Services Provided
- Department of Trade and Industry Registration Certificate
- Tax Registration Certificate 2303
- TIN Tax Card
- Bank Account
- SEC Company Registration Documents
- BIR-2303 Bureau of Internal Revenue Registration Document
- BUSINESS PERMIT Business License
- Bank Corporate Peso Account Online Banking
- Tax Ledger
- Tax Receipts (Invoice Book)
- Social Security and Housing Fund Accounts
- SEC Company Registration Documents
- BIR-2303 Bureau of Internal Revenue Registration Document
- BUSINESS PERMIT Business License
- Bank Corporate Peso Account Online Banking
- Tax Ledger
- Tax Receipts (Invoice Book)
- Social Security and Housing Fund Accounts
- SEC Company Registered Address Hosting
- Philippine Shareholder Hosting
- Philippine Corporate Secretary Hosting
🇵🇭 Philippines: An English-Speaking Market with Lowering Barriers
YIMING GLOBAL Helping You Set Up in the Philippines with Ease
Focusing on the Philippine market, we specialize in local foreign investment access policies and compliance services. Suitable for various structures such as OPC/regular corporations, our professional team provides one-stop services for SEC registration, mayor’s permit, and tax filing, avoiding core risks related to shareholder qualifications, registered capital, notarization, and certification. Leveraging the high English proficiency advantage, we help you efficiently enter the Philippine local market and set up your business smoothly.
Key Advantages of Registration in the Philippines
- High English proficiency market in Southeast Asia, zero language barriers for business communication
- Open foreign investment policies, 100% ownership threshold for export-oriented companies as low as $5,000
- Flexible corporate structures, supporting OPC wholly-owned companies, branches, representative offices, and other forms
- Benefits from the CREATE Act, allowing SMEs to enjoy a 20% corporate income tax rate
Choose the Right Entity: What Type of Philippine Company Should You Register?
Sole Proprietorship Company (One Person Corporation, OPC)
✅ Allows a single natural person (including foreigners) to be the sole shareholder and director
✅ 100% control over decision-making, with limited liability protection
⚠️ A substitute director must be designated; some license approvals are more stringent
Ordinary Limited Company (Domestic Corporation)
✅ Only 2-15 shareholders required, foreign capital holding >40% is defined as a foreign-invested company
✅ 60/40 structure (foreign investment ≤40%) can lower the registered capital threshold
✅ Suitable for long-term localized operations of domestic sales-oriented enterprises
Branch Office
ℹ️ Extension of overseas headquarters, no independent legal entity status
ℹ️ Subject to a $200,000 capital limit, the headquarters' financial statements need to be audited
ℹ️ Can carry out business operations, suitable for mature enterprises to expand
Representative Office
ℹ️ Only for contact, promotion, and after-sales; generating any income is prohibited
ℹ️ The headquarters needs to transfer a minimum of $30,000 as initial operating funds
ℹ️ Suitable for early-stage market research and business connections
DTI Business Name Registration (Sole Proprietorship)
ℹ️ Not an independent legal entity, the legal subject is the owner themselves
ℹ️ Registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), not filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
ℹ️ Exclusively owned by a single natural person, suitable for small and micro individual businesses
Rigid Thresholds: Core Requirements for Registering a Company in the Philippines
Key Role Requirements (Excluding DTI)
1. Chairman (President): Must be one of the shareholders, no nationality restrictions, it is recommended to hold a Philippine long-term visa to facilitate signing documents
2. Corporate Secretary:Must be a Filipino citizen and a permanent resident of the Philippines, responsible for maintaining company records and issuing board resolutions
3. Financial Supervisor (Treasurer):Must be a resident of the Philippines(Foreigners must hold local residency), responsible for fund management and tax declaration
Registered Capital Requirements (Paid-up Capital)
Legal bottom line: only needed5,000 pesos, but the thresholds for domestic and foreign sales businesses differ greatly
🚧 Practical operation grading recommendation:
▪ Export-oriented enterprises (more than 60% of products are exported): very low threshold,You can register with around $5,000 and hold 100% of the shares
▪ Domestic-oriented enterprise (operating in the local market):
Fully foreign-owned company: registered capital must reach$200,000, the retail industry needs to pay $500,000 in actual payments; non-retail industries currently do not need to make actual payments
Joint venture company (Philippine side holds ≥60%): minimum registered capital 5,000 pesos, conventional practice recommends 1 million pesos
🔴 Key Reminder: The registered capital threshold is directly related to the proportion of foreign ownership and the type of business, so the structure needs to be planned in advance.Standard Registration Roadmap
SEC Securities and Exchange Commission Registration
Submit the company's articles of association, list of shareholders and identification documents, proof of registered capital, and obtain the 'Certificate of Company Registration'
Barangay Street Office Permit
Provide the SEC receipt, lease contract, and legal representative's ID to obtain street-level business permits
Mayor’s Permit
Through fire safety and health inspections, submit the complete set of materials, and it takes 2-4 weeks to obtain the core business credentials.
BIR Tax Office Tax Registration
Complete the verification of the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), register the tax type, and obtain the 'Tax Registration Certificate' and the invoice purchase permit
Bank account opening
Carry the complete set of registration documents, choose local banks such as BDO/BPI to open a corporate account, and handle fund transactions after activation.
Required Registration Documents Checklist
Basic Information (Individual Shareholders/Directors/Supervisors)
- Color scan of passport (valid for ≥18 months, clearly showing name, photo, and signature)
- Scanned copies of both sides of the national ID card (Chinese shareholders provide their ID card)
- Proof of address for the past 3 months (bank statement/utility bill, consistent with the declared information)
- Half-body photo holding a passport (face unobstructed, solid color background) Handwritten signature sample
Special Materials (Individual/Company Shareholders)
- Individual shareholders: Statement of source of funds (signed by hand, no notarization required); Local shareholders must provide a copy of their TIN
- Company shareholders: Business license/registration certificate, articles of association, register of directors and shareholders, audit report for the past year
- Company shareholders: Board resolution (authorized investment, designated representative), authorized representative's identification and KYC documents
- Company shareholders: bank credit certificate for the past 6 months (showing normal account status)
Notarization and certification requirements
- Overseas documents must be translated into English and stamped by a professional institution for confirmation
- Hague Member States Documents: Apostille
- Documents from non-Hague member states: notarized locally→ certified by the Department of Foreign Affairs→ authenticated by the Philippine Embassy
- The agent must provide a notarized and authenticated Power of Attorney (POA)
Additional documentation and compliance explanations
✅ All scanned copies are in PDF format, watermark-free, and tamper-free, with file size controlled within 5MB;
✅ The register of directors and shareholders provided by the company shareholders must indicate the shareholding ratio, term of office, and be stamped with the company seal;
✅ The lease address must provide a contract with a lease term of ≥ 1 year and a copy of the landlord's Barangay permit;
✅ Notarized certification documents must be submitted within the validity period to ensure they have legal effect in the Philippines.
Tax compliance: the core cornerstone of operating in the Philippines
The Philippine Bureau of Revenue (BIR) is strictly supervised, and tax compliance is a core prerequisite for long-term business operations. The core types of taxes and requirements are as follows:
Corporate Income Tax (CIT)
Standard tax rate25%； Small and medium-sized enterprises with annual turnover ≤ 50 million pesos, total assets of ≤ 100 million pesos, and ≤ 200 employees20%Preferential tax rates
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Standard tax rate12%, covering most goods sales and services; Livelihood goods/educational services are tax-exempt; Declared quarterly, with annual final settlement
Withholding Tax
Dividend Distribution: 25% for non-residents / 10% for residents; Interest/royalties: 20%-25% for non-residents / 5%-10% for residents; Service fees: 1%-2% for resident enterprises
Core compliance considerations
Invoices can be applied for within 30 days of tax registration; Monthly/quarterly declarations must be completed on schedule; Financial vouchers for 3-5 years should be retained for inspection; Micro enterprises may apply for a 3% proportional tax to replace value-added tax
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