencies failed to comply with this requirement and that "more stringent measures would be taken should the IPAs continue to disregard the requirements of the Secretariat."

These documents included lists of their registered business enterprises that enjoy tax incentives, approved projects with an investment capital of P1 billion or less, and registered Information Technology and Business Process Management enterprises that implement remote work arrangements.

“All IPAs should understand that these reports we require are important for the FIRB to fulfill its oversight functions on the administration and grant of tax incentives," said Finance Assistant Secretary and FIRB secretariat head Juvy Danofrata.

The PEZA was flagged by the FIRB days ago for failing to submit pertinent investment data, especially since the agency admitted it no longer maintained records of the investments that enter the country.

CREATE was signed into law on March 26, 2021 by President Rodrigo Duterte. This piece of legislation came to the aid of firms and corporations hit by pandemic fallout by introducing, among others, reduced corporate income tax rates and maintaining some fiscal incentives for much longer before eventually repealing them.

Danofrata said submission of these reports to the FIRB secretariat is crucial since the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue use them to monitor and audit if agencies are aligned with the objectives of the CREATE Law.

Only four agencies complied with FIRB's requirements, which were Bases Conversion and Development Authority, John Hay Management Corp., Poro Point Management Corp., and PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority.