BPOs May Continue WFH Arrangements if Registered With Investments Board

Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies may continue their set work-from-home (WFH) schemes if they are registered with the Board of Investments (BoI).

This comes as Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said on Thursday during a Senate Finance Committee hearing that the FIRB (Fiscal Incentives Review Board) had a meeting on Wednesday and a decision was made regarding PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) benefits.

“The FIRB met and we decided there will be a smooth transfer of benefits from the PEZA to BoI, and so that problem is solved,” Diokno said.

Diokno added that the tax incentives that BPO firms are enjoying will be retained along with their respective WFH arrangements.

Moreover, Finance Undersecretary and FIRB Technical Committee Chairperson Antonette C. Tionko said that the BPO firms are allowed to continue their 30% WFH arrangement until the end of December.

“During the interim between now and December, the BPO companies that are registered with PEZA will be allowed to transfer their registration to BoI. Even if they transfer to BoI, they will be enjoying the same incentives they’ve been enjoying under the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) Act,” she said.

This follows President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s extension of the state of calamity in the country until December 31. (GFB)