GUIDELINES ON THE REGISTRATION UNDER
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 226
OR TOURIST LAND 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
1
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:
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Number of tourist passengers
Revenues generated
Number of operating units
Number of operating hours
Employment generation
G. EFFECTIVITY
These guidelines shall take effect immediately.
2
GUIDELINES FOR THE REGISTRATION
AND ADMINISTRATION OF INCENTIVES
UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 226
OF TOURIST ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES
I.
DEFINITIONS
1 “TOURIST ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES” 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
“TOURIST INN” shall mean a lodging establishment catering to
transients which does not meet the minimum requirements of an
economy hotel.
1.4
“PENSION HOUSE” shall mean a private, domestic or familyoperated 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
“PIONEER STATUS” shall be granted to projects which comply with the
following minimum project cost:
a
Hotels
Elsewhere
In Less Developed Area
b
Resorts
Elsewhere
In Less Develop Area
II.
US$ 100,000/room
US$ 50,000/room but not less
than US$ 5 million/project
US$ 10.0/million project
US$ 5.0/million project
4
NON PIONEER STATUS shall be granted to all projects that do not meet
the criteria for a pioneer status.
5
“LESS DEVELOPED AREAS” refer to the provinces reflected in the
Investments Priorities Plan.
REGISTRATION UNDER E.O. 226
A. QUALIFICATIONS
1
Individuals, 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.
2
Operations 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.
3
All 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. PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION
III.
1
All applications for registration shall be filed with an endorsement
from the Department of Tourism (DOT).
2
The applications for registration shall include besides the information
required under BOI Form No. 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.
3
All 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.
ADMINISTRATION OF INCENTIVES
1
All 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-Stop Action Center
(OSAC), BOI.
2
Income Tax Holiday
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.
3
IV.
Employment 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.
MONITORING AND SUPERVISION
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
1
Operators of tourist accommodation facilities shall be eligible for
registration under E.O. 226.
2
Applicants should be duly endorsed by the DOT.
3
Foreign-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
1
All applications for registration shall be filed with an endorsement
from the DOT.
2
The 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.
3
Applications 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
1
in 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.
2
It 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:
1
Income Tax Holiday (ITH)
1.1
Only projects located outside Metro Manila can avail of the
ITH incentive.
1.2 Qualified 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.
F REGISTRATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PROVISIONS
FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
1
The 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.
2
Violation 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.
G EFFECTIVITY
These guidelines shall take effect immediately.