GUIDELINES ON THE REGISTRATION UNDER
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 226
OR TOURISTLAND TRANSPORT OPERATIONS
(TOURIST BUSES)
A.COVERAGE
Tourist land transport operations shall cover the business of transporting tourists (domestic and foreign) throughout the country using land transport units with the following specifications:
1.Tourist Buses/Coaches – fully equipped with air-conditioning units, audio equipment (sound system), either monocoque or chassis-type body construction with a minimum seating capacity of forty (40) passengers.
2.Mini-Tourist Buses – fully equipped with air-conditioning units and audio equipment (sound system), with a seating capacity of at least twenty (20).
B.QUALIFIED APPLICANTS
1.New and expanding operators shall be eligible for registration.
2.Applicant must be a Filipino individual, partnership or corporation with foreign ownership not exceeding forty percent (40%).
3.Applicant should be duly endorsed by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
C.REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
In addition to the normal Board of Investments (BOI) requirements, applicant should also submit proof of filing an application for franchise with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) prior to acceptance of application for registration. A copy of the LTFRB franchise shall be submitted to the Board within one (1) month from the start of commercial operation.
D.INCENTIVES AVAILABLE
1.Income Tax Holiday (Available to tourist operators without mass transport operation).
Registered enterprises shall be exempt from the payment of income taxes reckoned from the scheduled start of commercial operation as follows:
a)New projects for four (4) years.
b)Expansion projects for three (3) years
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E.REGISTRATION CONDITIONS
1.At least 50% of the buses covered by the registration (registered capacity) must be fielded within one (1) year from the date of registration; otherwise, the registered capacity shall be reduced to the number of buses fielded as of that date.
2.The bus units acquired with incentives shall be exclusively used to transport tourists (foreign and domestic) for a minimum of five (5) years from the date of acquisition. In case the registered enterprise shall use any bus unit for purposes other than providing transport services to tourists without prior Board approval and upon recommendation of the DOT, it shall pay a penalty equivalent to twice the amount of incentives that were availed of without prejudice to other penalties that may be applicable under existing laws.
3.The bus units to be acquired must be covered by a LTFRB franchise.
F.MONITORING
Registered tourist land transport operators shall comply with the reporting requirements of the BOI for this purpose. It shall submit reports on their operations, which shall include the following information:
Number of tourist passengers
Revenues generated
Number of operating units
Number of operating hours
Employment generation
G.EFFECTIVITY
These guidelines shall take effect immediately.
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GUIDELINES FOR THE REGISTRATION
AND ADMINISTRATION OF INCENTIVES
UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 226
OF TOURIST ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES
I.DEFINITIONS
1“TOURISTACCOMMODATIONFACILITIES” shall refer to any of the following:
1.1“HOTEL” shall mean the building, edifice or premises of a completely independent part thereof, which is used for the regular reception, accommodation or lodging of travelers and tourist and the provision of services incidental thereto for a fee. The facilities shall be in accordance with the minimum requirements in the DOT’s Rules and Regulations to Govern the Accreditation of Hotels.
1.2“APARTEL” shall mean any building or edifice containing several independent and furnished or semi-furnished apartments regularly leased to tourists and travelers for dwelling on a more or less long-term basis and offering basic services to its tenants, similar to hotels.
1.3“TOURISTINN” shall mean a lodging establishment catering to transients which does not meet the minimum requirements of an economy hotel.
1.4“PENSIONHOUSE” shall mean a private, domestic or family-operated tourist boarding house, tourist guest house and tourist lodging house employing non-professional domestic helpers, regularly catering to tourists and/or travelers, containing several independent lettable rooms providing common facilities such as toilets, bathrooms/showers, living and dining rooms and/or kitchen, and where a combination of board and lodging, may be provided.
1.5“RESORT” shall mean any place or places with pleasant environment and atmosphere conducive to comfort, healthful relaxation and rest, offering food, sleeping accommodations and recreational facilities to the public, for a fee or remuneration and which meet the minimum requirements imposed by DOT under its Rules and Regulations to Govern the Accreditation of Resorts. It shall, likewise, include special interest resorts with special interest activities such as but not limited to theme parks (which may or may not have accommodation facilities), eco-tourism projects or those involving environmentally sound tourism activities in a given ecosystem yielding socio-economic benefits and enhancing natural and cultural diversity conservation (e.g., spelunking, bird watching, mountain climbing, para-sailing, bunjee-jumping, etc.), convention, exhibition, and display centers.
2“EXPANSION” shall mean an addition of rooms to at least 25% of the existing rooms. Any increase in rooms less than 25% of the existing facilities shall only require an upward adjustment of existing capacity.
3“PIONEERSTATUS” shall be granted to projects which comply with the following minimum project cost:
aHotels
ElsewhereUS$ 100,000/room
In Less Developed AreaUS$ 50,000/room but not less than US$ 5 million/project
bResorts
ElsewhereUS$ 10.0/million project
In Less Develop AreaUS$ 5.0/million project
4NONPIONEERSTATUS shall be granted to all projects that do not meet the criteria for a pioneer status.
5“LESSDEVELOPEDAREAS” refer to the provinces reflected in the Investments Priorities Plan.
II.REGISTRATIONUNDERE.O.226
A.QUALIFICATIONS
1Individuals, partnerships or corporations proposing to engage in the operation of new tourist accommodation facilities, the expansion, and modernization and rehabilitation of existing establishments may qualify for registration.
2Operations of tourist accommodation facilities to the clientele to which shall be limited to an exclusive group such as clubs catering only to their members or guests thereof shall not be eligible for registration. Such facilities offering their facilities to tourists may, however, qualify for registration.
3All new and expanding tourist accommodation facilities shall be eligible for registration under E.O. 226 and the incentive thereof, except that those projects within Metro Manila shall enjoy capital equipment incentives only.
B.PROCEDUREFORREGISTRATION
1All applications for registration shall be filed with an endorsement from the Department of Tourism (DOT).
2The applications for registration shall include besides the information required under BOIFormNo. 501 (Application foe Registration), the DOT endorsement, a location map, a complete list of equipment to be acquired (local and imported) and the floor plan of the proposed tourist accommodation facility.
3All applications for registration shall be in accordance with Executive Order No. 226 and its implementing rules and regulations as well as the Investments Priorities Plan.
III.ADMINISTRATION OF INCENTIVES
1All applications for incentives of registered tourism-oriented enterprises shall be filed with and evaluated by the BOI in accordance with E.O. 226 and its implementing rules and regulations. The BOI, however, shall secure the comments and recommendation of the DOT or through its representative/s in the One-StopActionCenter (OSAC), BOI.
2IncomeTaxHoliday
Art. 39 (a) of the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987 fully exempts a new registered firm from income taxes levied by the National Government for a period of six (6) years from commercial operation for pioneer firms and four (4) years for non-pioneer firms.
An expanding firm may avail itself of this incentives for a period of three (3) years from commercial operation.
If tourist accommodation facilities are established in a less developed area, the enterprise shall enjoy the incentives accorded to pioneer enterprises, i.e., an income tax holiday for six (6) years and tax credit for expenses in infrastructure pursuant to Article 20 of E.O. 226.
3Employment of Foreign Nationals under Article 39 (h) of E.O. 266. The provisions of the Revised Joint Circular of the Department of Tourism, Department of Labor and Employment and the Bureau of Immigration on the employment of foreign nationals in the functions specified hereto, however, shall be strictly observed.
IV.MONITORINGANDSUPERVISION
In accordance with the provisions of E.O. 226, registered enterprises shall strictly adhere to the general and specific terms and conditions of registration. Non-compliance shall be subject to fines and penalties in accordance with Rule XXVIII of E.O. No. 226 Implementing Rules and Regulations.
GUIDELINES FOR THE REGISTRATION OF
MODERNIZATION/REHABILITATION PROJECTS
FOR TOURIST ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES
Pursuant to Heading IV, F Part I of the 1997 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), the following guidelines for the registration of modernization/rehabilitation projects for tourist accommodation facilities.
A.COVERAGE
Modernization shall mean the modification/upgrading and/or restoration to the original condition the facilities/structures /amenities of tourist accommodation facilities (hotels, resorts, inns, etc) to conform with the classification requirements of the Department of Tourism (DOT) for accreditation purposes.
B.QUALIFICATION OF APPLICANTS
1Operators of tourist accommodation facilities shall be eligible for registration under E.O. 226.
2Applicants should be duly endorsed by the DOT.
3Foreign-owned enterprises may be registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) provided that they meet the minimum project cost requirement of P300,000 per room.
C.PROCEDURE/CONDITION FOR REGISTRATION
1All applications for registration shall be filed with an endorsement from the DOT.
2The application for registration shall include, besides the information under BOI Form 501 (Application for Registration), the DOT endorsement, a location map, a complete list of facilities/capital equipment to be acquired (local and imported) and the floor plan of the proposed modernization/rehabilitation of the tourist accommodation facility.
3Applications for registration shall be in accordance with E.O. 226 and its implementing rules and regulations as well as the IPP.
D.ADMINISTRATION OF INCENTIVES
1in addition to the specific qualifications provided herein, applications for incentives availment shall be subject to normal BOI procedures, requirements, rules and regulations governing such applications.
2It is understood that the equipment to be imported/acquired with incentives shall be in accordance with the set of standards set forth by the DOT under its Rules and Regulations to Govern the Accreditation of Hotels, Tourist Inns, Motels, Apartelles, Resorts, Pension Houses and other Accommodation Establishments.
E.INCENTIVES AVAILABLE
Registered modernization projects shall only be entitled to the following limited incentives under E. O. 226 as amended y R.A. 7918:
1Income Tax Holiday (ITH)
1.1Only projects located outside Metro Manila can avail of the ITH incentive.
1.2Qualified projects can avail of the ITH for three (3) years which shall be applied to the incremental income resulting from the increase in capacity due to modernization.
FREGISTRATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PROVISIONS FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
1The registration of the projects shall be subject to terms and conditions imposed by the BOI without prejudice to the terms and conditions that the DOT will require upon proper coordination with BOI.
2Violation of terms and conditions of BOI registration shall constitute a ground for cancellation of registration with refund of incentives; and/or subject the registered enterprise to suspension of incentives availment and the imposition of fines and other penalties provided under E.O. 226 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
GEFFECTIVITY
These guidelines shall take effect immediately.