THE Department of Finance (DoF) is preparing an online-based system for paying taxes and other government transactions that could improve the ease of doing business.
In a statement yesterday, Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said that the payment gateway, called the PHPay system, “will cover the development of a payment gateway and a payment ledgering management system for the whole of government.”
According to the DoF, the PHPay system is designed to be a secure and reliable collection system in which government clients can transfer payments online for government services anytime and anywhere, minimizing the need for human contact and eliminating long queues in government offices.
“Taxpayers and other government clients can, however, still opt to use other payment methods even when PHPay is in place,” said Mr. Beltran.
He added that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has started to streamline its processes ahead of the new measure.
“In the BIR, they cut down the steps of registering a new business from six days to one day. So that’s a big improvement,” Mr. Beltran said.
He added that the BIR has reduced the steps for paying taxes to seven from 20, and fast-tracked the process for registering property to six from 15 days.
This follows the launch of the single-window electronic trade-facilitation platform, TradeNet, launched in December, which is linked to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries’ respective electronic trade gateways — allowing the electronic exchange of border documents such as import and export permits and other certifications.
The DoF is also currently preparing for the nationwide rollout of the online Unified Business Permit Application Form under the Philippine Business Data Bank which will “further simplify the process and allow businesses to apply for LGU (local government unit) business permits regardless of location.”
“Economic zone data will likewise be progressively be made available covering all economic zones in the country,” Mr. Beltran added.
The Philippines ranked 113th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business listings in November, down from 99th a year earlier, even though its score rose to 58.74 from 58.32 — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
