The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported a 6-percent increase in registration of business names in the first half of the year boosted by online merchants as well as the ease of processing.
DTI undersecretary Jean Pacheco in a press briefing said the total number of businesses registered in January to June stood at 679, 118.
This comes after DTI registered a record number of business registrations in 2023 at 984,000.
Pacheco also reported DTI registered 48,242 companies under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Law as of the first half.
In 2023, BMBE registrants totalled 73,249.
Pacheco said the DTI has been working with online platforms on the exemption of the automatic withholding tax of merchants registered with BMBE law.
This should encourage more small businesses to register.
Digitalization of processes also boosted registration.
The DTI has made significant strides in streamlining business processes through digitalization initiatives.
These efforts have resulted in a 5.6 percent increase in online business name registrations from January to May 2024, with a total of 605,581 registrants.
The DTI 78 percent of business name transactions and 80 percent of business name payment collections were conducted online through the Business Name Registration System Next Generation (BNRS Next Gen).
BNRS Next Gen has also enhanced efficiency, allowing end-to-end online registration within eight minutes.
Additionally, the launch of the Philippine Online Dispute Resolution System has simplified consumer complaint reporting and tracking, while the DTI’s Integrated Registration Information System has achieved a 95.52 percent satisfaction rating in processing permits, licenses, and accreditations.
The BMBE Online system, launched in October 2022, has streamlined the registration process for BMBEs.
