Over P4.8M in fees collected on Day 1 of business permits renewal

Cebu City treasurer urges business owners to renew early to avoid penalties

Taxpayers from Cebu City’s North District gathered at Robinsons Galleria on Thursday, January 4, at the start of the business permit processing and renewal. | CDN Photo/ via Pia Piquero

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A total of P4,881,388 in fees was collected on the first day of processing and renewals of business permits in Cebu City on January 4, according to City Treasurer Mare Vae Reyes.

She added that the P4 million is already a “significant” figure, considering it’s only the first day compared to the same period in 2023.

“Yesterday, na offline man gud atong system pag 4pm so nahunong ang assessment and collection. But if wala pa siguro ni offline yesterday, muabot siguro tag mga 6M (million),” Reyes said in a phone interview with CDN Digital on Friday, January 5.

READ: Late business taxpayers to incur 25% surcharge

According to data from the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), there were 1,692 businesses that renewed their permits, while 24 applied for new permits.

Reyes told CDN Digital that the first day was “successful” despite the challenge of having less manpower due to the ongoing employee evaluation of the city government for rightsizing.

“Usa sa amo concern lang gyud ang kining atong manpower, of course, wala paman na renew ang uban… Mao na amo concern na sige namog follow up sa HR na amo na ma renew ang uban tawo,” she said.

Reyes, however, stated that with the challenges faced on the first day, they are committed to addressing them immediately to ensure a smoother flow of all transactions moving forward.

Meanwhile, Andrew Borres, the head of the Business Permit Licensing Office (BPLO), noted that starting from the second day onwards, they will strictly implement queuing and set a capacity limit to ensure efficient operations.

“Plano namo nga mag-numbering na ug pila, para ma-accommodate gyud tanan kay naay uban nga samok na. Bisan wala pa ma-assess o naka fill-up sa form, mag-una na, so amo ni siya i-monitor gyud,” Borres said.

Borres also reminded other business owners to settle their obligations early at two satellite offices: Robinsons Galleria for North District taxpayers and SM Seaside Cebu for South District taxpayers.

He further advised making early payments to avoid the 25 percent surcharges and other penalties for payments made beyond January 20.

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