EASE OF DOING BUSINESS ACT

COVERAGE: all government offices and agencies including LGUs, GOCCs and other government
instrumentalities, whether located in the Philippines or abroad, that provide services covering
business and nonbusiness related transactions.

Business-related transactions - a set of regulatory requirements that a business entity must

comply with to engage, operate or continue to operate a business.
Non-business transactions - all other government transactions.

RULES IN ACCESSING GOVERNMENT SERVICES ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS OR

REQUESTS

1. All officers or employees shall accept written applications, requests, and/or documents being
submitted by applicants or requesting parties of the offices or agencies.
2. The receiving officer or employee shall perform a preliminary assessment of the
application or request submitted with its supporting documents to ensure a more expeditious
action on the application or request. The receiving officer or employee shall
immediately inform the applicant or requesting party of any deficiency in the
accompanying requirements, which shall be limited to those enumerated in the Citizen's
Charter.
3. The receiving officer or employee shall assign a unique identification number to an
application or request, which shall be the identifying number for all subsequent transactions
between the government and the applicant or requesting party regarding such specific
application or request.
4. The receiving officer or employee shall issue an acknowledgement receipt containing
the seal of the agency, the name of the responsible officer or employee, his/her unit and
designation, and the date and time of receipt of such application or request.

ACTIONS OF OFFICERS:

1. All applications or requests submitted shall be acted upon by the assigned officer or employee
within the prescribed processing time stated in the Citizen's Charter which shall not be longer
than:

TYPE OF TRANSACTION PERIOD TO PROCESS

Simple Transactions - applications or
requests submitted by applicants or
requesting parties of a government office
or agency which
a. only require ministerial actions on
the part of the public officer or employee, 3 working days from date of receipt
or
b. that which present only
inconsequential issues for the resolution
by an officer or employee of said
government office
Complex Transactions - applications or 7 working days from date of receipt
requests submitted by applicants or
requesting parties of a government office
which necessitate evaluation in the
resolution of complicated issues by an
officer or employee of said government
office, such transactions to be determined
by the office concerned.
Highly technical application – an
application which requires the use of
Whichever is shorter between: a.
technical knowledge, specialized skill
20 working days or
and/or training in the process and/or
b. As determined by the
evaluation thereof. Applications or
government agency or
requests involving activities which
instrumentality concerned.
pose danger to public health, public
safety, public morals, public policy.
the Sanggunian concerned shall be
given a period of forty-five (45)
working days to act on the
If the application or request for license,
application or request, which can
clearance, permit, certification or
be extended for another twenty (20)
authorization shall require the approval of
working days. If the local
the local Sangguniang Bayan,
Sanggunian concerned
Sangguniang Panlungsod, or the
has denied the application or
Sangguniang Panlalawigan as the case
request, the reason for the denial, as
may be
well as the remedial measures that
maybe taken by the applicant shall be
cited by the concerned Sanggunian

2. EXTENSTION: The maximum time prescribed above may be extended only once for the same
number of days, which shall be indicated in the Citizen's Charter. Prior to the lapse of the
processing time, the office or agency concerned shall notify the applicant or requesting party in
writing of the reason for the extension and final date of release of the government service/s
requested. Such written notification shall be signed by the applicant or requesting party to serve as
proof of notice.

3. ADJUSTMENT/SUSPENSION OF PERIOD TO PROCESS: In cases where the cause of delay is

due to force majeure or natural or man-made disasters, which result to damage or destruction of
documents, and/or system failure of the computerized or automatic processing, the prescribed
processing times mandated in this Act shall be suspended and appropriate adjustments shall be
made.

AUTOMATIC APPROVAL OR EXTENSION OF LICENSE, CLEARANCE, PERMIT,

CERTIFICATION OR AUTHORIZATION:

1. If a government office or agency fails to approve or disapprove an original application or

request for issuance of license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization within the
prescribed processing time, said application or request shall be deemed approved:
Provided, That all required documents have been submitted and all required fees and
charges have been paid.
2. The acknowledgement receipt together with the official receipt for payment of all required
fees issued to the applicant or requesting party shall be enough proof or has the same
force and effect of a license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization under this
automatic approval mechanism.
3. If a government office or agency fails to act on an application or request for renewal of a
license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization subject for renewal within the
 prescribed processing time, said license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization
shall automatically be extended: Provided, That the Authority, in coordination with the Civil
Service Commission (CSC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) , Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and
other agencies which shall formulate the IRR of this Act, shall provide a listing of
simple, complex, highly technical applications, and activities which pose danger to
public health, public safety, public morals or to public policy.

DENIAL OF APPLICATION OF REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT SERVICE:

Any denial of application or request for access to government service shall be:

1. Fully explained in writing,

2. Stating the name of the person making the denial and
3. the grounds upon which such denial is based.

Any denial of application or request is deemed to have been made with the permission or
clearance from the highest authority having jurisdiction over the government office or agency
concerned.

LIMITATION OF SIGNATORIES
The number of signatories in any document shall be limited to a maximum of three (3)
signatures which shall represent officers directly supervising the office or agency concerned:
Provided, That in case the authorized signatory is on official business or official leave,
an alternate shall be designated as signatory.

Electronic signatures or pre-signed license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization

with adequate security and control mechanism may be used.

ELECTRONIC VERSIONS OF LICENSES, CLEARANCES, PERMITS, CERTIFICATIONS OR

AUTHORIZATION
All government agencies covered shall, when applicable, develop electronic versions of licenses,
clearances, permits, certifications or authorizations with the same level of authority as that of the
signed hard copy, which may be printed by the applicants or requesting parties in the convenience of
their offices.

ADOPTION OF WORKING SCHEDULES TO SERVE APPLICANTS OR REQUESTING PARTIES

Heads of offices and agencies which render government services shall adopt appropriate working
schedules to ensure that all applicants or requesting parties who are within their
premises prior to the end of official working hours are attended to and served even during
lunch break and after regular working hours.

PROCEDURES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS :

The LGUs are mandated to implement the following revised guidelines in the issuance of business
licenses, clearances, permits, certifications or authorizations:

A. . The pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as "The Local
Government Code of 1991", specifically Article IV, Section 152(c) is hereby amended
accordingly.barangaysshall be remitted to the respective share in the collections of this
Act: Provided, That the at the city/municipality in accordance with the prescribed
 processing time related to doing business shall be applied, issued, and collected Barangay
clearances and permits
B. Business permits shall be valid for a period of one (1) year. The city/municipality may have
the option to renew business permits within the first month of the year or on the
anniversary date of the issuance of the business permit.
C. To lessen the transaction requirements, other local clearances such as, but not limited to,
sanitary permits, environmental and agricultural clearances shall be issued together with
the business permit.
D. Cities/Municipalities are mandated to automate their business permitting and licensing
system or set up an electronic BOSS within a period of three (3) years upon the
effectivity of this Act for a more efficient business registration processes.

Cities/Municipalities with electronic BOSS shall develop electronic versions of licenses,

clearances, permits, certifications or authorizations with the same level of authority, which
may be printed by businesses in the convenience of their offices. The DICT shall make
available to LGUs the software for the computerization of the business permit and licensing
system. The DICT, DTI, and DILG, shall provide technical assistance in the planning and
implementation of a computerized or software-enabled business permitting and licensing
system.
E. A one-stop business facilitation service, hereinafter referred to as the business one stop
shop, (BOSS) for the city/municipality's business permitting and licensing system to receive
and process manual and/or electronic submission of application for license, clearance,
permit, certification or authorization shall be established within the cities/municipalities’
Negosyo Center as provided for under Republic Act No. 10644, otherwise known as the
"Go Negosyo Act". There shall be a queuing mechanism in the BOSS to better manage the
flow of applications among the LGUs' departments receiving and processing applications.
LGUs shall implement colocation of the offices of the treasury, business permits and
licensing office, zoning office, including the BFP, and other relevant city/municipality offices,
departments, among others, engaged in starting a business, dealing with construction
permits.
F. A single or unified business application form shall be used in processing new
applications for business permits and business renewals which consolidates all the
information of the applicant or requesting party by various local government departments,
such as, but not limited to, the local taxes and clearances, building clearance, sanitary
permit, zoning clearance, and other specific LGU requirements, as the case may be,
including the fire clearance from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

The unified form shall be made available online using technology-neutral platforms such as,
but not limited to, the central business portal or the city/municipality's website and various
channels for dissemination. Hard copies of the unified forms shall likewise be made
available at all times in designated areas of the concerned office and/or agency.