The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI)

The Philippine Board of Investments or BOI is known as the Philippine Government’s primary investment arm. The BOI provides tax breaks, among other incentives, to companies that are registered with them and are functioning in activities that are identified as investment priorities or those who are promoting the general economic development of the Philippines.

Companies that are export oriented are also included in the list of companies that can register with BOI. To determine if a company is export oriented the company must export more than 50% of production. In cases that the enterprise is more than 40% owned, however, they must be exporting more than 70% of their production.

The main advantage for those who are eligible to register with BOI are:

• 4-8 year income tax holidays

• 4-6 year exemption from local business taxes (Pioneer and non-pioneer industries)

Pioneer and Non-Pioneer projects

Pioneer and Non-Pioneer projects have different requirements. Completely foreign owned enterprises can avail of the incentives offered by BOI if they engage in pioneer projects that export at least 70% of their total production or if they undertake projects in less-developed areas of the country which are identified by the BOI. These types of enterprises are then required to be 60% Filipino ownership within 30 years of registration with BOI unless they would be exporting or are exporting 100% of their production.

For Non-Pioneer projects that are done by enterprises, there is a limit to foreign ownership. Unless the enterprise exports more than 70% of its annual production, foreign ownership is limited to 40%.