The Permits and Licensing Division of Bacolod City is now starting to distribute business permits application forms for 2008 to allow establishments in the city to process their documents early.

“The early issuance of business application forms will enable business establishments to obtain advance clearances from concerned departments/offices, thus reducing processing time in January,” Permits and Licensing Officer Ardis Jaculina said.

Clearances may be obtained in advance from the following department/offices: City Health Office, for sanitary permit and health cards; City Planning and Developing Office, for zoning clearance; City Veterinarian Office, for pork and meat and other poultry products;

Office of the Building Official, for building occupancy; Barangay Clearance, from respective barangays; and City Tourism Office, for evaluation of categories for tourism-related establishments.

To apply for business permit, needed are community tax certificate (single proprietorship) and community certificate number for corporations.

New business permit applicants are required to submit additional requirements, including Securities and Exchange Commission registration and Articles of Incorporation; Department of Trade and Industry business name registration for sole proprietorship and Cooperative Development Authority registration (for cooperative);

Those seeking for permit renewal should submit Social Security System clearance, Bureau of Internal Revenue certificate of payment, and license to operate from government agencies concerned.

Jaculina said earlier this year the Permits and Licensing Division want to ensure the installation of a computerized system by December in preparation for the "One-Stop-Shop" at the BAYS Center in January to reduce processing time to less than an hour. The "One-Stop-Shop" business permits processing of Bacolod City won the ANVIL national award for its excellence in business performance during the national convention of the League of Cities of the Philippines in Manila last year.

Those who wish for more information, may call 435-2606 or 433-3795.*

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