The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) is enabling BOI-registered business entities (RBEs) to comply with the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10708 or the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) as the agency is set to conduct orientation seminars on the salient points and provisions of the law in key cities nationwide. 

The orientation seminars will cover discussions on the role of RBEs, investment promotion agencies (IPAs), and government agencies such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget & Management (DBM), and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).  Apart from the provisions of the TIMTA IRR, policies on the availment of incentives, such as income tax holiday (ITH) for various sectors and duty free importation of capital equipment, will also be discussed in the seminars.

Seminars were already conducted at Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on July 22 and at Limketkai Luxe Hotel, Cagayan de Oro on August 19.  The other seminar schedules are as follows: Best Western Plus Antel Hotel, Makati City (August 25); Harolds Hotel, Cebu (August 26); Best Western Plus Antel Hotel, Makati City (September 1); and Davao (September 9).  

Starting September 2016, companies with tax incentives will be required to report the amount of incentives they received in 2015, following the effectivity of the TIMTA IRR last August 5, 2016. The Joint Administrative Order 01-2016 or the IRR of the TIMTA Law was approved on June 23, 2016 and was published in the Manila Standard on July 6, 2016.  

Signed into law by former President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III last December 2015, TIMTA seeks to promote fiscal accountability and transparency in the grant and management of tax incentives administered by IPAs. The law puts in place a monitoring scheme for tax incentives, which is expected to enhance transparency and thus, further enhance investor confidence. 

The IRR explicitly states that TIMTA will not affect the amount of incentives that IPAs may grant relative to their charters and existing laws. Further, it will not prevent or delay the promotion and regulation of investments, processing of applications for registration, and the evaluation of entitlement of incentives by IPAs.

BOI, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the various IPAs, together with the Inter-Agency Committee composed of the DOF, BIR, BOC, and NEDA, drafted the IRR, which was finalized in June 2016.