DAVAO CITY—The Business Bureau announced that it would extend its working hours to the evening of the last day of the filing business permit application and renewal fees, on January 31, as it noted a swarm of taxpayers and business owners processing their applications as early as this week.
It said the extended hours of January 31 processing of their applications and payment of taxes would help others who may still be trapped in the deadline rush to avoid surcharges.
On January 31, the cut-off day for business permit processing for the year 2023, the Business Bureau would be extending its operating hours for its one-stop shops in the Sangguniang Panlungsod building and Almendras Gym from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., while the one-stop shop NCCC Mall Buhangin would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The one-stop shops in the Calinan Gym as well as the ones in the District Treasury Offices of Toril, Tugbok, and Bunawan would be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
But taxpayers would still have a lot of time between now and before the January 31 cutoff.
There are Business Bureau one-stop shops in the Sangguniang Panlungsod building, Almendras Gym, NCCC Mall Buhangin, Calinan Gym as well as in the District Treasury Offices in Toril, Tugbok, Bunawan, Baguio, Marilog, and Paquibato.
Business Bureau Head Maribel Paguican said operating hours in these locations were extended from Mondays to Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The bureau will also be operating on January 29, a Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
She said that for the first two working days of January, the Business Bureau was met with many business tax payers hoping to beat the deadline for business permit issuance.
“As of two days processing, we were able to generate 5,323 applications. If you compare that to last year’s performance, there is an increase of almost 1,000 in applications,” Paguican revealed on Thursday.
To make the permit application process more convenient, the Business Bureau called on taxpayers to process their permits online through the office’s online application system. She said online processing and payments will not only decongest the bureau’s processing centers but will also speed up the process for the applicants.
However, those who are unable to access the bureau’s online platform may go to the nearest Business Bureau one-stop shop. The one-stop shop is a streamlined processing service that aims to save taxpayer’s time and money by simplifying the business permit application process and removing unnecessary steps to the assessment process.
“We [eased on some of]our requirements, like the barangay clearance, which is no longer a requirement because it is already incorporated in our one-time assessment and one-time payment. No need to go to other locations. We call this a one-stop shop,” Paguican said.