FIRB enjoins BOI to finalize SIPP by January 2022

The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has enjoined the Board of Investments (BOI), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to finalize the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) by January 2022.

The SIPP will determine the priority industries, projects and activities that can be granted fiscal incentives by the government under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.

In the meeting of the Cabinet-level interagency board on Dec. 15, Finance Secretary and FIRB Chairman Carlos Dominguez III emphasized that the release and publication of the SIPP will serve only as the first step in attracting potential investors.

During the meeting, Dominguez said, “As I have said before, once the categories are identified, the next step is for each of the investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to identify the specific companies they want to invite, and then discuss with them what it would take for them to invest in the country.”

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who co-chairs the FIRB, agreed with Secretary Dominguez.

He also emphasized that the current SIPP is effective but a transitional one, based on the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) of the BOI.

Thus, he directed the BOI to finalize the SIPP for presentation to the Board this month, considering that a number of industry studies and parameters have already been considered in the drafting. (DOF)