ARTA sets its sights on streamlining government process on Starting a Business: End-to-end registration and unified form underway

By DTI-CEODBG-CB
July 26, 2018

MAKATI CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry, as the temporary secretariat of Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is now focusing on streamlining government procedures for business registration by developing an end-to-end business registration and unified application form, heeding the President’s directive to implement Republic Act 11032, also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

The President, during his SONA directed all local government units and national government agencies to faithfully implement this law and simplify government process. “I particularly call the attention of the agencies with the [most] number of red tape-related reports from the public, make your services truly customer-friendly. Our people deserve efficient, effective, and responsive government services. They deserve nothing less.” said the President.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, who concurrently chairs the Ease of Doing Business and Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council (EODB-ARTAC) pointed to burdensome business registration process, which is a subject of frequent complaints by the public. “It takes 16 steps and 28 days to start a business in the country, compared to three steps and 2.5 days in Singapore according to the World Bank Doing Business Report. In Singapore, because of online procedure, an applicant will be able to register, do a company search, incorporate and register with the inland revenue authority, in less than one day. We need to improve and be the number one”, the DTI Secretary said.

According to Secretary Lopez, this is the reason Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is now implementing Project One: One Form, One Number, One Portal. This aims to develop innovative systems that will drastically streamline business registration process and will provide a pleasant business customer experience that is easy, not confusing nor cumbersome. Project One promotes bureaucratic singularity through whole of government approach and addresses governance concern on data sharing, data accuracy, access to data, and privacy issues.

Secretary Lopez also mentioned that one of the three outputs of Project One is an application for an end-to-end business registration that allows business owners to complete their registration using a unified form using mobile application.

“We will see in the near future that one can register their business online – using mobile phone. All the entrepreneur need to do is fill up one form upload the requirements and let technology do the rest. We want to do away with the several forms an applicant need to accomplish. You need to concentrate more on your business than get stressed by your business permit” told Secretary Lopez.

The DTI reported that this initiative is in line with the Strategic Action Plan for SME Development (SAPSMED) 2025, particularly the Work Programme on “Starting a Business in ASEAN” (2016-2025) with following objectives:

- Enhance transparency and improve orientation on administrative procedures.

- Develop effective coordination among government agencies in the business start-up process including one-stop-shop agencies/ single agency.

- Promote simplification, rationalization of business registration and upgrading of national company registers.

The DTI Secretary stated that the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will greatly benefit from end-to-end business registration. “The President reiterated the crucial role of the MSMEs in economic development. We understand MSMEs bear the negative impact of bureaucratic red tape. The end-to-end business registration is geared towards supporting our MSMEs, making it convenient for them to start a business,” told Secretary Lopez.