Regional Operating Headquarters Registration in Philippines

What is Regional Operating Headquarters?

Regional Operating Headquarters, which stands for ROHQ, is a foreign legal business entity deriving income by providing qualifiable forms of services to affiliates, subsidiaries, clients, and other branches enrolled in the Philippines. The Regional Operating Headquarters in Philippines must be registered and operated in consonance with the laws of the Philippines. The Republic Act no. 8756, enacted in the year 1999, lays clear provisions authorizing multinational companies for the Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines. The ROHQ registration in Philippines allows foreign business entities to have expertise in the export market, general administration, data processing, business coordination, business planning, raw material retention, corporate finance advisory, market and sales promotion, maintaining logistics, training services, personnel management, technical support, and business development acumen for deriving income in the Philippines. The Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines must be conducted under the aegis of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines.

Incentives for the ROHQ registration in Philippines

Various incentives attracting the Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines are streamlined as follows:

• Fiscal incentives exempting from local tax, fees, and charges;
• Importation of brand-new vehicles;
• Duty-free importation of materials for conferences and household goods;
• Non-fiscal incentives offering multiple entry visas for children below 21 years of age and unmarried;
• Exemption of travel tax;
• Early processing of special non-immigrant visas within 3 working days immediately after submission of legal requirements at the office of the Bureau of Immigration;
• Freedom of foreign aliens to pay via reefs (Except the administrative cost);
• A preferential rate of tax at 15% on salaries and annuities;
• Obtaining the Alien Certificate of Registration or ACR ID card is not mandatory;
• Obtaining an immigration clearance certificate, i.e., ECC, is not mandatory;
• Provides a development infrastructure facility for foreign corporations;
• Ensures Supervision, communication, and coordination with the subsidiaries, branches, and affiliates of the foreign corporations.

Essential Pre-Registration Requirements for ROHQs in the Philippines

The foreign companies or the multinational companies willing for the Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines must mandatorily fulfil the following pre-registration requirements as discussed below:

Appoint an Agent

Initially, the pre-registration procedure requires the foreign companies to appoint a registered agent accountable for receiving all the legal documents and handling the legal proceedings in favor of or against the ROHQ registration in Philippines. The registered agent must be a resident of the Philippines or a domestic corporation lawfully carrying their business operations in the Philippines. The appointment of the registered agent shall be done under the vigilance of the Board of Directors of the foreign corporation, passing a board resolution and executed agreement for the purpose stated above.

Ensure a Registered office address.

The next step requires holding a registered official address before starting the procedure for the Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines. The facsimile of the Contract of lease or tenancy (in case of rented property) and certificate of Land title (in case the property is owned) is also admissible at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and at the units of local governments also known as LGUs.

Minimum Capital Requirement

The ROHQ registration in Philippines requires inward remittance of at least 2 lakhs US dollars or equivalent evidenced by a bank certificate within 30 days of receiving the receipt of the Certificate of Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines.

Work in consonance with various restrictions.

Regional Operating Headquarters registered in the Philippines are restricted from offering services, directly or indirectly soliciting, and marketing goods and services to other entities irrespective of the affiliates, branches, and subsidiaries of its parent company.

Necessary documentation for Regional Operating Headquarters registration in Philippines

The list of necessary documents includes the following information that needs to be secured by every multinational corporation willing to register with the Regional Operating Headquarters in Philippines.

1. The facsimile of the name verification slip;
2. Proof of official business address;
3. The facsimile of the duly completed application form;
4. The facsimile of the Philippines Consulate or Embassy Certificate issued from the Philippine commercial office and the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the company’s home country;
5. The facsimile of the certificate of authority from the principal officer of the foreign company;
6. Proof of payment of inward remittance;
7. The facsimile of the registration data sheet;
8. The facsimile of the certificate of endorsement or clearance from any government agency;
9. The facsimile of the latest financial records explaining the head office’s solvency;

How to register a Regional Operating Headquarters in the Philippines

The ROHQ registration in Philippines is secured only after obtaining the license to do business through the Securities and Exchange Commission i.e., SEC in the Philippines.

Step 1: Reserve a name for the ROHQ

The first step mandatorily requires the foreign corporations to reserve a name for the manual registration of the Regional Operating Headquarters with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines. The reserved name containing a name verification slip is subject to renewal in every 30 days.

Step 2: Submit proof of Inward Remittance

The next step allows foreign corporations to submit a copy of inward remittance of at least 2 lakhs US dollars for supporting the paid-up capital and operating expenses of the Regional Operating Headquarters of the Philippines. The copy of the inward remittance should be accompanied similar to proof of payment from the local bank.

Step 3: Submit the BOI endorsement certificate

In the next step, foreign corporations are free to apply for the Certificate of endorsement of the Board of Investment (BOI) of the Philippines. The government agencies of the Philippines are the authority responsible for the issuance of the Certificate of Endorsement (if applicable).

Also, a certificate of verification for approval of the construction of the Regional Operating Headquarters in Philippines must be mandatorily received from the office of the Board of Directors or any other governing body of the international or foreign corporation.

Step 4: Pay the filing fees and submit relevant documents

The next step for ensuring the process of Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines requires for submission of the filing fees and relevant documents (including the application form, registration data sheet, and verification of international business and trade) as required for the official registration. The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines is the concerned authority responsible for entertaining the registration process by receiving and verifying the relevant documents submitted.

Step 5: Receive the Certificate of Registration

A certificate of registration must be issued from the office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines after the successful completion of all the necessary steps for registration of the Regional Operating Headquarters in Philippines, which certifies the foreign corporation for doing business in the Philippines.

Post-Registration Requirements for the ROHQ registration in Philippines

Certain other post-registration requirements are required to be fulfilled to ensure the smooth completion of the Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines, including:

Obtain business permits

The post-registration requirements allow the foreign corporations to obtain necessary business permits and licenses including the Barangay Certificate, Mayor’s Permit, community tax certificate, fire certificate, occupancy permit and other business permits under the aegis of the LGU i.e., local government units of the Philippines.

Post-legal requirements

Foreign corporations must also secure and fulfil other post-legal requirements necessary for the ROHQ registration in Philippines. A list of post-legal requirements includes:

1. Obtain a corporate tax number by registering with the Bureau of Internal Revenue of the Philippines;
2. Register the local employees with the agencies of the Social Security System, the Philippines Health Insurance Corporation, and the Home Development Mutual Fund as an employer;
3. Foreign directors, executives, and employees are free to apply for work visas.

Timeline for Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines

The Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines requires an approx. The period of 6-10 weeks is only in case the prerequisites for the ROHQ registration in Philippines are secured in a timely manner.

What Enterslice can provide

We at Enterslice mandate a wide network of the legal landscape for the smooth Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines. Enterslice, a leading force possessing international jurisdiction, operates with a team of experts and skilled legal professionals to smoothly facilitate the aspects of business incorporation in the Asia-Pacific region and various other parts of the world. Our comprehensive services tailoring the Regional operating headquarters registration in Philippines include:

• Time-effective procedure for the ROHQ registration in Philippines;
• Provides professional assistance under our team comprising of lawyers, chartered accountants, company secretaries, and other professionals;
• Assists in assigning local workforce in consonance with the labour laws;
• Simplifies the administrative procedure for the ROHQ registration in Philippines;
• Ensures efficient tax planning for foreign corporations;
• Ensures book-keeping and other financial services;
• Ensures corporate compliance during the ROHQ registration in Philippines;
• Offers post-registration services;
• Provides professional assistance in deciding the registration structure and timely registration of the office address.