- New barangay clearance. You get this from the barangay hall before you go to the municipal hall. You need to bring your old barangay clearance from the previous year, and exactly the same amount of money you paid last year (in our municipality, it was a total of Php450), plus maybe a hundred pesos or two, just to be on the safe side. That's all.
- Cedula (community tax certificate). In our town, you have to get your previous year's gross income computed first before you can get your cedula. For this, I had to bring a statement of gross sales from my accountant.
- Statement of gross sales. I only found out I needed this when I got to the municipal hall. I normally call government offices before I go, to avoid surprise requirements such as these, but the two phone numbers I used to call them last year are no longer functioning this year.
To get my statement, I called my accountant, who prepared my statement of gross sales and e-mailed it within 10 minutes.
- Previous mayor's permit. Oh, there's something I discovered upon studying my previous mayor's permit. I was, at that time, registering a new business, not an old one. They asked me how much it cost me to put up this writing and editing business. I truthfully answered, "Nothing, because the computer and Internet I use, I have had for more than a year already."
Still they insisted that I put in an amount. I realized just yesterday that the amount you declare as your start-up cost defines how much they charge you for getting your new business registered.
So if you really needed only P100 pesos to start your home business, don't let them convince you into putting P1,000.
- Sanitary permit. In our municipality, you only get this after you've paid all your registration fees. Cost is P150. You may still have to have a health examination, which could cost you up to P1,000.
- Fire safety certificate. You can get your fire safety inspection scheduled after your fees have been computed, as the fire department bases their fees on how much the municipal hall is charging you. In our town, it's 10% of what the municipal hall is charging, plus P100.
- SSS, PAGIBIG, and PhilHealth clearances. This is only applicable if you have five or more employees in your company.
- Annual building inspection certificate (for apartments only).
For the barangay clearance, you'll probably be charged the same as what you were charged last year.
For the municipal clearance, it depends on what your industry is and how much you earned. For my industry classification, it was 2% of my gross income. I don't know what the percentages are for other industries.
For the cedula, expect to pay P100 for every P100,000 reported in your statement of gross sales.
