DTI urges stall, sari-sari store owners to register with Business Registry

By Susan G. De Leon

Saturday 16th of June 2012

QUEZON CITY, June 16 (PIA) -- The Department of Trade & Industry urged tiangge and sari-sari store owners to register with the Philippine Business Registry (PBR) to legalize their businesses and reap benefits from government services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Tiangges and sari-sari stores are considered part of the “underground economy” due to its small business size and are usually not registered with appropriate government agencies.

In a news release, DTI Undersecretary for Consumer Welfare and Business Regulation Group (CWBRG) Zenaida Maglaya said that all kinds of businesses, whether large or small scale should register so that they can avail of government services and use their registered business name in marketing their business.

DTI has made it easier for entrepreneurs to register their businesses through the PBR, which was launched last March in all DTI field offices to accommodate transactions for new business registrations.

According to Maglaya, a transaction will only take 15-30 minutes and will involve only a two-page PBR application form.
Maglaya said a micro-business pays only for the business name (BN) registration, in which the amount depends on the preferred business name scope.

A micro-entrepreneur, for example, who wishes to confine the right to use his/her BN within a barangay will pay P200 for registration; within a city/municipality, P500; within a region, P1,000; and national, P2,000.

"There is no additional charge for application for the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Employer Registration Numbers (ERNs) from the Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), and PhilHealth," Maglaya added. (DTI/RJB/SDL-PIA NCR)