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It’s called BOSS, short for business one-stop shop, an initiative by the Quezon City Government that aims to lessen the burden of businessmen when securing business permit. Launched last Friday, officer-in-charge for the Business Permit and Licensing Office Pacifico F. Maghacot, Jr. said they are expecting to have at least 12,000 new businesses within the year with their new system. “The simplified procedures in licensing will drive individuals to invest or start a business,” he said.

Under the BOSS, Maghacot said that registrants can obtain a permit in nine minutes or a maximum of nine days if the business is requiring an ocular inspection, a process that took three weeks in the old system. “Before, the applicants had to go to all the officers like zoning official, building official, fire official, health and sanitation official, register the business and go to the city treasurer for payment which takes a long time,” he said.

In the new system, business applicants will just need to fill up a business application form, pay the corresponding fees to the city treasurer, and proceed to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Business Registry System. “All the steps are located in one office so the system is faster,” Maghacot said.

Location clearance, fire and safety inspection certificate and sanitary permit can be submitted by applicants after three months, but they can start operating their businesses even without the permit. “The aim is to encourage the formalization of business and spur investment by reducing the time cost and steps for new business registration at the city level,” Maghacot added.

He noted that there were 8,937 new businesses which have registered in the city from January to the end of July.  With the new system, he said that the city expecting an increase of 8% in business registrants for 2011.

BOSS was set up with the technical support from International Finance Corp. (IFC), the financing arm for private sector of World Bank. IFC is also partnering with the cities of Marikina, Mandaluyong and Manila for the same project.

Rashad Kaldany, vice-president for Asia, Eastern, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, said during the launching that BOSS “will help invigorate the private sector and support sustainable economic growth.”