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 3 working days from date of receipt
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, or
b. that which present only inconsequential issues for
the resolution by an officer or employee of said
government office

Complex Transactions - applications or requests 7 working days from date of receipt

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 Whichever is shorter between:

requires the use of technical knowledge, specialized a. 20 working days or
skill and/or training in the process and/or evaluation b. As determined by the government agency or
thereof. instrumentality concerned.

Applications or requests involving activities which pose

danger to public health, public safety, public morals,
public policy.

If the application or request for license, clearance, the Sanggunian concerned shall be given a period
permit, certification or authorization shall require the of forty-five (45) working days to act on the
approval of the local Sangguniang Bayan, Sangguniang application or request, which can be extended for
Panlungsod, or the Sangguniang Panlalawigan as the case another twenty (20) working days.
may be
If the local Sanggunian concerned has denied the
application or request, the reason for the
denial, as 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. 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.

b. 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.

c. 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.

d. 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.

e. 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.

f. Barangay clearances and permits related to doing business shall be applied, issued, and collected at the
city/municipality in accordance with the prescribed processing time of this Act: Provided, That the share in
the collections shall be remitted to the respective barangays. 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.