The Bangsamoro Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) in partnership with the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), facilitated a 2-day workshop and briefing session on the Republic Act No. 11534 also known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, last April 16-17, 2024, at Paragon Hotel, Cotabato City.

 

This training program aimed to equip BEZA with a comprehensive understanding of the mandates granted to it as an Investment Promotion Agency (IPA). This will enable BEZA to effectively offer both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives within BARMM’s economic zones.

 

Also joining with the personnel and staff of BEZA, are the selected personnel from Polloc Freeport and Ecozone (PFEZ) and local government officials from Cotabato City.

 

In his opening message, BEZA Executive Director Atty. Sukarno A. Abas said that this workshop aims to capacitate the employees of BEZA, PFEZ, and Cotabato City LGU with technical knowledge on how to handle fiscal and non-fiscal incentives granted to locators and ecozone developers within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

 

“We have to recognize the fact we need to arm our personnel in BEZA with skills on the regulatory and processes of ecozone management, the same goes for the developers (PFEZ and Cotabato City LGU). We just hope this activity will provide us with the necessary technical know-how when it comes to granting incentives,” he added.

 

The first day of the workshop covered topics including an overview of the Create Act and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), the requirements and processes involved in applying for incentives for projects or activities, performance commitments, and the certificate of registration (COR), the general and specific terms and conditions, the cost-benefit analysis (CBA), and related queries. Throughout the day, several questions and issues related to these topics were raised and clarified.

 

Moreover, highlighting the second day of training was the overview of the Certificate of Entitlement to Tax Incentives (CETI), Certificate of Authority to Import (CAI), and the overview of the Fiscal Incentives Registration and Monitoring System (FIRMS) and its features.

 

As part of this workshop, the participants were able to visualize the procedure for coming up with the cost-benefit analysis using the data from the Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs) and have a quick view of the step-by-step process of filling in the forms in the FIRMS.

 

It could be recalled that BEZA has recently been acknowledged as an Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) by the FIRB. Consequently, the agency now has the full authority to grant fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to investors and companies that are keen on setting up or establishing their businesses in the BARMM economic zones. Hence, the success of these training sessions is crucial for empowering BEZA to fulfill its role as an IPA in BARMM.

 

In her closing remarks, Atty. Jocet Consisa Dita, Attorney V of FIRB, expressed her gratitude for the warm welcome of BEZA, stating “Your hospitality has made this technical assistance learning engagement a very productive and enjoyable one. We would like to congratulate BEZA for the progress made in operationalizing the provisions of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The door of FIRB is always open for questions, clarifications, and requests for technical assistance,” she added.