Renewal of Business Permits Starts January 4 in Cebu City

The renewal of business permits in Cebu City will start on January 4.

In a press release by Cebu City Public Information Office, the processing for renewal and application of Mayor’s Business Permit for year 2017 will start on January 4 and will run for two weeks until January 27, 2017. This time, the processing done by the City Mayors Office (CMO) and City Treasurers Office (CTO) will be at Robinsons Galleria Ground Floor.

Business processing time starts 9:00 am until 6:00 in the evening from Monday to Friday. They are also open for two Saturdays, January 7 and 27. City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo encouraged the businessmen to renew their business permits within the scheduled date on January 4 to 27 to avoid the two percent interest and 25 percent surcharge and penalties.

“I also encourage everyone to be early, visit the Robinson’s Galleria Cebu to familiarize the site because it is new, and bring complete requirements,” Camarillo stressed, adding that the clients will be catered on a first come, first served basis following a computerized queuing management system. She stressed that CTO will conduct tax mapping and will send notices to business establishments who will not renew their Mayor’s Business Permits.

CTO targets to collect P2.8 billion in business taxes and permit fees in 2017. According to her, there are only three requirements this year for the issuance of Mayor’s Business Permit, the duly filled-up application form; preceding year’s income tax return; and the financial statements duly received by the Bureau of Internal Revenue or BIR (if available) or the preceding year’s Sales Journal or VAT/Percentage returns (for the first, second and third quarters, and for the months of October and November) only.

Businessmen will undergo at least four steps in the one-stop shop services. Claire Cabalda, head of the Cebu City Business Permit and Licensing Office, also shared that the services at Robinsons Galleria Cebu will also include the application for New Mayor’s Business Permit, Retirement of Business Operations, Application for Special and Delivery Permits, and also Cedula issuance for business permit purposes only. However, Cedula issuance for other purposes will be available at the Cebu City Hall.

City Hall employees will be deployed to accommodate the operators, owners or representatives of the more than 30,000 business establishments from the city’s 80 barangays.

They will be on a shifting duty and will observe a no lunch break policy. Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Floramie Vega, regional operations manager of Robinsons Land Corporation, the developer of Robinsons Galleria Cebu, signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last week for the new venue of the processing of the Mayor’s Business Permit.

Under the MOA, a space in the ground floor of the Robinson’s Galleria Cebu will be provided by the Robinsons Land Corporation to the City Government of Cebu for free every January until 2019 where the one-stop shop for business permit processing will be held.

Robinsons Galleria Cebu is located along the General Maxilom Avenue Extension in the Cebu City North Reclamation Area just a few meters away from SM City Cebu. (rmn/fcc/PIA7-Cebu/with reports from Greggy Senados, Cebu City PIO staff)