Gov't raises IPAs project approval threshold to P15 B

The government has increased the investment capital threshold assigned to investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to P15 billion in a bid to promote the ease of doing business.

- LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

The Cabinet-level Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) issued a resolution hiking the investment capital threshold for projects delegated to IPAS to P15 billion and below.

Under the previous setup, IPAs approve the incentives of projects below P1 billion, while the FIRB selects the tax perks for business activities above P1 billion as mandated under Republic Act 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law.

"The board recognizes the need to increase the investment capital threshold to promote the ease of doing business in response to the concerns raised by some IPAS," the FIRB said.

"This is also to align with policy proposals in Congress, which seek to give more authority to the IPAs in granting incentives," it added.

The increase in the threshold may be enforced by the FIRB without the need to amend the Tax Code.