Traders urged to renew business permits early

CEBU, Philippines - The Mandaue City government is urging businessmen in the city to renew their business permits early to avoid getting caught in the rush to beat the deadline.

Querubin Momongun, the information technology consultant of the city government, made the appeal after it was found out that only a few businessmen in the city have visited the three Business One Stop Shops (BOSS) put up by the city for easy accessibility. The shops are located at the second floor of the city hall, at Parkmall, and at Towns and Bridges along Plaridel Street.

Momongan said businessmen should not wait for the January 21 deadline.

He said renewal of business permits can now be acquired in a span of only thirty minutes rather than the usual fifteen days.

The city government has streamlined the process of renewing business permits from 17 steps to only four.

January 3 to 21 are the days set aside for the renewal of business permits while January 31 and henceforth are days reserved for securing new business permits.

He said the 30 minutes for renewal of business permit is based on a normal situation.

He said that in every BOSS, there are five personnel for 100 clients and can meet the 30-minute period.

But if the number of clients reaches about 2,000, the personnel will have difficulty meeting the 30m-minute period.

Assistant city treasurer Regal Oliva also warned that once the deadline lapses for the business permit renewal, the city will immediately imposed a penalty on late filers.

At the same time, Oliva urged businessmen to declare their establishments' gross incomes honestly because this is also one of the causes of delay in the release of business permits.

Oliva also said barangay clearance and the real property tax (RPT) clearance are the requirements in processing and securing of business permits. (FREEMAN)