Representative Office Registration in Philippines

Learn More about Representative Office Setup in Philippines

The representative office, also known as the liaison office, is a business structure established as an extension of the parent foreign company under foreign laws where the parent company is registered. Secure your business interests by choosing the best business structure for your parent foreign corporation through our professional services, allowing for business expansion through representative office registration in  Philippines.

Representative office registration in Philippines allows you to bridge the gap between the parent company and the potential partners and clients existing in the Philippines. The following are the attributes necessary for representative office registration in Philippines:

• Must be registered with the Securities Exchange Commission of the Philippines
• Must not contain a separate legal personality
• Not allowed to source income from the Philippines
• Cannot offer services to the third party
• It must be physically located in the Philippines
• It is entirely subsidized by its parent company, which yearly remits at least US $3,000
• Is not accountable to register for PEZA or BOI
• Must be regulated by the foreign laws where the parent company is registered
• It must be engaged in non-income-generating activities, etc.

Mandatory Compliance for Representative Office in Philippines

Our services for representative office registration in Philippines ensure duly compliance with specific mandatory legal requirements for successfully extending the business operations of the parent company&rsquos expanding their business in the Philippines.

What to do?

The Philippine laws oblige the representative offices to carry out the following business activities concerned to duly comply with the legal know-how of what a representative office in Philippines must do:

• Directly deals with the clients of the parent company
• Conducts market research
• Ensures product promotion for clients
• Performs to undertake activities associated with information dissemination
• Extends bars for quality control for the exported products
• Facilitates the orders of the clients
• Ensures other administrative activities for the regulation of its parent company
• Promotes parent companies in building new business connections
• Secures providing timely customer support to its existing customers
• Ensures coordination with the parent company and other branches
• Provides information regarding the present market trend in the Philippines
• Undertakes accounting tasks for the parent company
• Executes data entry
• Authorized to engage in only non-trading business activities, etc.

What not to do?

The representative office registered in the Philippines is prohibited from carrying out certain business activities in the Philippines. The prohibition extends to the following activities:

• Prohibited from engaging in any commercial or trading activities
• Not obliged to income tax
• Not allowed to enter and sign contracts in their business name
• Must not generate revenue from business activities, whether accruing in or outside the Philippines
• Prohibited to provide services to the third party
• Prohibited to apply for tax incentives, etc.

Why Choose Representative Office Registration in Philippines?

The foreign parent companies enjoy choosing the representative office registration in Philippines due to several advantages, as provided below:

• Attracts low expense for setting up
• Enables market research for the parent companies
• Ensures product promotion
• Creates brand awareness
• Promotes business development in Philippines
• All the liabilities are born by the parent company
• Subject to tax exemption
• Business setup is feasible
• Outsource their internal operations
• Ensures services for bookkeeping and accounting
• Manages administrative functions
• Enables 100% foreign ownership
• No mandatory shareholders are required
• Allows establishment of legal presence in the Philippines, etc.

Checklist for Representative Office in Philippines

Our services at Enterslice ensure the creation of a mandatory checklist for representative office registration in Philippines. Every representative office in the Philippines ensures its business registration under the guidance of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

1. Appointing a Resident Agent

The first mandatory legal requirement for the appointment of a resident agent is secured with our comprehensive services. The appointed agent must be a resident of the Philippines who holds corporate responsibility for ensuring the receipt of notices and summons and conducting mandatory legal procedures for the established representative office. The registered agents are appointed by the Board Resolution and an agreement of the Board of Directors holding the permission to attest and sign all the legal documents on behalf of the parent company.

2. Choosing the Official Business Location

Our services emphasize using a determined strategy for securing successful representative office registration in Philippines by choosing the right place or location for reserving your business or office address registered or established in the Philippines. In fact, you can also rent a virtual office to carry out the official activities during the registration process. The proof of the contract of lease or certificate of land title is mandatory for successful registration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Local Government Units.

3. Minimum Capital Requirement

The minimum paid capital required for the representative office registration in Philippines amounts to an annual remittance of approx. 30,000 USD for supporting the business expansion carried forward by the foreign parent company.

4. Mandatory Documentation

The services of Enterslice are designed to secure your representative office registration in Philippines. The services include drafting and compilation of necessary legal documents for securing a successful business license in Philippines:

1. The facsimile of the SEC application form no. F-104
2. The certified facsimile of the Board Resolution of the parent company authorizing the representative office registration in Philippines
3. The facsimile of the audited financial statement of the parent company
4. The facsimile of the duly enforced articles of incorporation of the parent company
5. The facsimile of the bank deposit certificate
6. The facsimile of the inward capital remittance certificate
7. The facsimile of the appointment acceptance letter by the resident agent
8. The facsimile of an affidavit of solvency
9. The facsimile of the name verification slip
10. The facsimile of the registration data sheet
11. The facsimile of the certificate of endorsement from the appropriate government agencies of the Philippines, etc.

5. No Tax Mandates

The non-income-generating representative office registered in Philippines is fully exempted from the payment of income tax and the Value Added Tax. However, a withholding and fringe benefits tax is attracted on remittances made to its foreign parent company under established provisions of the Philippines' Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act.

6. Recognition for Investment

In the next step, our professionals keenly target the mandatory recognition from the investment board, which prohibits holding foreign ownership in certain industries or sectors. The investment recognition grants enable compliance with the negative list of foreign investments.

7. Timeline for Business Extension

The business expansion through a representative office registration in Philippines takes approx 6 to 10 weeks after the timely compliance with the Documentwork and no government delays.

How Enterslice Registers Your Representative Office in Philippines?

Are you looking forward to business expansion in the Philippines? If yes, choose Enterslice services to enjoy the benefits of registering a representative office in Philippines. Our business expansion services also expand towards branch office registration in the Philippines.

Many registered foreign parent companies get confused about the choice between branch office and representative office registration in Philippines. Both entities aim to operate business activities in the Philippines, which is simplified through our services, securing the following procedure for representative office registration in Philippines.

1. Ensures Business Name Reservation

Our team of professionals at Enterslice advises and assists the parent companies to secure and reserve a name for their business expansion through the detailed corporate registry under the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines. Since the parent company already holds a business name, our services ensure the name is registered with the respective authorities of the Philippines.

2. Files an Application Form

In the next step, we ensure the filing of Form F-104 under the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines, which includes the following information concerning the reserved name: date of incorporation, term of existence, purpose of the office, outstanding capital stock at the corporation, location of registered office, details of the registered agent, directors, and other officers employed in a representative office in  Philippines.

The filing of Form F-104 is considered crucial documentation for successfully establishing the representative office in the Philippines. The application is supported by the mandatory attested documents listed under our detailed services.

3. Secures a Certificate of Registration

The next step is to secure your Certificate of Registration from the respective government authorities. The certificate of registration is granted after proper verification and evaluation of the processed documents which enables the representative office to start doing business in Philippines. After obtaining the SEC registration certificate, our services also emphasize obtaining the registration certificate with the Records Division of the Philippines.

4. Ensures Opening of Corporate Bank Account

Our comprehensive services enable your registered representative office to open a corporate bank account in the Philippine-recognized bank. Opening a corporate bank account simplifies and facilitates the representative office in securing its depository transactions in Philippines.

5. Register with the BIR

Upon completing the registration process for a representative office, you are also required to secure the BIR ruling mandates with the respective tax authorities of the Philippines through our corporate services, which ensure formal registration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue to obtain the Tax Identification Number (TIN).

6. Application for Business Licenses

Our detailed guidance for representative office registration in Philippines ensures the business interest of the foreign parent companies by applying to obtain necessary business licenses and permits from the local government units where the representative office is registered. Following are the licenses secured through our services:

• Mayor&rsquos permit obtained through the local municipal hall
• Barangay Clearance Certificate obtained under the Barangay Hall
• Business permit to Operate in the Philippines
• Obtain a community tax certificate
• Fire permit
• Occupancy permit, etc.

7. Register Local Employees

The rules and regulations laid by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) enable the registered representative offices of the Philippines to appoint local employees with expertise in promotional and organizational activities in the Philippines. The registered representative office employing local employees must be registered under the following government agencies:

• The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
• The Social Security System of the Philippines
• The Home Development Mutual Fund of the Philippines
• Application for work VISA with the respective authorities.

Embark Your Business Expansion Journey with Enterslice

The professionals at Enterslice's vision to establish a representative office in Philippines under the following factors to determine the target market, evaluate the infrastructural development and the business climate of the locality, consider the high-traffic areas, the labour cost and rental prices, understand the customer demographics and the tax regulations and other government policies, and ensures the proper power supply, stable internet connectivity, investment opportunities and the workforce availability in the locality.

Our spectrum of services secures your corporate interest by targeting the business expansion through the representative office registration in Philippines. We suggest you embark on your business expansion journey with our detailed services offering for representative office registration in Philippines:

• Simplified process for representative office registration in Philippines
• Employs highly-trained professionals holding expertise in cross-border company registration
• Holds expertise in the local markets of the Philippines
• Ensure payroll processing services
• Secures and simplifies VISA processing in the Philippines
• Secured services for corporate bank account opening
• Structures your representative office in Philippines
• Determines the legal identity for your representative office registration in Philippines
• Enables services for drafting AOI and by-laws
• Reserves the name for your representative office registration in Philippines
• Ensures opening a treasurer-in-trust account for your representative office in Philippines
• Applies for mandatory business licenses and permits
• Enables services for appointing residents and other corporate agents
• Provides booking and accounting services
• Secures drafting contracts for employees, etc.